An evaluation of knowledge sharing in South African local government

Knowledge sharing abilities are fundamental to the success of an organisation to meet the needs and demands of the customers. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the Knowledge Management Systems that can be used to improve the knowledge sharing culture among local government employees. The study used an inductive research approach which included a thorough literature review, and therefore there was no data collected. The study found that there are a number of problems associated with knowledge sharing within South African local government organisations. The organisational culture within municipalities was found not to support the view that an organisation should value the ideas and knowledge that employees create. The study also revealed that some municipalities have many information technology systems in place, but employ several systems in different departments without an enterprise system to integrate these systems. The study therefore recommends that local government must ensure that knowledge sharing practices and initiatives are fully supported and promoted by top management.