Abstract Peter Drucker (1999), a management master, points out that in the organizations of the 21st century, the most valuable assets of an organization are knowledge workers and the productivity of knowledge workers. Koch (1998) points out that exerting ¡§80/20 Principle¡¨ to find out core customers, investing resource and service on those rare mass-customers who can create most profits, and cultivating the relationship of long-term strategies are the effective ways to increase profits instead of continuously looking for new customers. Telecom industry plays a very important role in the development of Taiwan economy. It is really a crucial issue for this case corporation to focus on how to keep mass-customers in the competitive environment. The cost strengths of customer loyalty come from the factors of men and the outcomes of the long-term mutual interaction between customers and employees. The input of outstanding human resource is the main indicator deciding whether an enterprise possesses competitive strengths or not. The employees serving enterprise customers are the front-line representatives of this case corporation approaching enterprise customers. Outwardly, these employees represent their company, and it goes without saying that the quality and work performance of the employees are very important to the enterprise. The subject of the research is the present knowledge workers serving in the department of enterprise customers in this case corporation. Through the theories and concepts of literature review, the research uses individual attributes and knowledge workers¡¦ management strategies as the independent variables and core competencies as the intermediary variables to explore the relationship among individual attributes, knowledge workers¡¦ management strategies, core competencies and work performance. Among the totally mailed 603 questionnaires, there are 412 effective and available, and the effective return rate of questionnaires is 68.33%. After factor analysis, credibility analysis, variance analysis, correlation analysis and multi-regression analysis, here is the result of the research: 1. There is a positive significance among the research variables of the knowledge workers¡¦ management strategies, the degree of the possession of core competencies and work performance. 2. There is a positive significance between the knowledge workers¡¦ management strategies and the degree of the possession of core competencies: for example, ¡§team encouragement¡¨ has the positive effect on ¡§interpersonal competency,¡¨ ¡§attitude competency,¡¨ and ¡§profession competency,¡¨ and ¡§company learning commitment¡¨ has the effect on ¡§profession competency.¡¨ 3. There is a positive significance between the degree of the possession of core competencies and work performance: for example, ¡§interpersonal competency¡¨ and ¡§profession competency¡¨ significantly have the positive effect on ¡§task performance,¡¨ and ¡§interpersonal competency,¡¨ ¡§attitude competency¡¨ and ¡§profession competency¡¨ all significantly have the positive effect on ¡§contextual performance.¡¨ 4. There is a positive significance between the knowledge workers¡¦ management strategies and work performance: for example, ¡§knowledge leadership¡¨ and ¡§company learning commitment¡¨ significantly have the positive effect on ¡§task performance,¡¨ and ¡§knowledge leadership¡¨ and ¡§team encouragement¡¨ significantly have the positive effect on ¡§contextual performance.¡¨ 5. The knowledge workers¡¦ management strategies have an influence on work performance through the intermediary variables, core competencies: for example, ¡§company learning commitment¡¨ indirectly influences ¡§task performance¡¨ through the intermediary variables ¡§profession competency¡¨ and ¡§team encouragement¡¨ indirectly influence ¡§contextual performance¡¨ through the intermediary variables ¡§interpersonal competency,¡¨ ¡§attitude competency¡¨ and ¡§profession competency.¡¨

Living the Brand has become a useful Human Resources strategy in post-Fordist organisations. This is due to globalized competition and decreased control structures leading to organisations needing to obtain ever higher levels of productivity and performance from highly skilled knowledge workers. Because of the nature of their work, knowledge workers are difficult to manage and control through traditional practices and are usually looking for more than just monetary remuneration. Living the Brand organisations provide a strong social identity, positive self-esteem and a sense of achievement to these employees. This small-scale qualitative study used inductive thematic analysis to investigate the after-effects of Living the Brand, using knowledge workers who had been retrenched from such organisations. The results show that the positive aspects of Living the Brand comes at the expense of the employees‟ social identity outside of the organisation. These include the identification with family, as well as their health and a sense of self beyond the organisation. As one can see in this study, this power imbalance, along with an increasingly unbalanced psychological contract, is a reality that was only truly realized by the employees after being retrenched from the organisation. Unfortunately Durban does not have a plethora of Living the Brand organisations, which in turn limits the available sample of research participants. This meant that the findings may not be applicable across cultures, and that the participants had all had several years to come to terms with their retrenchment. Further studies using a wider spectrum of participants are suggested, including those who have been more recently retrenched. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

