KNOWLEDGE WORKERS AND THEIR INFORMATIONAL PRACTICES

Abstract

Goal: This paper discusses everyday information practices of knowledge workers in organizational environment, which determine how they will perform the tasks at hand. Knowledge workers are considered those who process information to produce knowledge and new information to guide decisions in the organisation. Design½Methodology½Approach: The perspective adopted herein is that of knowledge as an essentially human and social phenomenon. In this view, workers in the context of an organisation form a social group. As interact, the group shapes the individual's way of acting and meaning attributing but is also shaped by it. Hence a set of common understandings is formed that guides the everyday practices of the group and its members, which is referred to here as the orientation frame. To study this dynamic, a discussion group formed by knowledge workers in a large organisation was analysed. This analysis followed a qualitative reconstructive research approach and applied the documentary method. Results: The discussions in the group revealed that workers chose strategies that assure a certain level of autonomy in the execution of their tasks. These strategies are made possible through the realization of certain practices and are constituted in the encounter between the group's orientation frame, on one hand, and the normative structure and the culture of the organisation on the other. Originality½Value: The analysis of knowledge workers by the proposed approach aims to contribute to a broader view of their working dynamics, teams they form and their relationship with the norms and culture of the organization, what, it is hoped, may contribute to the work of knowledge management.