The Knowledge Organisation

3. The Personnel.

The personnel fall into one of four rather distinct categories.

The "Professionals".

The Professionals (are sometimes called Knowledge Workers) work directly with the customers. They are intelligent and sometimes arrogant. They love their job and tend to be workaholics. They don't give a damn about the company "bureaucracy" and are loyal to their organisation only if they can feel proud of it. The like to work with other highly competent people. They are both unable and unwilling to manage other people; they are interested mainly in the freedom to develop their own professional skills.

The "Managers".

There are few typical managers in the Knowledge Organisation. In smaller knowledge organisations, the accountant is often the only traditional manager. The managers like to work through other people, are team oriented, like to exert their influence in an organisation and they want to feel a loyalty towards the organisation they are put to manage. The managers lack the Knowhow of the professionals that the customers demand but are strong in managing the business.

The "Clerical Staff".

The clerical staff are the support of the professionals. They lack both the professional Knowhow of the professionals and the formal position of the managers. They are powerless and therefore often experience problems - often caused by the professionals. They tend to be prevented from developing themselves in a management career because there are very few such opportunities.

The "Leader".

The Leader is the driving force of the Knowledge Organisation and is more or less irreplaceable. He or she has often founded the company and is an ex-professional who has developed the organisational skills and interests. The Leader must be able to handle and steer the driving forces in the Knowledge Organisation. The Leader also must be able to balance the forces between the categories of personnel who might easily become in opposition towards each other if they are let free of leadership. Because leadership in knowledge organisations is a very difficult task, one often finds that a kind of dual leadership emerges: one in charge of the professionals, the other in charge of the organisation.