In the generational shift, sharing the knowledge of the older generation to the younger coworkers is an important consideration. The aim of this study is to explore knowledge sharing from aging workers to younger workers and the potential of improving knowledge sharing within organizations. A multiple case study was executed in three different organizational contexts: The Municipality, The School and The Manufacturer. The data collection consisted of semi-structured individual interviews, focus interviews, document analyses and statistics. The results were analyzed in within-case and cross-case analysis, triangulated and related to previous research. The conclusion is that knowledge sharing is generally perceived as a ninformal activity and an issue lacking strategic relevance in organizations. There are however possibilities to make knowledge sharing in the generational shift into a legitimate strategic consideration, if activities are formally created to support strategic objectives. A process for choosing and evaluating knowledge sharing programs is presented.

This study explores whether and how skilled Chinese immigrants can contribute to New Zealand's knowledge society and economy with their knowledge and skills. As New Zealand is moving towards a knowledge society and economy, the attraction of skilled migrants is one of the critical strategies in maintaining its competitive advantages. However, the results of the socioeconomic integration of new skilled migrants always lead to debates on the real role of skilled migrants in New Zealand's society and economy. This study uses multiple research strategies combining analyses of historical and statistical materials, and a case study with fourteen interviews conducted with new Chinese immigrants, who came from Mainland China after 1990 and are living and working in Christchurch, to explore the relationships between these 'descendents of the dragon' and New Zealand's knowledge society and economy. Through these strategies, the study shows the role of knowledge in the emergence of New Zealand's knowledge society and economy, the value placed on knowledge and skills in New Zealand immigration policies and the change in the Chinese community with the growing demand for skilled migrants. It argues that tacit knowledge is not separated from but interactive with explicit knowledge through cultural values, social networks and structures, and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, in the process surrounding the entry of new skilled Chinese immigrants into New Zealand society, the knowledge economy is not exclusively economic but socially and culturally conditioned; and the knowledge society is not universal but diversified and interdependent.

Titel: Gör cheferna som de säger? Kunskapens betydelse för skillnader i uttalad och faktisk interaktion mellan chefer och blue-collar workers respektive knowledge workers. Nivå: Examensarbete i Företagsekonomi, Kandidatnivå, 15 hp Författare: Madeleine Lindqvist och Björn Stenholm Handledare: Per-Arne Wikström Datum: Juni 2013 Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka kunskapens betydelse för skillnader i uttalad och faktisk interaktion mellan chefer och blue-collar workers respektive knowledge workers.   Metod: Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer med anställda och chefer på olika företag har använts för att samla in det empiriska materialet. Den teoretiska referensramen har samlats in genom relevant kurslitteratur och vetenskapliga artiklar inom ämnet.   Resultat & Slutsats: Slutsatsen som dragits utifrån denna studie är att det inte gått att finna något glapp mellan chefers uttalade och faktiska handlingar. Däremot visar den på att svårigheten med kommunikation kvarstår trots kunskap om interaktion   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då vi anser att vårt tillvägagångssätt inte kunde stödja den klassiska teorin föreslår vi att samma forskningsfråga studeras med en deltagande metod då vi tror att det skulle ge ett annat resultat.   Ett annat förslag är att undersöka varför kommunikationen mellan chefer och anställda inte fungerar trots att båda parter är medvetna om problemet.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar till en ökad förståelse för de komplexa situationer som chefer med ledaransvar ställs inför och huruvida deras kunskap inom områden som kommunikation och interaktion kan hjälpa dem i sitt arbete.   Nyckelord: Espoused theory, theory-in-use, arbetsmotivation, knowledge workers, blue-collar workers

