This document discusses different types of knowledge workers (KWs) including core KWs, non-core KWs, specialty KWs, portable KWs, and creative KWs. It also outlines core competencies of KWs such as thinking skills, continuous learning, innovative teams and teamwork, innovation and creativity, and risk-taking. Approaches to rewarding KWs are discussed, including total reward policies, recognition and praise, career structures, and pay flexibility. Finally, factors that can limit KWs' productivity are presented, like time constraints, working smarter vs harder, unrelated tasks, work schedules, and lack of motivation.

2. TYPES OF KWs
 Core KWs: These are those workers in specific
knowledge management roles.
eg: chief information officers, knowledge
managers,etc.
• Non-core KWs: It constitutes all the other knowledge
workers like doctors, nurses, dentists, managers, etc.
• Specialty KWs : They possess a significant amount of
knowledge related to a specific company’s products or
services.

3.  Portable KWs: They possess information of wide and
immediate utility. They are familiar with knowledge
that is in demand by a variety of organizations.
 Creative KWs: This focuses the majority of their
efforts on innovative behaviors, such as product design
and development.
eg: scientists and information system designers.

4. Core Competencies of KWs
Core competencies of
KWs
Thinking Skills Continuous Learning
Innovative Teams and
Teamwork
Innovation and creativity
Risk-Taking and
potential success

5.  Thinking Skills: Strategic thinking means having a
vision of how the product can be better, how the
company can improve by the value –added
contributions of its employees, and how continuous
learning contributes to a knowledge worker’s career,
loyalty to the firm, and satisfaction on the job.
 Continuous Learning: Knowledge work implies
innovation through continuous learning on the job,
professional seminars, and working in an environment
conducive to creativity and advancement.

6.  Innovative Teams and Teamwork: As competition
becomes more intense, the problems facing today’s
corporation become more complex, requiring
innovative teamwork and joint decision-making for
solutions.
 Innovation and Creativity: The spirit behind
innovation and creativity is for knowledge workers to
expand their vision and dream a new or a different
product or service for the advancement of the firm.

7.  Risk-Taking and Potential Success: Innovation and
creativity mean risk-taking. Maintaining the status
quo requires minimum risk, but it also breeds no
change for the betterment of knowledge workers or the
organization.

8. Approaches to rewarding knowledge workers
 Total reward policies: A total reward is the monetary and
non-monetary return provided to employees in exchange
for their time, talents, efforts, and results.
 Recognition and praise: It is one of the most powerful
motivators. People need to know not only how well they
have achieved their objectives but also that their
achievements are appreciated.
 Career and Job Family Structure: A career family
structure is one in which separate job families are
identified and defined but a common grade and pay
structure applies to all the families.

9.  Pay Flexibility: The overall approach to knowledge
workers should be flexibility within a framework.
Flexibility is intended to deliver greater differentiation
between individuals, teams or units within an
organization and requires greater market sensitivity of
rewards.

10. Factors that limit KW’s Productivity
 Time Constraint: Time is the enemy of successful
KWs. There is always more work to do. As a result,
either quality suffers or completion time lags.
 Working Smarter and harder and accomplishing
little.
 KWs doing work that the firm did not hire them
to do.
 Work Schedule: Heavy work demands invariably
affects a KW’s attention span, motivation, and
patience, regardless of pay or benefits.

11.  Motivation against KW productivity: KWs are not
all programmed to follow the ideals proposed by
management. Avoiding task uncertainty or job
complexity can pose productivity problems and affects
the productivity of other KWs if their works depands
on one another’s inputs.