Framework of Knowledge Worker Productivity

 Framework of Knowledge Worker Productivity

Excerpts from the paper

Towards a Holistic Framework of Knowledge Worker Productivity

by Helga Guðrún Óskarsdóttir 1,Guðmundur Valur Oddsson 1,Jón Þór Sturluson 2 andRögnvaldur Jóhann Sæmundsson 1

1 Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland

2 Department of Business Administration, Reykjavik University, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland

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Academic Editor: Isabel-María Garcia-Sanchez

Adm. Sci. 2022, 12(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci12020050

Knowledge work is performed by knowledge workers (KWs) which “have high degrees of expertise, education, or experience and use this to acquire, create, share, or apply knowledge in their jobs” (Óskarsdóttir et al. 2021, p. 1).

Óskarsdóttir and Oddsson (2017) and Óskarsdóttir et al. (2021) suggest a holistic approach to KWP using soft systems methodology (SSM) to aid in descriptive theory building. According to Carlile and Christensen (2005), descriptive theory building consists of three steps: observation, categorization and association, which are iterated to formulate a theory that can be applied and improved in normative theory building.

SSM consists of four activities: (1) finding out about a problem situation, (2) formulating purposeful activity models (PAMs), (3) debating the situation and (4) taking action for improvement. Óskarsdóttir and Oddsson (2017) executed the first activity and analyzed the problem situation of managing and improving KWP using extensive literature reviews on KWP challenges from both the perspective of the organization and the individual KW. Based on the review, they identified four problems from the perspective of the organization: information needs and knowledge interdependence; motivation, work engagement and health; organizational structure and changes; the nature of knowledge work. They also found that individual KWs experience the following problems as influential to their productivity: too much demand and insufficient resources, choosing what to do and how to do it, self-development, self-awareness, achieving and/or setting goals, performing to full potential, making thinking more productive, successful relationships, collaborations and motivation. The results were abstracted into simple rich pictures and specific root definitions of relevant systems.

Building on the results of Óskarsdóttir and Oddsson (2017), Óskarsdóttir et al. (2021) executed the second activity in the SSM and formulated a PAM of the system from the perspective of the individual KW. A PAM is a conceptual model which is used to explore what activities need to be performed to achieve the purpose of the system by looking at it as a process (Checkland 2011). The PAM in Óskarsdóttir et al. (2021, p. 4) was built by assembling and linking the activities relevant to “the process in which the KW uses resources to execute actions to create tangible or intangible artifacts with the intention of generating value”.

In this paper the PAM presented in Óskarsdóttir and Oddsson (2017) is debated from the perspective of the problem solvers using insights from a systematic literature review. The focus is on factors that are directly relevant to individuals and their work according to the PAM presented in Óskarsdóttir et al. (2021) but limited to the perspective of the individual KW.

This paper takes us a step closer towards a holistic theory of KWP by describing some of the factors and measures that an operationalized model of KWP should include regarding individual KWs and their work (see Section 5). The draft of a descriptive theory of KWP is based on the results of the third SSM activity, debating the situation, where the insights from the systematic literature review are mapped to the activities in the PAM of the individual presented in Óskarsdóttir et al. (2021) (see Section 4).

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/12/2/50/htm