Is Eskom's organisational culture a barrier to knowledge sharing? : a study conducted in the Generation Division of Eskom.

Abstract

The management of knowledge has taken on greater importance in 21st century as more companies compete in the open market. The company that is aware ofwhat knowledge it possess and is able leverage its knowledge effectively will have a significant advantage over its competitors. A major stumbling block to implementation of knowledge management initiatives has been organizational culture. If the culture of the organization is not conducive to knowledge sharing, no knowledge management initiative will ever succeed. This study was focussed on examining the cultural landscape ofthe Generation Division of Eskom in order to understand what impact it will have on future knowledge management initiatives and to provide insight on what issues need to be addressed in order to facilitate a culture of knowledge sharing within the Division. Hermeneutics, coupled with systems thinking, was used to identify the factors within the Generation Division's organisational culture that influenced knowledge sharing. Trust, compassion for fellow employees and mutual respect were identified as critical factors that inhibited the development of meaningful relationships amongst employees which is pivotal to sharing tacit knowledge. This study recommends paying more attention to developing and improving employee relationships than investing in expensive IT infrastructure to transfer tacit knowledge.