Towards a better understanding of knowledge work : developing a taxanomy

Ian Caddy

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The rise of post-industrial or knowledge-based economies such as Australia, where service delivery in a variety of forms is the principal mechanism through which economic value is created, knowledge and knowledge work is one important contributing factor. Very little research has been published on what sort of knowledge is used in knowledge work and it is the role of this paper to provide an insight into this issue. As such, the paper takes the knowledge possessed by either a potential or current employee as a given and so does not delve into the realms of learning (both individually and organisationally) that have been well reported in the research literature. Rather, having gained that quantum of knowledge which an employee has at that particular point in time, what do organisations require of that knowledge? More specifically at the point of entry into the organisation, do organisations require knowledge that is structured, easy to recognise, and explicit; alternatively do organisations require knowledge that is unstructured, hard to recognise, and tacit? To answer this question the paper will review two major knowledge categories, tacit and explicit, in order to develop a taxonomy of knowledge. Future research is also discussed which will use this taxonomy as a foundation for more applied research activities.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)38-54
    Number of pages17
    JournalEmployment Relations Record
    Volume12
    Issue number2
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • knowledge management
    • knowledge workers
    • tacit knowledge
    • explicit knowledge

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