Knowledge Management Solution to Challenges of Higher Education in South Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Mutula ◽  
Daisy Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Strategic Processes ◽  
External Pressures ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
State Subsidies

This article presents challenges facing higher education in South Africa and how knowledge management can be applied to ameliorate the situation. Some of these challenges include internal and external pressures for accountability and transparency in the management of the institutions; declining state subsidies; stiff competition from global counterparts; low graduate throughput; declining enrolments; inadequate facilities (e.g. space, ICTs and equipment); ill-prepared graduates for the job market; limited partnership with industry and government; brain drain; bureaucracy and general poor service delivery. The authors submit that South African universities have largely not embraced knowledge management practices and argue that KM integration within the universities’ strategic processes and operations can help address the challenges facing them. The article is largely based on authoritative secondary and primary sources complemented by the authors’ experiences working within university environments in Southern Africa.

Knowledge Management Solution to Challenges of Higher Education in South Africa

2012 ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Mutula ◽  
Daisy Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Limited Partnership ◽  
Strategic Processes ◽  
External Pressures ◽  
State Subsidies

This article presents challenges facing higher education in South Africa and how knowledge management can be applied to ameliorate the situation. Some of these challenges include internal and external pressures for accountability and transparency in the management of the institutions; declining state subsidies; stiff competition from global counterparts; low graduate throughput; declining enrolments; inadequate facilities (e.g. space, ICTs and equipment); ill-prepared graduates for the job market; limited partnership with industry and government; brain drain; bureaucracy and general poor service delivery. The authors submit that South African universities have largely not embraced knowledge management practices and argue that KM integration within the universities’ strategic processes and operations can help address the challenges facing them. The paper is largely based on authoritative secondary and primary sources complemented by the authors’ experiences working within university environments in Southern Africa.

Evaluating Knowledge Management Practices in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

2021 ◽  
pp. 221-245
Author(s):  
Fahmi Ibrahim ◽  
Diyana Najwa Ali
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Brunei Darussalam ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are in knowledge intensive environments and play a central role in knowledge creation and production through research, learning, and teaching. It is important to consider that knowledge plays a vital role to HEIs and thus could benefit from established KM practices. The aim of this chapter is to evaluate the practices or implementation of knowledge management (KM) within HEIs in the context of Brunei Darussalam. It examines the importance, processes and the challenges or barriers of KM practices. The findings demonstrate that among the HEIs in Brunei that have developed KM initiatives, there are differences in the role and approaches. This verifies that KM is multifaceted concept and contextual in practice. Moreover, the findings revealed how knowledge in theory is managed and conceptualised. In conclusion, KM plays a significant role in HEIs in Brunei Darussalam with a contribution through a conceptual KMPro framework which has the potential to provide a guideline for HEIs practitioners to succeed in KM which was criticised as elusive.

Indigenous Knowledge Management Practices in Indigenous Organizations in South Africa and Tanzania

2017 ◽  
pp. 181-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edda Tandi Lwoga ◽  
Patrick Ngulube ◽  
Christine Stilwell
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Indigenous Organizations ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Traditional Communities

Traditional communities have a highly developed knowledge system. They struggle, however, to lobby for critical issues as this knowledge is not documented. The chapter addresses this problem by seeking a suitable knowledge creation model for South African and Tanzanian indigenous organizations. It draws on fieldwork and reviews the literature and organizational websites. It applies Myer's seven C's model (2014) to determine how knowledge management may assist organizations in addressing challenges effectively. The findings demonstrate that Myers's model (2014) has been successful in part in explaining the knowledge management practices of indigenous organizations in these two countries. It is also difficult for indigenous organizations to motivate people to share knowledge because indigenous knowledge is individualized and used as a source of power, status and income in the communities. It is therefore important to promote integration of indigenous knowledge with other knowledge systems for socio-economic growth, and advocating change in institutional structures.

scholarly journals Knowledge management in practice in academic libraries

IFLA Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Shropshire ◽  
Jenny Lynne Semenza ◽  
Regina Koury
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Ways Of Thinking ◽  
Institutional Initiatives

