Public Servants as Competent Practitioners of Knowledge Management

Public servants are knowledgeworkers. Management of their knowledge as a central resource of public organizations is a major determinant for effective and efficient organizational performance. To participate successfully in organizational knowledge management, public servants need to have competencies related to knowledge management practice. To date, the literature has discussed the competencies of knowledge managers and central knowledge officers, but lacks a comprehensive analysis of competencies needed to participate in organizational knowledge management. This chapter outlines the process of knowledge management on the basis of six stages: acquisition, creation, sharing, codification, storage, and use. It describes which competencies are needed to master these stages of knowledge management, taking into consideration the specifics of public sector organizations. Public organizations may develop their own competency frameworks related to knowledge management practice from this analysis to guide employee selection in recruitment or employee development and training.