The extent and methods of training needs assessment in youth organizations in Kinango district, Kenya

Abstract

The management of knowledge is promoted as an important and necessary factor for organizational survival and maintenance of competitive strength. To remain at the forefront organizations need a good capacity to retain, develop, organize, and utilize their employees’ capabilities. Knowledge and the management of knowledge appear to be regarded as increasingly important features for organizational survival. The objective of the study was to determine knowledge management as a strategy for achieving competitive advantage in private primary schools in Ngong division in Kenya. The research design was a survey of private primary schools in Ngong division. The study used both primary and secondary data which was collected using a questionnaire. The data was summarized using descriptive measures, percentages and frequency distribution tables while tables and graphs will be used for presentation of findings. The findings from the study were that most of the schools do not manage knowledge. Knowledge management has helped schools to achieve reduction in operational costs, development of appropriate plans to compete successfully with other schools, makes knowledge profitable, avoids information overload to individual teachers, helps in the use of corporate information strategically and ensures privacy and security of information. The schools which have adopted knowledge management have gained competitively over other schools through exploitation of resources effectively, identification of the schools opportunities, assist in focusing current and potential market place change for opportunities, been able to scan its environment better, enhancement of competitor risk evaluation and the schools’ have been able to achieve performance leadership in national exams from the knowledge management practices it has been adopting. The challenges facing the management of knowledge in the schools consisted of the existence of a gap in knowledge management between new employees and the rest of the staff, the existence of a gap between knowledge management practices recommended by the top management and the one adopted by the school, existence of mismatch between the schools’ knowledge management practices and the external business environment, existence of a gap between knowledge management in schools and one expected in the market and the existence of a gap in the budget between the current knowledge management requirements and those available.