Developments in higher education present disruptions in the normal operations of an academic library. Shrinking budgets, technological innovations, and changes in staffing each cause organizations to question traditional mores and can motivate managers to utilize new ways of thinking to manage workflow and to address evolving institutional initiatives. Knowledge management has emerged as one such way of thinking about management challenges. The authors present basic knowledge management principles, and identify and analyse knowledge management practices at two academic libraries.

scholarly journals The Reality of Applying Knowledge Management Practices and Its Impact on Achieving the Quality of Higher Education in Jordan

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Mohammad Niqresh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Main Tool ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
The University

This research aims to identify the reality of applying knowledge management practices and reveal their impact on achieving the quality of higher education in Jordan, and to identify the concept of knowledge management and the quality of higher education, and uncover knowledge management practices, and determine the components of applying knowledge management in higher education institutions. To achieve the research objectives, the researcher used the descriptive and analytical approach, relying on the questionnaire as the main tool for collecting research data. The research was applied to a sample consisting of (142) workers and those in charge of the educational process at Al-Balqa Applied University, who were chosen randomly. Among the most prominent results of this research is that there is an effect of knowledge management on higher education quality at Al-Balqa Applied University at the significance level (α= 0.05). As the results showed, one of the essential practices of knowledge innovation and creativity is that knowledge management encourages brainstorming to create new ideas and reveal tacit knowledge. One of the most important practices of applying the knowledge is that the university conducts tests on knowledge before applying it, while the essential practice of storing and distributing knowledge is that the university has many methods and means used to preserve knowledge. In light of the study results, the research recommends the need to pay attention to those in charge of the educational process and those working in it, support them and develop their capabilities, and work to implement the knowledge that it possesses through a specialized work team, and the necessity for the knowledge management to work on developing the creative vision of the employees at the university.   Received: 3 November 2020 / Accepted: 3 January 2021 / Published: 17 January 2021

scholarly journals Knowledge management in project environments

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Pretorius ◽  
H. Steyn
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

Knowledge management is widely acclaimed to be a source of considerable financial advantage for organisations. Various authors realise that project environments could also benefit from the creation and re-use of knowledge, including from the lessons learned that should be documented during project close-out. Projects face specific challenges (limited time spans, changing and dispersed teams) and the reduction of project risk, time and cost through knowledge management, may well prove worthwhile.This paper reviews the literature on knowledge management, both in organisations in general and in project environments specifically. A framework for knowledge management is derived from literature. The paper also reports on an investigation of knowledge management practices in four cases within a single South African business environment. Knowledge management practices similar to ones reported abroad were found.A model is proposed for the management of knowledge in project environments, both within a single project (intraproject) and between projects (inter-project) and. guidelines for knowledge management in project environments are provided. It is also suggested that, while the management of explicit knowledge is common in project management, more attention should be given to the sharing of tacit knowledge through human interaction.

scholarly journals Knowledge management practices in the South African business sector: Preliminary findings of a longitudinal study

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Botha ◽  
B. Fouché
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Reference Model ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Business Sector ◽  
The South ◽  
Pilot Survey ◽  
Knowledge Management Practices

This article reports the findings of the first phase of a longitudinal research project on knowledge management (KM) practices in the South African business sector. The overall objectives of the research are to describe prevalent knowledge management practices, to identify patterns and trends, and to develop knowledge management benchmarking and strategic management tools for the business sector. During the first phase of the project a data collection and analysis instrument for a recurring survey of knowledge management practices was developed and verified. The statistical verification of the instrument was based on a pilot survey of seventy-four respondents representing fifty-three companies in the South African industry, using one-way analysis of variance, cross-tabular chi-squared tests and principal component analysis. The data collected during the pilot survey was considered to be sufficient for a first order analysis of KM practices. The survey tested respondent perceptions on six factors scored by aggregation from 24 indicators. The selection of the factors and indicators was based on a KM reference model developed for the purpose of the research. The findings indicated clear patterns of organisational performance related to the factors of the model. The patterns corroborated to a large extent the published findings of research on KM practices in industrialised countries. This provided the confidence to use the preliminary findings as the basis of hypotheses to guide the further phases of the project.

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