Knowledge management practices in Malawi

Abstract

In the 21st century, knowledge management has become as important as information technology and has therefore, led to significant gains in productivity and profitability. However, few organisations in Malawi have implemented formal knowledge management systems. The question arises as to whether such organisations do not have knowledge management practices in place at all, or whether such practices are more informal. This article reports the results of a study that looked at the extent to which Malawi organisations have knowledge management practices in place. A survey was done using questionnaire to establish how widely knowledge management practices were used by 40 organisations in different sectors in Malawi. Overall, 15-knowledge management practices were identified as the most important practices. The main findings was that although, most Malawi organisations may not have a formal knowledge management system, knowledge management practices are in place and that they benefit employees. Respondents accept that organisations in the future will be forced to introduce formal knowledge management practices by endogenous and exogenous factors. Key words: Knowledge management, knowledge management practices, tacit knowledge, KM, Malawi.