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Technologies in the Workplace

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Knowledge management through the development of knowledge repositories: towards

word degradation
by
Laurent Taskin and Gabriel Van Bunnen (2015)
Words count: 2327

1. Introduction
This report is based on the article knowledge management through the development of
knowledge repositories: towards work degradation by Laurent Taskin and Gabriel Van
Bunnen (2015). The article focuses on the consequences of the use of knowledge repository
lead to work degradation. According to Taskin et al., (2015) knowledge-sharing system
resulted deskilling and work degradation in employees with resistance. The article questions
whether knowledge management could contribute to the standardisation of knowledge. The
author first illustrates the relationship between employees (i.e. deskilling work through
standardisation and intensification) after the introduction of the knowledge repository and
how this led them to resistance strategies and have resulted in an impoverishment of
organisational knowledge.
The knowledge management system is a concept that used to capture, develop, share and use
efficiently information and resources within an organisation. It has been argued that the
employees are reluctant to share their knowledge through the information technology-based
system (in this case is SRIPEL) results failed in a large number of knowledge management.
Knowledge repository can provide access to codified knowledge and preserve and it is the
key of managing knowledge in terms of codification strategy (Gray, 2001). Taskin et al., use
the example of implementation and use an electronic knowledge repository called SRIPEL
in a Belgian public agency. This report will be using Bravermans Labour and Monopoly
Capital (1974 as cited in Taskin et al., 2015) thesis to explain how knowledge management
are related to deskilling. This report will also present the theoretical approach of the paper
focusing on work degradation and deskilling then analyse the use of methodology, discuss
the main findings of the article and conclude with conclusions.

2. Theoretical approach
Taskin et al., show the theoretical approach in the article when explaining from a technical
process to a relational process in knowledge and towards organisational knowledge and job
disqualification. Attewell (1987) shows organisational environment, strategy, culture,
managerial philosophy, technical criteria and employee resistance were influenced by
management strategy (Gray, 2001). In simpler words, the impact of knowledge repositories
on the workforce can be regulated by using the management choice of control method.
The issue of technological determinism and the influences of the knowledge repository still
remains to be addressed. In Bravermans Labour and Monopoly Capital (1974) thesis is that
there is an inevitable tendency towards degradation and deskilling of work as capitalists
search for profits in increasingly competitive economic environments. (cited by Noon,
Blyton & Morrell, 2013, pg. 147) In other words, deskilling is the characteristics of the
technological change in the capitalist labour process, but not the inevitable result of
technological change at work. However, Braverman does not suggest that technology alone is
the source of deskilling. He also argues that task specialisation leads to knowledge
fragmentation and force higher levels of productivity. However, according to Marxs (1967
as cited by Gray, 2001) terminology, it is an attempt to increase the relative surplus value via
technology by making individuals work faster through the use of the knowledge repository.
Distinguish tacit knowledge from explicit knowledge, is the kind of knowledge that is hard to
transfer for one to another by either writing or explaining it. In other words, people have to
know each other in order to share their tacit knowledge and sharing knowledge is generally
about communication knowledge within a group of people. Knowledge sharing behaviour
through SRIPEL has a positive influence when the employees perceive colleagues and
supervisors are supportive and when they experience autonomy in their job.

3. Methodology
Taskin and Bunnens (2015) article are based on an exploratory qualitative approach on a
case study. This data took place in the Human Resources (HR) department of a Belgian
public agency, Healthdesk. Data was collected between April and September 2010, through
the combination of six semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis (i.e. annual report,
press articles, organisations websites, and knowledge management policy and toolkit) and

direct observation. The interviewees were the main stakeholders of this knowledge repository
called SRIPEL implementation: the HR Director, the project leader, one-unit manager, two
employees and one of the 15 experts in charge of operating the knowledge repository (i.e.
process owner). The duration of the interviews ranged between 58 to 90 minutes, with an
average of 71 minutes, where took place depending on the preferences of the interviewees.
All interviews were recorded and fully transcribed with the exception of the project leader,
who refused. The interview data were imported to Nvivo7 for coding and this process was
organised following a content analysis based on themes and categories (i.e. work
standardisation and work intensification) (Paill & Mucchielli, 2012) as cited by (Taskin et
al., 2015).
Taskin and Bunnen used this approach is because the aim was to focus on how and why
something may happen and by using this research strategy, it allows us to access employees
perception, decision processes and organisational (dys)functions (Yin, 2009; Miller and
Friesen, 1982) as cited by (Taskin et al., 2015). However, Taskin and Bunnen point out that
there are some limitations such as the limited number of interviews.

