Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Chapter 5: Critical Success Factors and Barriers to Successful Implementation of KM | 39
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 5.2 Barriers in the utility to implementing new initiatives
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 5.2, 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.
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
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