Thinking for a Living: How to Get Better Performance and Results from Knowledge Workers
Thomas H. DavenportBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
What Every Company Must Know About Knowledge Workers and How To Manage ThemKnowledge 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 one hundred companies and more than six hundred 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.
Author Bio: 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, coauthor, or editor of nine books, including Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know (HBS Press, 1997).
Synopsis
Davenport (information technology and management, Babson College, Massachusetts), the author of Working Knowledge (1997), explains the term "knowledge worker," their different types, importance to today's organizations, and decision support technology. His recommendations for managers include creating knowledge-friendly cultures and nurturing knowledge worker communities., e.g., Chrysler's tech clubs for engineers. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR