Essentials of Knowledge Management

3.13. Summary

Knowledge workers are central to the operation of a knowledge organization. Not only do they represent the greatest potential for multiplying the value of a company, but they also represent the greatest risk to value loss. Furthermore, managing knowledge workers is challenging because of the competing goals of encouraging knowledge sharing thorough communities of practice while maintaining control over the general direction of the corporation through information hiding and filtering. For knowledge workers who represent a positive value multiplier, providing consistent supportive feedback through the corporation's touch points, investing in knowledge worker education when economically feasible, and maintaining the processes associated with knowledge worker loyalty all maximize the value that the knowledge worker can bring to the corporation.

Men are disturbed not by things that happen, but by their opinions of the things that happen.

—Epictetus