For those who haven't noticed, Jim McGee has been thinking a bit about knowledge work. In an old note, he mentions a CIO Magazine article by Davenport on the subject.
What he doesn't mention is that his is the only reader feedback letter in the September 1, 2003 issue of CIO: Knowledge Workers Should Watch Themselves
It's encouraging to see Tom Davenport direct his June column ["A Measurable Proposal," June 1, 2003] to the world of knowledge workers and how we might make them more effective. ...
McGee's concern with the article is that Knowledge Work doesn't fit the reengineering mold of mechanical and repeatable systems. Davenport's return argument is that he agrees. However, McGee also said that knowledge workers are the only ones who can evaluate the quality of their work, and Davenport disagrees with this point, suggesting that the end results of knowledge work had better be something the CEO (and others) can value. Of course, CEO's are probably knowledge workers too.