Knowledge Workers and Integrated Distributed Systems - Essay Example

Knowledge workers and integrated distributed systems The OCED characterizes the features of the knowledge economy as follows: “……symbolic resources are replacing physical resources, mental exertion is replacing physical exertion and knowledge capital is beginning to challenge money and all other forms of capital.” (OCED, 2001:148). Knowledge workers must think for a living and the basis of their job is essentially centered on the manipulation of knowledge. (Davenport, 2005:10). Increasingly, the level of efficiency a knowledge worker is able to bring to his or her job depends upon the ease and facility with which sources of information can be accessed and how easily a knowledge worker can integrate existing information into the development of new applications when necessary. This report examines the need for a specific category of knowledge workers, i.e, professional programmers in the IT industry, to possess the ability to work within integrated distribution systems and utilize the tools of technology effectively. In the knowledge economy, creativity and innovative ideas become the driving force; brain is more important than brawn. According to the OCED, because knowledge is an essential factor of production in a knowledge economy, hence the “ability…..to acquire and develop it becomes critical to ….successful integration into the global economy.” (OCED, 2001:148). In specific reference to the functions performed by a programmer within an organization, the major thrust of the programmer’s job is to develop solutions to a problem through the use of the tools of technology. But the extent to which the programmer is successful, based upon the OCED’s definition as provided above, will depend upon how successfully he or she is able to acquire, access and develop information. There are three important aspects associated with a programmer’s job. Firstly, most of the projects programmers work on is often time bound and software applications need to be developed within a particular time frame or as quickly as possible, in order to satisfy organizational requirements. Secondly, a programmer does not generally work in isolation, he or she may work as a part of a team and the programmer must also take into consideration how his or her job is likely to fit into the framework of the entire system design. Thirdly, a programmer may not always develop each program right from scratch - in many instances, there are rough or basic prototypes, such as for example, skeletal programs, which may be used as a basis, or a starting point for the programmer, in order to save time and on the basis of which more complex applications may be devised. Taking all these aspects into consideration, a knowledge worker’s ability to integrate distributed systems and technologies into their work is likely to make a significant difference to the relative efficiency of their output. Since team work is an essential part of a programmer’s job, this means that he or she needs to be in touch with his or her associates; hence the availability of a sound technology infrastructure and networks of Internet, Intranet and broadband access help these workers to stay in constant communication with their associates and team workers. As pointed out by Cherbakow et al (2007), professional programmers and knowledge workers are increasingly being required to work in an IT environment that is changing; its focus is now on situational applications. When confronted with a business problem, teams of programmers who best understand the problem get together to rapidly create informal solutions expeditiously. Such applications are developed from existing building blocks and are refined later on, as the need arises, because they are able to shorten the time between the identification of the need and the development of a workable solution to the problem. But working in such a situational environment requires the facility of fast access to data and the ability to integrate information from various applications. Workers of the present generation have developed the ability to communicate on multi user platforms such as Facebook while customizing their own data, and are able to bring the ability to use such integrated distribution systems with them as an asset to their work. Web development and the emergence of web pages have produced specialized applications such as the IBM web sphere application server, AJAX – a web based interface that provides easy access to web data and user interface controls, as well as REST (Representational State Transfer) which allows the assembly of browsed applications with high levels of interactivity, including linking from emails to book marks and mobile devices. (Cherbakow et al, 2007). There are also excellent database management packages available, such as Microsoft’s Sharepoint Server 2007, which allows users to create and publish web content directly from familiar applications such as email. (www.microsoft.com) The availability of such tools can facilitate a programmer’s work and provide speed, accessibility and effective networking. It facilitates sharing of information, and allows a programmer to perform fast searches for specific information – the searches are even saved for later re-use as necessary. Additionally data search and retrieval of information applications also integrate with a variety of other applications such as Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint and other applications. A programmer who has the ability to implement integrated distribution systems is able to understand how the various parts of an integrated system work together. He or she will be able to function in an environment where programming does not follow the linear format it adhered to earlier. The technology environment now conforms to a format where a programmer must possess the facility to operate a variety of applications and integrate them successfully in order to save time and effort. The programmer must also be able to communicate effectively and possess the ability to operate within technology spaces, create his or her own personal space and access information easily, while also possessing the ability to communicate the information to others and seek fresh information by using the correct space tools. Knowledge of the tools of technology is likely to be very valuable for a programmer who must function within a techno savvy environment, where software applications to solve business