4. Results and discussion

This section of the report will explain the background of SRIPEL and describe the findings
of the article then analyse it. The HR director introduced an electronic knowledge repository
called SRIPEL in order to improve problems when the department was audited by internal
clients as not sufficiently efficient. The HR department of Healthdesk is composed by five
interdependent units, each with one specific human resource process (recruitment; selection
and mobility; working conditions and payroll administration; and personal development;
organisational development; and knowledge management). The introduction can be used to
disempowering or empowering strategies in the organisation and often provides opportunities
for managers to change the way they control the employees (Attewell, 1987 as cited by Gray,
2001)
The horizontal and vertical division of labour is high in the HR department. Work is
structured by standardisation because of employees are specialized and are even called
advisors. The purpose of introducing SRIPEL is to avoid extra workloads of the
employees and provide a single database of timed and reliable data for all staff but actually it

is the opposite. The employees complained that it was giving them extra work as they had to
do this during their working hours. The meeting with the employees were organised in the
start of June 2008. The project leader and process owner reviewed and fragmented the
processes together. Through the RACI method, i.e. asking who is Responsible, who Assists
completion of the task, who must be Consulted and who must be Informed was used by the
project leaders, so no critical knowledge was forgotten.
There were two main levers observed regarding work intensification by the Taskin and
Bunnen. First is the capturing knowledge within the system. Taskin and Bunnen argued that
there is lack of legitimacy in SRIPEL as the expertise were meet to validate the process
once the revision of one process is finished. Two knowledge managers were hired to optimise
the use of SRIPEL. According to the employees, SRIPEL is seen as a waste of time.
Other than that, from the employees point of view about this hiring has increased control in
direct hierarchical. The employees were only allowed to write electronic updates or comment
that they noticed on SRIPEL and only the knowledge managers have the authorisation to
decide whether or not to change the content. From this example, it is clearly shown that the
employee is not exclusively controlled, but also captured and standardised. However, the
agents take full advantage of the knowledge retention they have in order to oppose
themselves to their own control. This strategy shows how the impoverishment situation of
organisational knowledge can be produced in management from those wished for at the
origin, for example, reinforcement of organizational knowledge. One of the many reasons
why the employees are so resist about SRIPEL is that they were afraid that their places are
replaceable because by contributing their knowledge in an ongoing basis to SRIPEL, the
employees gave up their unique claim to their contextual knowledge (Gray, 2001).
Braverman (1974) argues that it is greater loss to the worker when the labour process is
reduced, thus they are no longer are knowledgeable of the broader work process and make
them replaceable.
Second is using SRIPEL to transfer knowledge within the organisations between
employees. The training sessions were provided to all the employees of the HR department of
Healthdesk to ensure they can effectively transfer knowledge by using the system. However,
the trainers faced a high absenteeism level from the employees in the training sessions even
though their presence were strongly recommended by their managers. It is because the
employees think it was a waste of time. They also reported that the training session increase

