Knowledge sharing in public service : a case study of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Human Resource Development Forum.
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Date
2015
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Abstract
Knowledge sharing has been identified as the core process of knowledge management.
The aim of this study was to explore knowledge sharing practices in the South African
public service through the lens of communities of practice. The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)
Provincial Human Resource Development Forum (PHRDF) was used as a case study in
order to explore the following objectives: how knowledge sharing occurs, what factors
affected knowledge sharing, what the challenges experienced regarding knowledge
sharing were and what strategies were used to overcome these challenges. The study
also assisted in adding to the literature regarding knowledge sharing in human resource
development communities of practice.
Knowledge sharing practices were identified through the lens of motivation theory,
Klein’s framework of communities of practice theory, the Socialization, Externalization,
Combination, and Internalization (SECI) model and social exchange theory. The study
used the triangulation approach where both the qualitative and quantitative methods
were used, with the quantitative method being the dominant method. Both quantitative
and qualitative data were gathered simultaneously during a single phase of data
collection. The primary purpose was to gather quantitative data through a structured
questionnaire consisting of both closed and open-ended questions. The secondary
purpose was to gather qualitative data thorough a semi-structured interview schedule.
The population surveyed consisted of 23 respondents from the PHRDF and the
interviewees were ten Senior Managers in Human Resource Development (HRD) from
ten different Provincial departments. The quantitative and qualitative data analyses
were kept separate and the results for the quantitative analysis were established using
Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) whilst the results for the qualitative
data analysis were established using Non-numeric, Unstructured Data*, Indexing,
Searching and Theorizing software known as NUD*IST which was later known as
NVIVO.
The findings of the study revealed that the level of knowledge sharing in the PHRDF
was high and knowledge sharing was regarded as very important by both the
respondents and the interviewees. Knowledge sharing mainly occurred through
interactions during the PHRDF meetings such as discussions of pertinent items in the
agendas, presentations of new developments in HRD by experts from national
departments as well as documents posted on the Department of Public Service and
Administration (DPSA) website. It was clear that the Socialization phase of the SECI
model took prominence over other phases during knowledge sharing in the PHRDF.
The findings also revealed that members of the PHRDF were intrinsically motivated to
share knowledge and extrinsic motivators such as incentives and rewards did not
influence the willingness to share knowledge. Challenges regarding knowledge included
the absence of an institutional repository or knowledge portal that kept knowledge
shared during PHRDF meetings and for storing organisational memory. There was low
use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as social media, emails
and online discussion forums in a virtual community for sharing knowledge.
Irregular PHRDF meetings further compromised opportunities for members to meet and
share best practices and new developments.
Strategies to overcome these challenges as suggested by the study’s findings included
the development of a knowledge management policy or strategy which would enable
knowledge sharing to be formalised as well as developing a knowledge portal. The
findings also suggested the exploitation of modern communication technology such as
social media, however, it was emphasized that social media needed to be managed and
controlled for work-related knowledge sharing purposes. Based on the results and
findings of the study, recommendations were made at the end of the study.
Recommendations included the development of a knowledge management framework
and policy that would accommodate the formalisation of knowledge sharing, the
establishment of knowledge management units in the Provincial Departments, the
improvement of the use of ICTs other than websites and inclusion of modern knowledge
sharing systems, the establishment of knowledge repositories for ensuring access to
organizational memory and the development of knowledge sharing strategies such as
rewards and incentives during performance assessments.
Description
Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2015.
Keywords
Knowledge management--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Local government--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal--Management., Government information--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Theses- Library and information science.