KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES IN KENYA

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between KM practice and the performance in public service sector with a special focus on government ministries in Kenya. The study focused was on two practice dimension namely sharing and re-use of knowledge. A conceptual framework had been formulated to guide the study along the two variable dimensions. The study adopted descriptive research design to provide a detailed, highly accurate picture, could locate new data that confirmed or contradicted new data, among other advantages. The target population of the study was the national government ministries, which were 20 in number and the population of the study were the ministries headquarters. Similarly, the unit of analysis were the ministries while the unit of observation was the 224,600 employees of the 20 ministries in Kenya. The sample size for the study was 384 that was proportionally redistributed to every ministry. The sample was drawn from the population using simple random sampling technique to promote generalizability and representativeness. Computer generated random numbers were used. The study collected data using questionnaires which were semi structured to allow both qualitative and quantitative data. A pre-test of the instrument was conducted to determine the reliability and validity of the instrument and necessary adjustment was done based on the Cronbach's alpha value cut off of 0.66. The data was cleaned, coded and entered into SPSS for both descriptive and inferential tests to determine the level of practice of knowledge management within the national government ministries in Kenya.