Analytical study of the status of Knowledge Management Components in of Yazd Municipalities

Nowadays, the importance and management of knowledge in organizations is undeniable. In the age of organizational competitions, an organization's survival and ability to cope with environmental changes is contingent on its ability to employ new management tools and approaches. Knowledge management is no exception and the increasing literature on knowledge management in recent years reflects the efforts of organizations to apply it. Managers of large organizations have found that knowledge management is the only competitive advantage of today's organizations in the long run. In recent years, similar to other organizations, municipality has considered knowledge management as a strategic issue. Accordingly, measures such as specialized meetings to document the experiences of managers, putting knowledge management on the list of research priorities of the organization, etc. have been performed. Therefore, the need to pay attention to knowledge management in the municipality is well understood. The Municipality of Yazd as part of our country's extensive municipal complex as well as an organization striving to reform and improve its structures and processes so that it can play a role in the improvement and beautification of the city and the provision of civil, green space, beautification, finance, social and cultural services effectively and successfully. Knowledge management is one of the most important tasks that can help improve the level of performance of the organization in the current situation. In this regard, by identifying the administrative structure and structure of Yazd municipality and determining opportunities and threats to this organization, it is proposed to present a strategic model of knowledge management and its effectiveness by promoting urban management development. Due to the importance and practicality of the subject under study, it is an important hypothesis that in the important and influential organization and decision makers such as Yazd municipality, applying knowledge management and its components including information technology (IT), category leadership, organizational culture, human resources (HR), mechanism and process, organizational structure are effective on increasing and improving management development. Therefore, to what extent can this issue improve the conditions for management development in Yazd Municipality?

The present applied study employed “descriptive-analytical and correlational" research methods due to the nature of the subject and its components. The data collection was done via two "documentary and survey (Questionnaire) techniques. The statistical population consisted of managers, deputies and experts of municipalities of Yazd (287 individuals). A sample size of 102 participants was selected based on the Cochran formula. In this study, to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated by using of SPSS software with preliminary studies for a sample size of 30 and the alpha value for knowledge management questionnaire was 0.964. SEM, second-order confirmatory factor analysis, one-way ANOVA, and one-sample t-test were used to analyze the data.

First, to confirm the status of knowledge management (6 factors), the confirmation model of the second multivariate factor in the software environment (PLS) was drawn and studied. The results showed that factor loadings of knowledge management components and regression coefficients of each component were positive and significant. It is also acceptable that the confirmatory factor model is higher than the regression coefficients of organizational structure, HR infrastructure and organizational culture relative to other sub-components. To investigate whether there is a significant difference between the components of knowledge management in Yazd municipality, one-way ANOVA was employed. The results indicated that six districts of Yazd municipality with significant organizational culture and mechanism and process variables as well as knowledge management variable itself are significant. Using analysis of variance, only significant differences can be calculated, not differences among the districts, so Duncan's test was used for differences among districts. Duncan's test results showed that in terms of "organizational culture" component, district 3 was higher than other districts and ranked first and other districts ranked last. In terms of the “mechanism and process” component in the old district has the highest rank and the rest are in the last rank. Also, in terms of knowledge management variables, districts 4 and 3 are in the highest and the other districts are in the last ranks. To investigate the conditions of knowledge management in Yazd municipalities, one sample t-test was used, indicating that knowledge management was lower than average in all districts of Yazd City.

Knowledge management is one of the most critical factors in improving employee performance, the success or failure of managers, and the competitive advantage of organizations in the third millennium of development. Knowledge management is a prominent management strategy that can succeed in all organizational structure through optimal use of the extensive knowledge available in organizations. In particular, the technology age has created an opportunity for local government agencies (municipalities) to demonstrate the character of a knowledge-based organization, which is summarized in the knowledge competence of its employees. The results of the data analysis showed that city municipalities do not have good knowledge management process. The differences revealed that there is a large difference between municipalities in the components of knowledge management. According to the significance of knowledge in the age of technology competition, organizations such as the municipality need the training of knowledgeable and elite people to better manage and develop the today’s cities where many problems are involved. Based on the results, the variable condition of knowledge management in all municipalities of Yazd was lower than average which requires more and better attention of competent managers and deputies. The results are consistent with those of Roland and Seyedehsan (2004), Gold (2012), Pour Jafari (2011), Rahman Seresht (2010), Lee and Kim (2001), Vatani (2008).