Keywords

Introduction

There is a need to examine the particular context of the public sector regarding the need for Knowledge Management (KM) practices especially in the context of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Therefore, various related aspects have been covered and this also includes theoretical and practical examples by using authentic and contemporary sources. With the upsurge in digital connectivity, government agencies all around the world are utilising information and communication technology (ICT) in order to enhance productivity, increase transparency, improve accountability and facilitate reforms of the public sector (Tambyrajah & Al-Shawabkeh, 2009). Because government agencies are knowledge-based organisations, developing KM is crucial for governmental organisations in KSA at the local, regional or national level. KM has also become one of the ingenuities within most countries’ e-Government Plans (Yahya & Farah, 2009). This research paper presents a synopsis of KM initiatives and developments in the public sector predominantly from developing countries. The main advantage of KM is to maximise productivity in the public sector while augmenting delivery of public service. More specifically, the objectives for KM initiatives, according to Jain and Jeppesen (2013) and Stricker (2014) include:

  1. 1.

    Maximising competencies across all public services by linking silos of information across different levels of government and across borders.

  2. 2.

    Consolidating outdated or developing new systems to improve overall performance and capitalise on a more integrated, broader and more easily reached knowledge base.

  3. 3.

    Improving liability and accountability and justifying risk through the establishment of informed decisions and also resolving issues more quickly, reinforced by access to transparent and integrated information across all managerial boundaries.

  4. 4.

    Delivering improved and more cost effective fundamental services such as increasing partnerships with and awareness among the public.

All of the above-mentioned objectives lead to the sharing of knowledge which is consistent with the survey finding and provides access to expertise and knowledge. As a result, most KM activities establish the retention of lessons learnt and best practices. These activities can be applied to both practices within engagement with citizens as well as with the government agencies.

Government organisations are encouraged to explain and publish all of their non-sensitive public policies online. As the public expects to receive more transparent, open and responsive services from government organisations, they have to recover their ability to engage with the public effectively. Public discussion and public consultation are considered to be the appropriate processes for looking at the ideas, views, concerns and feedback of all stakeholders in establishing, developing and executing public policies and programmes (Chaudhary, 2014). In a large number of developed countries, it is apparent that a central government portal with feedback forums has been introduced, allowing them to engage fully with both citizens and organisational employees. This has usually been one of the first KM activities.

Why KM for Ministry of Justice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Salwa (2010) stated that KSA is one of those countries that are striving to establish a knowledge-based society and this provides a strong reason why the MOJ has been chosen for the formulation and implementation of KM. In addition, to this, there are several functional, operational and management related generic issues that provide the impetus for the implementation of KM in the public sector. These were identified by Ahmed (2011) using the Delphi technique, speaking to 14 extremely eminent Saudi experts in KM. Collectively, their answers classified key obstacles to KM. Ahmed (2011) research leads to the classification of the following obstacles:

  • Organisation barriers

  • Leadership barriers

  • Technology barriers

  • Learning barriers

An increasingly well-informed population needs the public sector to have the best freshly generated knowledge, simply because their knowledge is growing swiftly and they have increasing numbers of notable players in the sector. KM relies on the idea that the most treasured asset of an organisation is the knowledge contained by its employees (Ahmed, 2011); an emphasis enforced by the increasing rate of change presently occurring in the corporate sector and in society in general.

According to Cardoso, Meireles, and Ferreira Peralta (2012), KM has detected that ‘knowledge work’ is involved in almost all types of employment. Therefore, it has been recommended that staff should be ‘knowledge workers’. This is a move away from the traditional reliance on the manual skills of the worker towards a situation in which the worker is valued for the knowledge they have. Thus, in any institute or corporation, the most significant interests and endeavours of any worker comprise utilisation of information, designing and contribution. In this age of advancement, the efficiency and value of government can be enhanced and fortified by utilising KM. On the one hand the public sector and NGOs encounter these contests, while on the other hand they also take good advantage of these changes which are proposed by the knowledge-based economy, globalisation and new development of ICT (De Angelis, 2013).

