Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Chapter 5: Critical Success Factors and Barriers to Successful Implementation of KM | 41
different often occurs. Further, when management does not have a broad visionary view of what
the utility needs and is perceived by employees as benefiting one division versus the overarching
utility, employee response to the new project will be less than supportive.
Public Perception
If the public customers or governance body do not understand the nature, purpose and
value of knowledge and Knowledge Management to the performance and sustainability of the utility,
they may misinterpret the project and consider it a waste of time and money. To minimize the
potential effect of such external misunderstanding, utility leaders and managers need to carefully
monitor employee and stakeholder reactions and make sure that all interested parties understand
the purpose and payoff of the KM strategy.
Getting Buy-in for the Project
For a KM project to be successful it must have a certain level of cooperation from many
different individuals within the utility. Where employees are complacent, cannot have ownership,
are concerned about potential accountability, it may be very challenging to overcome such resistance.
In some organizations principal resistance comes from first line managers or supervisors
who feel a potential loss of control even though they maintain responsibility and accountability.
Resistance to Technology
Technology may represent a significant barrier to new projects in that it takes financial
resources, may increase the complexity of the current systems through growth, and may concern
many employees who lack the technical expertise and understanding of what the new technology
may bring. Some employees may perceive new technology as another means of exercising control
over them.
Regulations and Laws
Union contracts, city policies, regulations and the lack of flexibility in some laws and regulations
may be seen via employees as additional restrictions and constraints on their freedom to get
the job done. Further, these regulations and laws may be perceived as making it difficult to create
and implement new KM strategies or initiatives.
Utility Culture
The culture of the utility, having been created over decades, may resist new initiatives that
substantially change the relationships between managers and supervisors and employees, and even
among employees themselves. Culture is frequently referred to as “the way the work gets done.”
When initiatives are proposed that may considerably change how that work gets done, they can
cause serious concerns, and perhaps even opposition to new ideas. Employees often develop a
focused mindset and limited perspective of their organization, their work environment and their
place within that environment to the extent that any potential shifting or changing causes them to
have serious concerns. These concerns can easily create opposition to new projects, especially
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