problems must often be developed on an urgent, deadline oriented basis. It is only important for programmers to be able to use sophisticated search instruments and possess the ability to navigate extensive databases to pinpoint and pull up the information they require through the use of the appropriate search terms. The Internet is a bottomless source of information of all kinds and a failure to utilize the appropriate search strategy can result in the programmer wasting valuable time sifting through piles of useless information. Similarly, a failure to be conversant with the various communication tools available through technology, such as emails, mobile device connectivity, personal spaces, blogs, etc will deprive him or her of the opportunity of the ability to communicate quickly and effectively. Integrated distribution systems help a programmer to coordinate various applications. For instance, these may be search based or data based, communication tools or report generation tools, creation of individual private spaces, access or development of websites. Since there is an increasing trend for programmers to work on situational applications, it is all the more important for programmers to communicate quickly and effectively with each other and be able to transmit and transfer information as rapidly, sometimes across a wide database of users. The tools of technology are useful in all these aspects, and it is vital for programmers to be internet and technology savvy to be able to utilize all these tools effectively. In a study that was carried out in Saudi Arabia, the ease of transfer of such knowledge of technology was tested on a group of knowledge workers and professional programmers in that country (Baker et al, 2007). The attempt was to ensure that local nationals were trained in the use of the tools of technology and some of the drawbacks existing in developing countries were identified as a lack of availability of an adequate amount of IT infrastructure and a lack of IT expertise. Lack of IT expertise among employees is often the reason why countries seek foreign workers. King (2006) highlights the advantages that India enjoys in terms of knowledge, particularly in the area of IT software generation and management. Vendors in India such as Wipro, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services possess a high level of sophistication and 40% of the companies who have been able to achieve the top rated Level S certification are located in India. These companies are able to recognize that merely relying on the low labor cost factor is unlikely to sustain their services, as a result they are concentrating on honing their processes to ever increasing levels of sophistication in technical web based knowledge and training workers in the ability to use integrated distributed systems. One example of an integrated, distributed system is an organizational technological framework. This would consist of an Intranet wherein people within the organization would be connected to each other, as well as the Internet, where organizational workers would be connected on the world wide web and can communicate with people across the world. A web interface such as Face book for example, would allow a use to maintain a personal space of his or her own, while at the same time allowing access to a common area/space of information where communication takes place. In addition to the facility of communication, an integrated system would also connect other devices functioning within the organization, such as accounting applications, reports, (for example Excel, Word, Oracle, Customer relations Management software, databases, etc) all of which would be integrated into one strong framework that the programmer can access for a source of information and manipulate to distribute, transfer and update information. Programmers must use basic program modules in a situational setting. When a programmer is designing a fresh new program but building it upon the basis of an earlier model, then he or she may need to have access to data pertaining to that application, i.e, they may need to communicate with the creators of the earlier program. They may also need to communicate with other team members to determine the specific requirements of the business problem to be addressed. Additionally, they may also need to develop effective search strategies to pull up information quickly and the facility of saving searches can thus be a valuable asset. The programmer must possess the ability to transfer from one interface to the other – for example retain connectively through a mobile phone while also having the ability to communicate information to other members of the team through the intranet or pose questions to the general programmer community through designated web spaces while also maintaining a personal space. These are just a few of the examples to demonstrate how a programmer must be proficient in the use of various tools of technology. Mere proficiency in their use it itself is not enough, the ability to integrate these various tools is also vital because it can produce enormous savings in terms of time and effort – programmers can spend more time thinking through a problem and can develop solutions to problems quickly and efficiently. In the knowledge age, soft skills are becoming increasingly important and since the technological medium is becoming the primary mode of communication, programmers who work in teams would find it very useful to possess a knowledge of how to function within an integrated, distribution system and use the tools of technology. Bibliography: * Baker, Elizabeth White, Al_Gahtani, Said S and Hubona, Geoffrey S, 2007. “The effects of gender and age on new technology implementation in a developing country; testing the theory of planned behavior”, Information technology and People, 20(4): 352 * Cherbakow, L, Bravery, A, Goodman, B.D., Pandya, A and Baggett, J, 2007. “Changing the Corporate IT development model: Tapping the power of grassroots computing”, IBM Systems Journal, 46 (4): 1-20 * Davenport, Thomas H, 2005. “Thinking for a living”, Harvard Business Press. * “Information Management: More than enterprise search”, http://www.microsoft.com/business/peopleready/info/strategic_analysis.mspx; * King, William R, 2006. “Offshoring Decision time is at hand”, Information Systems Management, 23(3): 102-4 * OECD, 2001. “Science, technology and Industry Scoreboard: towards a knowledge based economy”, Paris: OECD Read More