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2002.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Knowledge workers are a relatively new phenomenon that has until recently been scarcely researched. Within the intellectual capital metaphor and under the title of knowledge management, knowledge workers are being researched. Knowledge workers are critical elements in knowledge creation and capitalisation. Knowledge workers are important human resource capital that can create a competitive advantage for organisations. After the completion of a series of questionnaires by workers, certain knowledge worker characteristics have been identified with correlation with a knowledge worker measurement index. These characteristics have been used to formulate implications and recommendations regarding the management of knowledge workers in the postmodern knowledge era. It is necessary that management understand the knowledge worker within the intellectual capital metaphor and knowledge management tradition, so that the knowledge worker can be capitalized to a maximum. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kenniswerkers is 'n redelike nuwe fenomeen wat tot dusver betreklik min nagevors is. Binne die intellektuele kapitaal-metafoor en onder die vaandel van kennisbestuur, word die bestuur van kenniswerkers in die navorsing onder die soeklig geplaas. Kenniswerkers IS kritiese elemente III kennisskepping en -kapitalisering. Kenniswerkers is belangrike menslike hulpbronkapitaal wat vir die organisasie 'n kompeterende voordeel kan verskaf. 'n Reeks vraelyste is aan werknemers gegee en kenniswerkereienskappe is geïdentifiseer d.m.v. korrellasie met 'n kenniswerker-metingsindeks. Hierdie eienskappe is gebruik om afleidings en aanbevelings te maak vir die bestuur van die kenniswerker in die post-moderne kennisera. Dit is nodig dat bestuur die kenniswerker binne die intellektuele kapitaal-metafoor en kennisbestuurstradisie verstaan, sodat die kenniswerker as kritiese hulpbron maksimaal gekapitaliseer kan word.

Women around the world are not making much progress up the corporate ladder but instead; many are frustrated and choosing to leave their jobs. The purpose of this study was to identify what challenges are facing senior level women in the corporate world, which would make them leave/desire to leave work and the role played by organisations in this situation. Interviews and survey research were done on a sample of qualified, experienced women over the age of 30, who are either in the corporate world or who have left. The study showed that women are leaving or have a strong desire to leave due to a combination of workplace and personal factors, and that South African organisations are not doing much to retain them. The implication of this is that they are going to continue losing high calibre women, if they do not implement effective retention strategies very quickly.

D.Phil. / The world of work of women has elicited much research locally and abroad. Underpinning the research is the societal norm that men are breadwinners and women are homemakers, which poses a dilemma in terms of gender roles in the professional and domestic life of women. Hence the aim of the research was to develop a substantive theory to explore and foreground how women in senior management positions in a knowledge organisation in the telecommunication domain experience their professional and domestic realities against the background of the materialisation of this societal norm. The study was done in the qualitative paradigm, guided by a modernist interpretive theoretical framework. Casing was employed as research design. Six women at senior management level were selected by means of purposive sampling (with the assistance of a gatekeeper). One-on-one semi-structured interviews and field notes were used as data collection methods. Grounded theory (as proposed by Strauss and Corbin) was used to analyse the data. Open coding was done with the aid of the ATLAS.ti computer software programme, whereas axial coding and selective coding were done manually.

There is extensive literature on employee engagement; its antecedents; linkages to positive business outcomes; and its positive impact on retention. Top performing organisations have even found that aligning the engagement strategies to the business goals drive performance outcomes. There is no universal definition of employee engagement and drivers, therefore, a general approach without due cognisance of worker demographics may result in the application of inappropriate engagement strategies. In this study, the focus is on knowledge workers within the banking sector of Botswana. Knowledge workers make up almost two thirds of organisations and are said to be unique and complex in their nature. Work to a knowledge worker is more mental than physical, hence, the need to use interventions aimed at the behaviour to increase their performance. The needs of a knowledge worker and that of the business ought to be integrated. An organisation that is able to identify those factors that would influence their engagement is promised high levels of productivity that would translate into profits and high retention. The main research problem for this study was to determine the strategies that should be used to engage knowledge workers within the banking sector in Botswana. A literature study was conducted to identify characteristics of knowledge workers, meaning of employee engagement and approaches to measuring employee engagement. Eleven organisational factors that have an influence on employee engagement and some of the engagement strategies were identified from literature. The eleven factors identified were: growth and development; rewards and recognition; trust in leadership; work/life balance; two way communication; mission, vision and values; quality of manager; relationship with colleagues; fairness of HR policies; job design; and accountability. An empirical study was also conducted to investigate which of the eleven organisational factors had an influence in the engagement of knowledge workers. The current engagement level of knowledge workers within the banking sector was measured using the Gallup Q12 measuring tool. The main findings from this research are that a significant number of knowledge workers are engaged. The findings of this study also coincide with the theoretical overview that there are organisational factors that have an influence on the engagement of employees. A significant finding was that, although knowledge workers differ in their perception of the organisational factors, they generally indicate that work/life balance initiatives are lacking in their workplace.