their workload and lack of time to attend the training. Taskin and Bunnen observed the
implicit between the process owners and the workers despite the requirement of the
hierarchical. The other reason why the employee still reluctant to take part in the project is
because of withholding knowledge. For example, in a meeting, one senior employee retained
his knowledge instead of sharing it with the junior employees while some of the employees
prefer to ask their colleagues for information instead of using SRIPEL. The employees feel
like links in a chain and report deskilling.
Taskin and Bunnen were not expecting to record work experiences (by using SRIPEL) that
would affect the relationship between employees and work or deskilling. For example, if a
photocopy machine has broken down, the staff do not have to seek help from the technicians,
but because of the introduction of SRIPEL. In other words, the electronic knowledge
repository is removing the employees ability to use their knowledge as contributions in
exchange relationships, thus affect the relationships between the employees. Through the
implementation of SRIPEL in Healthdesk, it shows that HR policies impoverished the
knowledge introduced in the database is poor and even falsified and leads to fragmentation
task through the time lost in reporting expertise and activities. According to Segrestin (2004
as cited by Taskin et al., 2015) work, SRIPEL is seen as having the potential to set new
rules of coordination and to rearrange procedures of work. He also mentioned that in order to
ensure a kind of coordination, SRIPEL is use to constrained managerial strategy.
Taskin and Bunnen observed the differences and similarities of work disqualification and the
fragmentation of work in line with Friedmanns (1956 as cited by Taskin et al., 2015) works.
In Friedmanns word, the machine (SRIPEL) is intercalated more between the worker
and her/his output and led to knowledge fragmentation. For example, it does not fit the
purpose of the experts work in the activity of reporting their knowledge is perceived as the
administrative operation and mechanistic. Another similarity that Taskin and Bunnen
observed is the work disqualification. The SRIPEL seems to isolate the individuals instead
of creating creative and original collective knowledge sustaining individual knowledge
creation. In terms of the differences, Friedmanns (1956) outlined that the contrast between
the designers and users of the SRIPEL does not lead to specialisation in terms of
knowledge mobilised by the experts.

The employees reported the SRIPEL as a threat to the richness of the work in this case
study, especially when it was deployed in different strategies of resistance such as the
boycott, falsification, and withholding. The benefaction from the scope does not necessarily
entail censures on a specific HR policy negatively, but well to illustrate that these policies are
always the result of a social process involving choice and often negotiate between
management and labour (Edwards and Wajcman, 2005 as quoted by Taskin et al.,). One
cannot force employees to transfer their knowledge and build a collective knowledge capital
and the knowledge repository was reported abandoned due to the strategies of resistance.

5. Conclusion
In summary, the part of the research on Taskin and Bunnens article is such a critical work
and shows the evidence of on the work degradation as the effect of the new technologies
(SRIPEL) used in the context of knowledge management. The two main process involving
towards work degradation is that organisational knowledge impoverishment as a result of
employees resistance and job fragmentation and standardisation caused by deskilling. It also
shows that the use of SRIPEL affect the relationship between the employees within the
organisation. Other than that, the main limit of this research is that the limited number of
interviews and its exploratory characters, as well as the consideration of the SRIPEL
strategy.

6. References
Attewell, P., (1987). Big Brother and the sweatshop: computer surveillance in the automated
office. Sociological Theory, 5, pp. 87-100.
Braverman, H., (1974). Labour and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the
Twentieth Century. (New York, NY: Monthly Review Press)
Edwards, P., & J. Wajcman, (2005). The Politics of Working Life. (Oxford: Oxford
University Press).
Friedmann, G., (1956). Le travail en miettes (Paris: Savelli).
Gray, P. H., (2001). The Impact of Knowledge Repositories on Power and Control I the
Workplace. Information Technology and People, 14, pp. 368-384.
Marx, K., (1967). Capital. (New York, NY: International Publishers)
Miller, D., & P. Friesen, (1982). Structural Change and Performance: Quantum Versus
Piecemal Incremental Approaches. Academy of Management Journal, 20, pp. 867-892.
Noon, M., P. Blyton, & K. Morrell, (2013). The Realities of Work: Experiencing Work and
Employment in Contemporary Society. Fourth edition. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
Paill, P., & A. Mucchielli, (2012). Lanalyse qualitative en sciences humaines et sociales.
(Paris: Armand Colin), (3me d).
Segrestin, D., (2004). Les chantiers du manager. (Paris: Armand Collin)
Taskin, L., & G. V. Bunnen, (2015). Knowledge management through the development of
knowledge repositories: towards work degradation. New Technology, Work and Employment,
30(2), pp. 158-172.
Yin, R. K., (2009). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. (Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications).