Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

of the Utility where collaboration is supported. A discussion of leading and managing consistent
with a KM strategy is included in the Executing phase of the toolkit process.
Q12-1: Selecting level 1 indicates a strong control-oriented management which, depending on
the specific strategy considered, might prevent success. In this case efforts should be made to
move the Utility from a control-oriented approach to a collaborative, or perhaps mixed,
approach, depending on the specific needs of the Utility. A discussion of leading and managing
consistent with a KM strategy is included in the Executing phase of the toolkit process.
Q13: The level of leadership involvement with the workforce [as described by
“management by walking around”] is ...
Q13-3: Selecting level 3 indicates some degree of personal interface between leaders and their
employees, which would aid in the implementation of a KM strategy. On the other hand, if the
Utility has leaders who remain aloof from their employees, these parts of the Utility may have
difficulty accepting and implementing a KM strategy. A discussion of leading and managing
related to a KM strategy is included in the Executing phase of the toolkit process.
Q13-2: Selecting level 2 indicates that leaders do not maintain close contact with employees,
and therefore may not provide personal support to KM strategy implementation. Both
leadership and management roles in implementing a KM strategy are very important because of
the typical changes in culture and behavior that occur throughout the Utility as part of the
strategy. A discussion of leading and managing related to a KM strategy is included in the
Executing phase of the toolkit process. In addition, a discussion of Becoming a Change Agent
is included in the Preparing phase of the toolkit process.
Q13-1: Selecting level 1 indicates that leaders are relatively aloof from their employees and it
would be unlikely that they lend personal support to the KM strategy. If this condition is correct,
it may be best to delay implementation of the KM strategy until leadership has time to digest,
analyze, understand and recognize the importance and long-term contribution that a KM
strategy can provide to the Utility. A discussion of leading and managing related to a KM
strategy is included in the Executing phase of the toolkit process. It may also be useful to
review The Business Case for KM in drinking water utilities that can be accessed through the
White Papers section of the toolkit under Resources. An additional resource is to scan the
Case Examples and Project Studies (also under Resources) to find success stories about
strategies and initiatives similar to those you propose.
Q14: In my Utility leadership’s acceptance of change is ...
Q14-3: Selecting level 3 indicates a somewhat slow acceptance of change in the organization.
To the extent this is valid, leadership may be hesitant to accept significant changes in culture,
policies, or "ways of doing business." Since the role of leadership is to set the tone and
reinforce the importance of the changes resulting from a KM strategy, it may be wise to get
leadership more on board before commencing a KM strategy for the Utility. Such preparation
time may pay high dividends in the future. A discussion on Becoming a Change Agent is
included in the Preparing phase of the toolkit process.
Q14-2: Selecting level 2 indicates leadership is typically resistant to change and this may
present a strong challenge to a successful KM initiative. It may be necessary to put off the KM
initiative until leadership can be persuaded of the value and need for the anticipated changes.
Another option would be to implement a KM initiative that can validate the value of change and
D-12
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