ABSTRACT
Over the last few years considerable attention has been devoted to the study of ‘knowledge work’, and to the analysis of knowledge intensive forms of organization (Coulson-Thomas, 1991; Drucker, 1991; Nomikos, 1989; Alvesson, 1993). By far the majority of those who use these terms seem to agree, broadly, that there is a form of work, different from other forms of toil, which we might, meaningfully, categorize as ‘knowledge work’. In addition, these writers and commentators also tend to argue that as societies move into the (new) ‘knowledge age’, and develop ‘knowledge intensive forms of organization’, the ‘knowledge workers’ employed within these organizations will call forth new forms of management and, implicitly, new strategies for human resource management (HRM).
