Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

unfunded mandates. While money is more vocally expressed as an inside constraint, the words
and descriptions are similar for both sets of data.
As can be seen in Figure A.6, politics, time and regulations & laws follow as a group.
Next is change, leadership & management, manpower and public perception, followed closely by
rates.
The barriers most often cited are described below.
Outside Agencies
Economy
Vision
Resources/Water
Public Perception
Rates
Problem Solving
Rewards
New Hires
Initiative
Training
Communication
Size
Workload
Planning
Silos
Knowledge
General
Culture
Regs & Laws
Technology
Buy‐In
Leadership & Management
Politics
Manpower
Change
Time
Money
INSIDE BARRIERS
OUTSIDE BARRIERS
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Source: Project 4003 survey response
Figure A.6 Barriers in the Utility to implementing new initiatives
Financial Resources
Financial resources often represent a significant barrier to KM projects. Obtaining board
approval to spend appropriate funds for projects that would improve Utility performance can
sometimes be quite difficult. Further, with growing infrastructure needs in a down-turned
economy coupled with the public perception that water is a right not a product to be purchased, it
is difficult to move beyond imposed financial restraints. Yet drinking water is a critical resource
that is becoming increasingly scarce.
Time
Time may represent a significant barrier to implementing KM programs in the sense that
employees simply may not have the available time for the implementation process. As one
respondent noted, "Everyone is so busy doing their job that carving out time for this activity can
be difficult." Another individual noted that, "Most staff are very busy and the related time
Appendix A 45
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