The Role Of Information Knowledge & Value in The Late 20th Century

Martin Kenney

A Summary Daniel Sen FSLE IV 27007

The Foundation
Value addition in products due to harnessing human creativity Intellectual components gaining importance Unbundling becoming increasingly possible Five sections in article
Knowledge & Value Creation Influence of Technology on knowledge Acceleration of obsolescence of goods Difficulty of privatizing knowledge Importance of software as a commodity

Knowledge & Value Creation

Emphasis on creation & exploitation of knowledge Human ingenuity leading to development of modern economies Workers have greater collective skills Value creation goes beyond working hours Social space has become the workplace Greater intellectual content in production processes Intellectual capability takes a central place in an economy

Influence of Information Technology On Knowledge

Creation, handling and information handling - driver in social production process Increasing digitalization of information Computer capability enhancement aiding reductionism Data processing time significantly reduced Increase in data processing capability Strategic Business decisions made in lesser time Human intervention required in monitoring, analysis & control to increase efficiency

Innovation & Goods Obsolescence

Knowledge creation is the key to differentiation in the marketplace Reduction in product life cycles Product obsolescence is gaining ground Rapid change in business in all industries Obsolescence is an increasing cost for business Requirement of shorter turn around time and work in progress Physical aspects no longer determine product value Greater the embedded knowledge in the product the greater is the perceived value

Importance of Intellectual Property

Intellectual property rights encourage innovation Need for protection of Intellectual property increasing More complex to protect than physical property Intellectual and social creations also under the purview of property
Patents Trademarks Copyrights

Driven by firms who have financial interest in limiting access to others State power & technology used in enforcing protection

Importance of Software in Value Creation

Software now both a service and a commodity One time production required with subsequent reproduction opportunities Cost of reproduction high Duplication chances are easy Consumers invest more in learning than the developers Many ways of preventing duplication are now being put in place by software manufacturers

Conclusion
Information processing & knowledge creation twin drivers of value creation in global economy Obsolescence is more prevalent today due to innovation Knowledge has greater value than just time to market Balance required between protection & availability of knowledge Value creation through human creativity is the central theme of contemporary capitalism Software is the central pivot for capitalist accumulation Knowledge creation is no longer an individual but a social process