Defining measures for the intensity of knowledge work in tasks and workers

This dissertation uses industrial engineering techniques to develop applications for measuring the level of knowledge work in a knowledge worker's job. Creating a variable that describes the level of knowledge work performed by the knowledge worker is crucial in enabling scientific research in the field, creating opportunities for exploring how the type of knowledge worker correlates to other variables.; Knowledge workers are different from manual workers and techniques used to measure and manage manual work do not fully apply to knowledge work. Given the knowledge worker's place in advanced and developing economies, improving our understanding of knowledge workers could have an enormous impact in our economy.; A methodical literature study was designed and implemented and the results were used for the creation of a set of eight knowledge work dimensions that differentiate manual work from knowledge work.; The knowledge work dimensions constitute the basis for two frameworks created in this dissertation. The first framework is the knowledge work conceptual framework, which defines knowledge work as the job knowledge workers do, and as a collection of tasks that compose the job. The framework also defines knowledge work in a continuum, referred in this dissertation as the knowledge work continuum.; The second framework is the knowledge work definition framework, which is a mathematical model to quantify knowledge work. It states that by assessing the level of knowledge work using the knowledge work dimensions we can assess the level of knowledge work in a job. The framework calculates a knowledge work score for each worker that positions each worker in the knowledge work continuum. Two example jobs are used to illustrate the knowledge work definition framework and calculate knowledge worker scores that locate the jobs in the knowledge work continuum.; Using industrial engineering tools to create a variable that describes the level of knowledge work performed by the knowledge worker is critical in our understanding for this important topic. That understanding is essential in enabling scientific research in the field. This dissertation is an important step in that direction.