Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

for their division, department and utility? The answers to these questions directly relate to the
business proposition and its success.
Although the capital accounts and asset management are likely to be large and are very
important to all utilities, the real source of overall performance lies in the employees and the
knowledge they possess and apply. As the utility’s environment grows more dynamic, uncertain
and complex (as it will), knowledge becomes of greater importance to overall performance and
sustainability. The critical nature of water with its associated quality and health requirements,
when combined with the complexity of the overall utility system make water utilities highly
knowledge intensive. The realization of the enormous economic value of people has sparked an
intense competition for people, especially workers who want to learn, grow and make decisions
as they gain experience. The younger workers are attracted to knowledge oriented
organizations where they are empowered—and held responsible. Another force pressing utilities
toward becoming knowledge organizations is the loss of senior, experienced people at all levels.
Unfortunately, it is often only when the organization loses knowledge that it becomes aware of
the importance of knowledge.
What is the leadership challenge?
The challenge is to ensure employees have the right knowledge needed for the present and
future demands placed on their utility. What works, and what doesn’t? Where do they find and
get the right knowledge? How does knowledge get to the right individual? How do employees
become aware of the right knowledge, understand it, feel good about it, and be willing to use it
in their work?
Knowledge is not the same as information. When found, if information is the right information,
it can be used immediately. Knowledge, on the other hand, is information put together in a way
that creates understanding, insight, meaning and the ability to take the right action. It takes
experience, study, reflection and time to create knowledge. In most utilities there may be
someone who knows just how to handle any given situation, but does the person with the
problem know who that is? As times change, knowledge is lost when the past actions no longer
work; much is also lost when time is spent trying to find the right knowledge to handle a
situation. In essence, organizations often do not know what they know! This, along with the
rapidly changing world, was the genesis of organizational learning and Knowledge
Management. To maintain utility performance, leaders must build and support a culture,
structure, and management style that help employees create, share, leverage and apply their
knowledge. This is Knowledge Management.
How can knowledge management help my organization? Where’s the beef?
Efficiency can be improved by reducing mistakes, optimizing processes, broadening worker
responsibilities, and reducing time spent searching for documents, information or expertise.
Effectiveness improves when employees know their job, can learn fast enough to keep up with
changing work needs, and know who to tell, or ask, relative to the impact of their actions. When
employees become aware of where, and why, the utility is heading in a given direction, why
changes are needed and what their role is, they can take better actions to support those goals.
Quality of products is not free and it doesn’t come from technology alone, it also takes
knowledgeable workers who observe carefully, understanding deviations and how to create and
maintain quality. Sustainability is more complicated and requires continuous employee and
organizational learning, resilience and adaptability, and preparing for contingencies. Your utility
is probably using some Knowledge Management now, such as teams to resolve internal issues
and networks to facilitate communication.
To be optimally effective means to look at the entire utility from a knowledge perspective,
making KM a central part of overall leadership, management and day-to-day decision-making. It
also means treating people as a major asset rather than as an expense; it means investing in
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