Knowledge Management Solution to Challenges of Higher Education in South Africa

Abstract

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 retention strategies in public sector organizations

“…If a company offers a standardized product or a mature product, it may benefit from a re-use model. On the other hand, if a company relies on tacit knowledge to solve its problems, then the personalization model may be appropriate (Hansen et al 2009, cited in Mutula and Jacobs, 2010).…”

“…Other challenges are employees having no time for knowledge management and a culture that fails to encourage sharing. Kidwell et al (2000), cited in Mutula and Jacobs (2010), explain that relying on the institutional knowledge of some staff with specific expertise and knowledge may hamper the flexibility and responsiveness of any organization. The challenge of converting the information and the knowledge of those individuals and making it widely and easily available to any faculty member, staff person or constituent must be addressed.…”