Original Research

Knowledge work difficulty factors: An empirical study based on different groups of knowledge workers

Jalil Heidary Dahooie, Abbas Afrazeh, Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, Mohamad Reza Ghezel Arsalan
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences | Vol 15, No 1 | a118 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v15i1.118 | © 2012 Jalil Heidary Dahooie, Abbas Afrazeh, Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, Mohamad Reza Ghezel Arsalan | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 30 September 2010 | Published: 16 March 2012

About the author(s)

Jalil Heidary Dahooie, Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran, Islamic Republic of
Abbas Afrazeh, Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran, Islamic Republic of
Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran, Islamic Republic of
Mohamad Reza Ghezel Arsalan, University of Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of

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Abstract

The determination of the difficulty factor in knowledge work can be important for improving the performance of knowledge workers. In this article a regression model for investigating the difficulty of knowledge based activities (KBAs) is proposed. Four factors are considered in the model: Uncertainty, Variability of information, Amount of information and Level of skill and expertise. An empirical study based on 119 jobs from three different groups of knowledge workers (i.e. managerial, professional and clerical) shows that there are significant differences between the difficulty of the KBAs in managerial, clerical and professional jobs, and that managerial KBAs are more difficult than the KBAs of the other two groups.  Furthermore, regression models indicate that Level of skill and expertise is the most influential factor in the difficulty of the KBAs in each of the three groups.


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Crossref Citations

1. A value-based framework for the assessment of knowledge workers
Mohammad Reza Ghezel Arsalan, Jalil Heidary Dahooei, Ali Zolghadr Shojai
VINE  vol: 44  issue: 2  first page: 295  year: 2014  
doi: 10.1108/VINE-05-2012-0017