Thinking For A Living How To Get Better Performance And Results From Knowledge Workers

Thinking for a Living

Knowledge workers create the innovations and strategies that keep their firms competitive and the economy healthy. Yet, companies continue to manage this new breed of employee with techniques designed for the Industrial Age. As this critical sector of the workforce continues to increase in size and importance, that's a mistake that could cost companies their future. Thomas Davenport argues that knowledge workers are vastly different from other types of workers in their motivations, attitudes, and need for autonomy--and, so, they require different management techniques to improve their performance and productivity. Based on extensive research involving over 100 companies and more than 600 knowledge workers, Thinking for a Living provides rich insights into how knowledge workers think, how they accomplish tasks, and what motivates them to excel. Davenport identifies four major categories of knowledge workers and presents a unique framework for matching specific types of workers with the management strategies that yield the greatest performance. Written by the field's premier thought leader, Thinking for a Living reveals how to maximize the brain power that fuels organizational success. Thomas Davenport holds the President's Chair in Information Technology and Management at Babson College. He is director of research for Babson Executive Education; an Accenture Fellow; and author, co-author, or editor of nine books, including Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know (HBS Press, 1997).

Thinking for a Living

Managing Knowledge Workers

This book focuses on understanding the strategic role of the knowledge workers in companies, especially in creating an innovative company. The author presents the 'Sknowinnov method' and a decision-making model for the assessment of the value of strategic knowledge resources in companies. This method and its approach can be used as excellent tools for a quantitative knowledge analysis in an economic viewpoint. The IT tool that is developed for this method offers support in decision making at a strategic level regarding the profitability of any investment in employee qualifications and skills. The tool also connects the selected determinants described in an innovative company with the value of the personnel usefulness function, enabling the assessment of the rationality and effectiveness of knowledge. HR managers and knowledge management consultants for innovative companies would find this book and the IT tools presented specially useful. This book also adds value to researchers dealing with analysis of quantitative and qualitative methods in intellectual capital research.​