Towards a knowledge society

The world is moving towards becoming a knowledge society where its members benefit and progress due to its ability to process, utilize and  share all available knowledge. Individuals gain from this dissemination of knowledge when they have access to education at the basic level and also at higher levels of study, research and technology. The means to access and sharpen one’s knowledge has to be provided by the government in the form of institutes of learning. If this is not provided, we will lag behind other nations in the new world order of knowledge – without the requisite knowledge and skill we will be unable to compete for jobs, resources or anything else. In this new form of society, the quality, quantity and accessibility of information and knowledge are the main pillars, not manufacturing or agriculture or production.

Knowledge is a key resource

In the knowledge economy, knowledge is a key resource and is used to create value, in tangible and intangible form. Knowledge resources such as information, expertise and trade secrets form the backbone of the new inter-connected, inter-dependent, global economy. The knowledge worker – as defined by Peter Drucker ( management guru and author) in 1966- works with his head and mind and comes up with ideas, knowledge and information. In contrast the manual worker works with his hands and produces goods or services.

Thus, in a knowledge economy, there is greater dependence on intellectual capabilities and less so on physical inputs or natural resources. Knowledge workers such as teachers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, engineers and even more so the “knowledge technologists” like scientists, engineers computer technicians, software designers, chemists, biologists, physicists, analysts in clinical labs, manufacturing technologists, paralegals, mathematicians, inventors rule the job market in this economy and become a major force in the corporate and political arena. They connect with others with similar capabilities across the globe and use knowledge to connect economies on the global platform.

Used for technical expertise

In the knowledge economy, knowledge is the main resource – it is used for technical expertise, for problem solving, performance measurement and evaluation, management of big data, human resources policies, framing strategies, guiding innovation, propelling appropriate research when dealing with cross-border, inter-disciplinary global competition.

Countries like USA, Germany, India, Brazil or South Korea are all working to expand their knowledge-base and internalize the knowledge-driven development paradigm – they are investing in higher education, research and development, consolidating IT skills   so as to attract talent, skill, enterprise for a better chance to fight in the world market.