Four pillars of the Knowledge Economy (KE) framework suggested by Krstić and Stanišić (2013) are as follows:

  • An economic and institutional regime. It delivers criteria, inducements and better economic plans and these further encourage the effective deployment as well as the sharing of resources. Creativity and incentives are also encouraged in order to use current knowledge, creation and dissemination.

  • An educated and skilled population. This type of population has the capability to continuously modify, exalt and adjust their abilities so as to proficiently develop, reveal and utilise data.

  • An effective revolution system of organisations, universities, consultants and research institutes. All of these organisations and institutes make people aware regarding rebellion of information. The stock of global knowledge is not only exploited by different people but they also adjust and integrate it according to local requirements.

  • A dynamic and modern information infrastructure. Efficient transmission, propagation as well as handling of data can be expedited through modern infrastructure (Krstić & Stanišić, 2013).

These four pillars of KE assist the establishment of the sharing and exploitation of data. Consequently, KSA has developed and adopted a specific set group of initiatives by following these four pillars. Additionally, these pillars can also enhance the worth that is included in provisions, properties and the level of Saudi economic development (UNDP, 2010).

Methodology

Considering the nature of this research study in which the KM prospects of a public sector organisation are under inspection, it was vital to engage in the extraction of precise and relevant information from an adequate sample of the population with the help of appropriate research methods. There are various methods of research available which represent certain sets of benefits and certain sets of limitations; i.e. qualitative and quantitative research approaches are two popular methods in this regard. However, in this research context, the use of a mixed method approach has been selected which is also known as the pragmatic research method because it entails mixed use of qualitative and quantitative techniques (Gill & Johnson, 2010). Therefore, it was proposed that both qualitative and quantitative approaches would be used in this study. A questionnaire tool and interview methods were used for the data collection process; i.e. a questionnaire was used to gather data from employees and managers, whereas the interview method was applied for collecting data from executives and heads of different departments in the ministry. This helped with collecting rich data by covering all of the required and relevant aspects related to the research area.

Outlook of Ministry of Justice

The future of KSA as a structural state and the position of the MOJ within that state is a very interesting study. For the MOJ to continue to be viable demands the application of KM to ensure their better functioning. First of all, the existence of 25 different departments within the MOJ reflects the comprehensive nature of this ministry and the broad functioning of this ministry within the country. Financial management, arbitration management, budget management, the planning department, statistics management and general department of information technology are just some of the wide range of departments contained within the MOJ (Ministry of Justice, 2016a). This structure of the MOJ in KSA reflects how a flow of information and knowledge sharing is an essential ingredient that can make or break the adequate functioning and decision-making of the ministry, as the functions of this ministry are sensitive and require careful attention. Figure 39.1 gives the official structure of the ministry and this is taken directly from their official website:

Fig. 39.1
figure 1

The hierarchy of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Source: Ministry of Justice (2016b)

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KM techniques and tools are vital in the context of this ministry because the frequent cooperation and interaction of these departments are essential for the smooth functioning of this ministry which naturally demands the implementation of KM approaches to enable its staff and executives to display sustainable performance over a longer period of time. This point can be emphasised as the KSA consists of 13 provinces (Saudi Embassy, 2016a). Below in Fig. 39.2 is given the map of KSA showing the 13 provinces (their capital cities are listed in Fig. 39.3).

Fig. 39.2
figure 2

The provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Source: Saudi Embassy (2016b)

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Fig. 39.3
figure 3

The provincial capitals. Source: Saudi Embassy (2016a)

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The MOJ has to deal with the operations and issues pertaining to all 13 provinces which ultimately increases the demand to implement KM techniques across the ministry which will also extract the best out of individuals working in the ministry. Moreover, the MOJ also possesses a media centre that operates frequently to issue press releases and news related to the ministry. Therefore, the outlook for the MOJ makes it clear that KM is needed by this ministry.

