Abstract
D.Phil.
The success of an organisation depends on the mental capability of a comparatively small number of highly proficient knowledge workers who innovate and clarify the business processes others must act on (Zemke, 2004). Many organisations utilise knowledge worker expertise to create a competitive advantage, but this expertise is not incorporated into the business processes and routine operations of the organisation. Organisational design does not create the conditions under which an organisation can optimise knowledge worker expertise (Grant, 1996). As a consequence, when the knowledge worker leaves the organisation, the knowledge created is lost and the competitive advantage is not sustainable. One of the foremost objectives of an organisation must be to optimise knowledge worker expertise to produce new products, services or ways of working for sustaining competitive advantage (Gold, Malhotra & Segards, 2001).
Organisational design continues to be seen as the process of assembling and fine-tuning an organisation’s structure to achieve its goal. Much has been written about knowledge, knowledge management, the knowledge-based organisation and the knowledge worker. However, current organisational design methodologies do not place emphasis on the optimisation of knowledge worker expertise (Grant, 1996).
For knowledge workers to contribute sufficiently to the production of new products, services or ways of working, consideration must be given to their motivation. Despite all our achievements in technology and product improvements, knowledge workers are not thriving in the organisations they work for because organisations are not clear about where knowledge workers fit and how their contribution is valued. Covey (2004) asserts that managers are still applying the Industrial Age control model to knowledge workers. For an organisation to succeed in the new economy, knowledge workers must be intrinsically motivated so that they can reach new heights of fulfilment (Covey, 2004).