Analysis On The Characteristics Of Knowledge Work And The Motivation Of Knowledge Workers

Along with the constant increase of the content of knowledge in economic development, deep changes have taken place in the form and content of work. Worker is no longer the workforce of original meaning. The concept of knowledge work and knowledge worker has been proposed .It has been popularized and spread wide. The research in the field has drawn common concern of experts and scholars in home and abroad.The core of scientific management movement that Frederick Winslow Taylor started is how to improve productivity of physical strength work. This movement has caused the revolutionary change of traditional management. Nowadays, in developed countries, people have fully grasped the basic law of physical strength work productivity, while the productivity of knowledge work is appearing. Peter Drucker, a famous management master, points out: the most important contribution of management in the 20th century is that it has increased physical strength work productivity 50 times then before. To increase the knowledge work productivity is the greatest challenge of management in the 21st century.The research on knowledge work productivity is long-term and complicated, involving very extensive subjects, while this thesis sets out from some foundation problems about it.Using Taylor's job analysis approach for reference, this thesis disassembles work positions into basic job elements with PAQ and on these grounds carries on the positivistic study on the characteristics of knowledge work. This is the innovation point, and also is the foundation studied further of this thesis.From the conclusions of the positivistic study on knowledge workcharacteristics, the objective character requirement to the knowledgeworkers can be derived.Then this thesis discusses the subjective characteristics of knowledgeworkers.Based on the study mentioned above, this thesis tries to make a qualitativeanalysis on the improvement of knowledge work and the motivation ofknowledge workers. The two questions are mutually contacting andcontaining, but each has different emphasis. The former emphasizeparticularly on the work, while the latter on the worker. Essentially they arediscussing how to make the knowledge work more efficient, and how toimprove the knowledge work productivity.This thesis is following the thought aforementioned, in which Taylor's somethoughts and Drucker's thinking on knowledge work have given me muchelicitation.This thesis uses positivistic study method, comparative analysis method andlogical deduction method, and obtains some significative conclusions on theimprovement of knowledge work and the motivation of knowledge workers.