CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
6.6 What are the communication tools and human resources available for effective KM within
As indicated by 57% of the respondents there are open communication channels within the KZN DPW that would be effective in supporting a KM initiative if implemented. In terms of the tools used for communication, 72% respondents regarded bulletin boards or e-departmental notices (circulars) as the tool used most commonly within the Department to access information. The study also found that tools such as emails sent through the intranet and the
120 Departmental database are used to access information, while other KM tools like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, mobile phones etc. are not utilized, as indicated by 57% of respondents.
When Directors were questioned about whether the KZN DPW has sufficient technological tools that will assist effective KM, one of the Directors agreed that it does. Three Directors who were of the view that the Department has insufficient technological tools to support KM initiative surpassed this. One of these Directors said, “The fact that the KZN DPW is not a learning organization means that the same applies to our ICT.” This implies that the Department should invest in ICTs that will help a KM initiative to be a success. Buckova (2015:393) concurred by pointing out that in order to build an environment where employees are capable of practising KM, the public sector organization must develop a complete IT infrastructure. Technology is of value especially in the public sector organization where the establishment of the entity for information service delivery has to be significant to the citizens (McEvoy, Ragab and Arisha 2017:42). Additionally, after implementing a KM initiative, ICT can assist in the methods of managing knowledge by capturing, organizing, and distributing that knowledge within the organization (Romanelli 2017:560).
Since organizations require individuals to create knowledge, they should be positioned appropriately according to their expertise and qualifications to produce the desired results.
Buckova (2015:395) advised that, it is crucial that the employees of a public sector organization are continuously educated in order to acquire more knowledge and skills to enhance their performance as well as the relationship with citizens. The finding arising from the interviews revealed that all Directors felt that employees within the KZN DPW had been placed according to their skills and qualifications, and they know how to do their jobs. This finding is supported by the results from the questionnaire, where it was revealed that 85% of respondents stated that their colleagues know their area of expertise in terms of their jobs. Performance management assessment was a mechanism identified by all Directors, which is used to revisit employees’
skills annually to check if their duties continue to correspond with their skills. Should the Department decide to implement a KM initiative, then KM practices should also form part of assessments in terms of performance for the initiative to be fully effective, this will allow employees to accept easily the initiative.
One of the role of HR is to ensure that the organization does utilize its knowledge for productivity (Aziri, Veseli and Ibraimi 2013), for example, by ensuring that retiring or departing employees’ knowledge is captured and retained accordingly. The results from the questionnaire
121 revealed that 49% of respondents stated that there are procedures within the Department that capture tacit knowledge of retiring employees. The results also revealed that 31% of respondents did not know about such procedures while 20% of respondents indicated that in their view the Department does not have such procedures in place.
The interview results correspond with the 20% of the questionnaire respondents as four Directors were of the opinion that, no system is in place to capture the tacit knowledge of retiring employees. However, two Directors identified an exit interview or questionnaire as a way for the Department to capture such tacit knowledge. One Director stated, “There has never been a time where the exit interviews for a particular period are discussed at a senior management level.” As a result, valuable tacit knowledge is being lost when employees exit the Department. Since knowledge retention is not enforced within the Department, one of the Directors had resorted to taking the initiative of capturing sectional knowledge using tools such as a folder within a drive that can be accessed by all colleagues within the section. This finding concurs with that of Ramohlale (2014), who found that within the Department of Defence, some respondents were practising KM on their own. The questionnaire results revealed that 61% of respondents indicated that they would benefit from processes to help them to contribute in KM practices; this can only be achieved through the implementation of KM initiative.
The questionnaire results also revealed that the KZN DPW does not have a component through which KM can be facilitated that can coordinate the supply of information to sustain imperative decision-making, as indicated by 40% of respondents. On this matter, 34% of respondents stated that they did not know whether such a component existed, while 26% of respondents were of the view that a KM component is available within the Department. On the other hand, some respondents 44% have that extraordinary knowledge that they like to share with the Department but there is no sharing platforms available to do so. Moreover, 62% of respondents revealed that they would benefit from templates that would help them to easily capture and disseminate knowledge acquired from conferences and meetings. In addition, 52% of respondents indicated that the Department does not have a Knowledge Management Officer who can manage the intellectual capital of the Department. The study conducted by Ramohlale (2014:142) also found that the Department of Defence lacks KM professionals and a component dedicated to managing the intellectual capital of the Department, as there is no formal KM initiative implemented and no awareness with regard to KM. Wiig (2000:17) study also encourages
122 public sector organizations intending to implement KM initiative effectively to create a KM component within the organization.