Achieving Productivity with Information Technology Source: Personal Productivity with Information Technology by Davis and Naumann

Knowledge Work, Knowledge Workers, and Productivity b Knowledge Work b Knowledge Workers b Knowledge Work Productivity b Improving Productivity by Expanding and Conserving Knowledge Work Resources b Improving Productivity Through More Effective Knowledge Work

b Improving Productivity Through Efficiency in Knowledge Work Processes and Procedures b Investing in Knowledge Work Productivity Improvement

Knowledge Work b Human mental work performed to generate useful information b Can be described in terms of type of work, objectives, and process characteristics including accessing data, using knowledge, employing mental models and applying significant concentration and attention.

b Examples of knowledge workers are financial analysts, systems analysts, managers, accountants, and lawyers. b Knowledge workers are valued for their knowledge and expertise. Knowledge Workers

Knowledge Work Productivity b Use of knowledge, expertise, and data (see figure) b Formal declarative knowledge: general problem-solving, definitions, principles, concepts, procedures related to a domain of work. b Procedural knowledge: about how to do something

b Major concern of management b Solutions to improve productivity include: re-engineering of work processes, reduced staffing, increased training, etc. b I.T. is part of all of these solutions. b Productivity consists of the resources required to produce one unit of a product. Work Productivity (Cont.)

Improving Productivity b Expanding and conserving knowledge work resources b More effective knowledge work b Efficiency in knowledge work processes and procedures

Expanding and Conserving Knowledge Work Resources b Expanding knowledge work mental energy through improved motivation. I.T. is relevant to motivation because of its use in activities, its effect on job design, and its use in scheduling of work. b Conserving scarce knowledge work resources by scheduling and communication and by automating processing.

Doing More Effective Knowledge Work b Concentrate on activities that reflect expertise and creativity b Do more extensive and intensive knowledge work b More complete and timely work b Note that some work activities are not feasible without computers

Achieving Efficiency in Knowledge Work Processes and Procedures b Reducing time and effort b Reusing processes and procedures b Eliminating process redundancy and delay b Minimizing errors and bias

Investing in Knowledge Work Productivity Improvement b I.T. infrastructures b Processes, procedures, and methods for performing knowledge activities b Invest in initial training, practice, and learning to achieve appropriate expertise, useful level of automatic processing, and added procedural knowledge.