Knowledge management in public works Steven R. Price, PWLF Director of Public Works City of Goose Creek, South Carolina Member, APWA Leadership and Management Knowledge Team The APWA Leadership and Management Committee has introduced a new series of articles entitled “The Great 8” which focus on leadership traits and qualities. This is the eighth series of articles contributed by the committee over the past several years. The Leadership and Management Committee, working with a subcommittee composed of public works leaders with decades of experience, has identified a number of qualities required for success as a leader of a public works organization. The series will explore the following traits over the next eight months:
is greater than ever. A philosophy of faster-better-cheaper requires levels of efficiency and effectiveness not experienced before. As we confront deficits in money, equipment, and manpower, we must also evaluate our assets. The greatest of these is our organizational knowledge. We invest in it, grow it, and develop it. Experience, know-how, and the ability to solve big problems are what make public works professionals unique. But do we manage these talents as our primary, sustainable source of competitive advantage?
1. Vision 2. Charisma 3. Symbolism 4. Empowerment 5. Intellectual Stimulation 6. Integrity 7. Knowledge Management 8. Power of Relationships
Managing Knowledge
“To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” – Henry David Thoreau The public works field is as diverse in responsibilities as it is with challenges—that is nothing new. Neither is the idea of applying business practices to the public sector. But the idea of striving to gain and maintain a competitive advantage— an effort traditionally linked to the corporate world—can be a foreign concept in our universe. The issues of limited funding and staffing we face today are unprecedented. Likewise, the demand for more and better service delivery 20 APWA Reporter
November 2012
In order to survive, our organizations need to recognize knowledge as capital. We must develop cultures that promote knowledge sharing; find and capture information; enable people to discover, organize and share knowledge; create collaboration and facilitate knowledge growth. Knowledge management (KM) is a systematic effort of getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time; helping everyone to share and act on information in order to improve organizational performance. It involves using the ideas, knowledge, and experience of employees, customers, and stakeholders to gain competitive advantage. People in organizations tend to become knowledge silos; poorly connected, with little sharing of good practice, and prone to duplicating work. This proves time-consuming, costly, and can lead to disappointing results. As governments and public
utilities strive for sustainable, sectorled improvement, KM is becoming increasingly critical. Thus, KM provides a set of practical approaches and tools to ensure that we learn from what has happened before and share these lessons. We cannot manage the knowledge in people’s heads, but we can capture, enable and transfer knowledge and best practices.
What is knowledge? In order to understand KM we first must comprehend what constitutes knowledge.1 Knowledge does not come prefabricated. Rather, it is developed through an evolutionary process. The terms data, information, and knowledge are often used casually and interchangeably in everyday working conversation; so it is worth providing some definitions: •
Data is the raw material that forms information (facts, observations, and statistics).
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Information is data with some context or meaning attached. It exists in many forms: words or numbers; in electronic or paper form; as text, image, audio or video. It may be structured (records and documents) or unstructured (carried in people’s heads).
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Knowledge is information that has been put into productive use, made actionable. It is only of value when shared and applied. Knowledge has no benefit if it is not distributed and then integrated in what we do.2
