Please read the selection, “The Productivity of the Knowledge Worker,” by Peter Drucker.

The selection ends with the following assertion by Drucker: “Each of these requirements—except perhaps the last one—is almost the exact opposite of what is needed to increase the productivity of the manual worker.” If one considers that Drucker held the Scientific Management view of job design, this could be true.

But now, consider the Jobs Characteristics Model (JCM) of Hackman and Oldham (see Chapter 8 of Robbins and Judge).

How does JCM differ from the “scientific management approach” of Frederick Taylor?

If factory jobs were designed according to JCM, what attributes of “knowledge work” would apply to them?

Would Drucker’s assertion still be valid?

Are professional degreed individuals the only ones who can be identified as knowledge workers? Why or why not?