mismanagement of tangible resources for failures in a knowledge-based society. We
now need to turn our attention to the management of the intangible. Managerial
systems remain important, but it is the management of intangible assets that is now
argued to be at the heart of the managerial process.
There is, however, a contradiction in what the literature oVers in terms of an
approach to knowledge management. On the one hand, there are theorists who
uphold the knowledge-based view of theWrm that knowledge is all embracing. It is
in the routines, in the individual skills, and in the relationships. On the other hand,
knowledge is seen as a ‘possession’ of an individual or a group of employees and
presents a threat to knowledge-intensiveWrms because of the potential loss of
‘intellectual capital.’ A comparison of these two approaches raises the questions:
‘how do we know what a knowledge-basedWrm is?’ and ‘how do we diVerentiate a
knowledge worker from any other employee that uses knowledge in his or her
everyday work?’
To address these questions, this chapter develops a deWnition of the knowledge
worker and discusses the characteristics of knowledge workers and their work. It then
shifts to the organizational level and takes a closer look at the characteristics of
knowledge-based organizations and the management of knowledge work. Several
managerial and theoretical challenges arise when we combine individual and
organizational knowledge perspectives. Each of these challenges, together with
relevant knowledge-focused HR practices, is discussed and presented in Table 22. 1 ,
which serves as a summary to the chapter. TheWnal section looks toward the
future and explores possible avenues for research, theory-building, and HRM policy
and practice development.
22.2 Developing a Definition
of Knowledge Workers
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
Galbraith suggested in 1967 that a powerful new class of technical-scientiWcexpertise
was emerging. This new class of employee or ‘knowledge workers’ (ZuboV1988)are,
on the whole, highly paid, high-status employees (Reich 1991 ) who apply their
specialized knowledge, or technical-scientiWc expertise, to high-value-added problem
solution processes. Scarbrough ( 1999 ) asserts that knowledge workers are deWned
primarily by the work that they do, which is relatively unstructured and organiza-
tionally contingent, and which reXects the changing demands of organizations more
than occupationally deWned norms and practices (p. 7 ). That is, having a particular set
of knowledge is not enough to be recognized as a knowledge worker. It is the active
application of the knowledge, through work, that is important.
hrm and knowledge workers 451