As more and more economies are transforming into knowledge economies, organizations are being measured by intellectual capital rather than physical assets.

It is certain that the emergence of the knowledge worker and of the knowledge worker's productivity as key question will, within a very few decades, bring about fundamental changes in the structure and nature of the economic system.

Knowledge work has been recognized as a key sector in most economies across the globe. Amidst economic globalization and the rapid advances in science and technology, this trend has been accelerated in the last couple of decades. The key outcome of this trend is the understanding of knowledge as vital source of competitive advantage for wealth creation. As economies are increasingly moving towards becoming knowledge-based economies, enhancing knowledge workers' performance has emerged as the most important economic issue. The term "knowledge worker" was first used by Peter Drucker in 1959, in his book, Landmarks of Tomorrow. He observed that "we are entering the knowledge society in which the basic economic resource is no longer capital, natural resources, or labor, but is and will be knowledge, and where knowledge workers will play a central role."

Unlike the industrial age workers, whose work was clear and well-defined, the workers of today's knowledge society focus on various roles much of the time. In the industrial set up, a factory worker needs to have only mechanical skill. However, knowledge workers have to perform various roles from management consultant to customer support. They are highly educated or experienced, creative and have practical skills that make it possible for them to use anywhere their intelligence, talent and service. Their main task involves the manipulating or disseminating knowledge. They identify themselves with their role rather than workplace. They maintain highly informal networking with peers, inside and outside their own company. These networks help them to benchmark their personal efforts and their company's competitiveness. Unlike the traditional worker, knowledge workers effectiveness is based on results and credibility, perceived reputation, and network of relationships rather than formal authority, job description, or position in the hierarchy.

Global CEO Magazine, Knowledge Economies, Amidst Economic Globalization, Peter Drucker, Knowledge Economy, Information Technology and Management, Hewlett-Packard, Knowledge driven Organization, Natural Resources, Industrial Economy.