Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Q23-2: Selecting level 2 indicates that the Utility’s culture is not comfortable with change and
may provide resistance to any KM strategy. Utility cultures are often highly resistive to change
unless they have a history of continuous learning and adapting to a changing environment. In
any case, depending on the size of the utility and the specific KM strategy selected, this level
would indicate the need for a carefully thought out and significant effort to ensure that the
culture would accept and adapt to the necessary changes required by the strategy. A
discussion of culture is included in the Connecting the Dots section of the Preparing phase of
the toolkit process and the APQC best practice report on “Creating a Knowledge-Sharing
Culture” located in the Resource Documents section under Resources.
Q23-1: Selecting level 1 indicates that the history of the Utility is one of stability, and most likely
has a culture which is change resistant. Unless the intended KM strategy requires little or no
change in the current culture, it may be best to address the change requirements before
initiating a KM strategy. Knowledge management involves the creation, sharing and application
of knowledge, all of which encompass learning and change. A discussion of culture is included
in the Connecting the Dots section of the Preparing phase of the toolkit process and the APQC
best practice report on “Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture” located in the Resource
Documents section under Resources.
Q24: The level of trust among Utility employees is ...
Q24-3: Selecting level 3 indicates an average level of trust among Utility employees. While this
may be acceptable to commence a KM strategy implementation, a high level of trust is desired
for maximum knowledge sharing and organizational learning. Using teams, team building and
collaborative groups working closely together to make decisions and take actions on
implementing the KM strategy could improve the overall level of trust in the Utility. Trust in an
underlying theme in the MQI monogram “A Model for Team Learning and Success” and the
APQC best practices report on “Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture”.” Both are available in
the Resource Document Section of the toolkit under Resources. You might also want to review
the “Building Trust” and “Knowledge Sharing” lists in the Idea section of the toolkit under
Resources.
Q24-2: Selecting level 2 indicates that there is a below average level of trust among Utility
employees. Under this condition it may be best to consider the importance of trust among
employees as it relates to a specific KM strategy to be implemented. If trust is significant, the
KM strategy may be delayed until the trust level of the Utility can be increased. A second option
would be to build in a process for trust enhancement during the KM strategy implementation.
Trust is one of the critical factors for any KM strategy and as such, becomes a major challenge
to management and leadership. Trust in an underlying theme in the MQI monogram “A Model
for Team Learning and Success” and the APQC best practices report on “Creating a
Knowledge-Sharing Culture”.” Both are available in the Resource Document Section of the
toolkit under Resources. You might also want to review the “Building Trust” and “Knowledge
Sharing” lists in the Idea section of the toolkit under Resources.
Q24-1: Selecting level 1 indicates that there is essentially little or no trust within the Utility.
Under these conditions it is most likely futile to try to implement a KM strategy before resolving
the trust issue. Resources focused on trust in the toolkit include:
The MQI monogram “A Model for Team Learning and Success” in the Resource
Documents section of the toolkit under Resources.
The APQC best practices report on “Creating a Knowledge-Sharing Culture” in the
Resource Documents section of the toolkit under Resources.
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