Knowledge management barriers a review of Limerick's local authorities

The aim of this study is to investigate the existence of Knowledge Management (KM) within the Limerick’ local authorities, Limerick City and Limerick County Councils. Further it explores the prevalence of KM, the types of KM activities, and the barriers of KM within the councils. This research has adopted a managerial perspective. A review of the literature was conducted. The research chose a triangulation approach whereby qualitative and quantitate methods to data collection where employed. This consisted of a questionnaire and case studies. Case Studies were based on semi-structured interviews carried out with employees of Water Service and Planning Department within Limerick City and Limerick County Councils. Findings from the research indicated that an overall KM strategy did not exist within the councils. Instead an ‘ad-hoc’ strategy was in place whereby individual department set out procedures for documentation and transfer of knowledge. The main barriers to successful KM were seen as lack of resources, protocols and a poorly managed technical infrastructure. However there was evidence of a knowledge sharing culture that focussed on both tacit and explicit forms of knowledge transfer. It is recommended that a hybrid of codification and personification strategy be implemented in order to combat the current barriers the amalgamated council face with regard to KM. Communities of Practices and a properly managed shared drive should be introduced within the newly formed council to aid in knowledge transfer. The research was limited to a case study of the Water Service and Planning Department due to time restraints. However this area holds particular potential for further research, in particular, due to the timescale the research was conducted within the implementation stage of the merger. Future research would be carried out post-merger which would invariable result in an increased area for research. This research paper was also focussed on the internal environment within the councils, in order to portray the full organisational environment, the external environment must be also analysed. This research contributes to a better understanding of the need for KM within public sectors, especially in relation to KM barriers. It is therefore hoped that this research would serve as a catalyst for future research. Keywords: Knowledge Management, Public Sector, Local Authorities, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Transfer, Communities of Practice, Intranet.