FACTORS AFFECTING IMPLEMENTATION OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN STATE CORPORATIONS IN THE NATIONAL TREASURY IN KENYA (Published)
Globally government institutions are faced with demands to change and modernise their operations so as to facilitate development in the new ‘knowledge’ economy. Failure by Government Institutions to adopt knowledge management practices poses challenges in preservation of institutional memory due to frequent transfer of knowledge workers. Ineffective implementation of knowledge management practices leads to inadequate capacity to sustain Government projects which impacts negatively on the economic growth of the country. The study investigated the factors affecting implementation of Knowledge Management Practices. The objectives of the study included Organisational Structure, Organisational Culture, Information Technologies and Human Resource Capabilities. A census survey of middle level managers from Human Resource and Technical operations department based in Nairobi was conducted, using a structured self administered questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS. The findings revealed that organisational structures in Government organisations are hierarchical which hindered sharing of information, the existing organisational culture does not support and encourage creation and sharing of knowledge amongst employees, inadequate skills in information technology and computer networks to facilitate sharing of knowledge hindered knowledge management practices efforts and lack of defined responsibilities for knowledge management (KM) initiatives affected execution of KM in organisations. Recommendations included flexible organisational structures to support distribution of knowledge, a strong culture that values trust, openness and sociability to stimulate knowledge sharing, investing in information infrastructure to support distribution of knowledge and acquisition of requisite competencies and skills on effective implementation of knowledge management to ensure sustainability.
Keywords: Knowledge Economy, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Workers
Knowledge Management, Eco-Efficiency and Corporate Greening Strategy in Africa A Case of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Ogoni in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (Review Completed - Accepted)
The paper explores the linkages between Knowledge Management (KM ) initiatives, eco-efficiency and corporate greening strategy in Africa .It draws from a case analysis on the 1993 shut down of oil exploration of SPDC on Ogoniland in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria as a result of massive protest against the company’s operation. After comparing the concept of greening with the conventional notions of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the paper argues for corporate greening in Africa as it seeks to provide answers to questions such as; how has KM been designed to accommodate greening, more importantly, what specific green KM practices do the SPDC observe and to what extent has that been practicable and environmentally sustainable?. On the other hand ,what green strategy and initiative did they not observe which ignited massive protest and shut down of its operation by the Ogoni people? Both primary and secondary sources of data were used as it argues that KM could be influential if it is broadened to embody greening in CRS. Results from the analysis indicated that significant relationship exists between poor corporate greening culture and increased rate of environmental degradation. Evidence included oil spill, pollution, lack of cleanup, communal crisis arising from oil rents etc. The paper proffers alternative “green’ and ‘people based’ KM initiative and makes policy recommendations.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR, Eco –efficiency, Green Strategy, Intangibles, Knowledge Management