Abstract
Knowledge work is increasingly important in post-capitalist society (Drucker 1993, 1995) and is associated with new organizational forms and ways of working (Lucas 1996). These include flatter, less hierarchical organizational structures; more fluid job definitions and reporting structures; more competitive and faster paced work environments; and an increased reliance on information technology (IT) to perform work (Ruhleder, Jordan and Elmes 1996). Initiating knowledge workers into such firms and working environments and ensuring their continued performance and productivity will be critical to firms and may require new management practices. The purpose of the present research is to develop a theoretical framework which explores and describes how knowledge workers learn their jobs and the role that using IT plays in this process. Founded on the assumptions that learning and problem-solving are critical to knowledge work, and are socially constructed, situated in practice, and context-specific, the research presented here is part of an on-going interpretive case study based on theoretical underpinnings derived from the theory of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991). To develop this framework, one of the authors has gained access to a global strategic management consulting firm with offices in New York City where she is using ethnographic methods of interviewing and participant observation. This paper presents early results of the study, focusing specifically on how entry-level consultants, analysts and associates, learn and perform their jobs, and the role that using IT plays therein. The research is expected to have implications for training, mentoring and incentive policies for organizations operating in the IT-based, knowledge economy.
“And even if outnumbered by other groups, knowledge workers will be the group that gives the emerging knowledge society its character, its leadership, its social profile.”
Drucker 1995, p.233
“The knowledge [worker] may need a machine, whether it be a computer, an ultrasound analyzer, or a radio telescope. But neither the computer nor the ultrasound analyzer nor the telescope tells the knowledge [worker] what to do, let alone how to do it. Without this knowledge, which is the property of the employee, the machine is unproductive.”
Drucker 1993, pp. 64–65
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Spitler, V., Gallivan, M. (1999). The Role of Information Technology in the Learning of Knowledge Work. In: Ngwenyama, O., Introna, L.D., Myers, M.D., DeGross, J.I. (eds) New Information Technologies in Organizational Processes. IFIP — The International Federation for Information Processing, vol 20. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-35566-5_16
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