Sharia courts are the building blocks of the court system in KSA (Al-Farsy, 2009). This structure of the MOJ simplifies the ways for the people of KSA to choose regarding their cases. The department of General Directorate of Training and Scholarship is another vital element of the MOJ’s structure because it develops the individuals working in the MOJ. Within the MOJ structure, the Budgetary department is another key component which has been a centre of controversy in recent years. The Control department is another component operating under the MOJ; i.e. the agency documentation affairs is a core component of the MOJ within which the control department works as a sub-component (i.e. as a control management agency). This department comes under the provision and authority of the Public Administration for Notaries Affairs. This sub-department is also referred to as the Deputy Ministry for Documentation which signifies the importance of this component for the MOJ. This sub-department has also been connected with the General Administration of inquiries and studies. A range of tasks are performed by this department such as follow-up attendance through a request of daily or monthly leave and attendance data; i.e. virtue notaries in writing (Ministry of Justice, 2016c). This sub-department also prepares and studies essential reports related to these activities. The necessary reports are then prepared after investigation with notaries (Ministry of Justice, 2016c).

Public Administration for Research is one of the 25 departments that function within the MOJ. This department tends to draw the established principles by the Court of Cassation (COC) in its principles or judgments developed by the Supreme Judicial Council. This department also prepares specific provisions of the publishing groups along with research preparation and they do this on the formal request of the Department of Justice.

Another task that this department performs is giving responses and answers to the judges’ inquiries (Ministry of Justice, 2016d). The Department of Attorney is another important component of the MOJ which performs diverse activities on a regular basis. Working on the development and follow-up of the profession is one prime task that this department performs along with managing the lawyers’ disciplinary committee. This department also gathers recruit advisers which are formal requests from outside the kingdom. An important role performed by this department is the maintenance of close ties with international, regional and local organisations pertaining to the legal profession. The studies conducted by this department tend to initiate amendments and regulations pertaining to the legal system and profession (Ministry of Justice, 2016e).

Challenges for KM in the Public Sector

KM is increasingly significant for the government as they deal with upcoming challenges faced by the KM economy. These challenges are addressed in the following phases (OECD, 2003):

  1. 1.

    Knowledge has become a basic determinant of intensity and competitiveness in the public sector. Administration conveyance and policymaking are the fundamental errands for government. In an information economy, governments are progressively confronting competition in these areas at both the national and international level. For example, at the global level, non-government organisations and government organisations are in competition with remote organisations conveying comparable administration (OECD, 2003). Exploration establishments compete to draw in the best researchers and subsidies, while universities are progressively in rivalry to attract the most investment from abroad, the best students, the best professors and the best educators. At the national level, rivalry among public bodies has been additionally expanded after the decentralisation forms. In the public sector, products and capital are not as paramount as in the private sector but knowledge seems to be. Knowledge is a vital component of rivalry and is a focal asset of the administration. Successful working of government rests on viable procurement and the spread of knowledge.

  2. 2.

    Private organisations manufacture goods and offer services that increasingly provide intangible capital, competing directly with the public sector in order to deliver the goods and provision of services such as security, science, education and knowledge. For example, as stated by the OECD (2002), through coaching and distance learning of courses and information on the internet, private organisations are enhancing the influence of training for common citizens and are enhancing public education as well; a service which was conventionally offered by the public sector. Because knowledge-oriented private organisations are meeting more customer demands and receiving more customisation, these organisations would also expect comparable advantages from the public sector.

  3. 3.

    Retirement of civil servants and successive exchange of knowledge specialists across government divisions additionally present difficulties for the maintenance of information and safeguarding of institutional memory and the preparation of new staff. There is likewise increasing competition for talent with a capacity to impart learning.

KM Challenges for the Ministry of Justice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Saudi MOJ is in charge of the operation of 154 notary public offices, 272 courts and 13 regulatory branches. Approximately 1600 judges are among the total staff of 23,000 and handle around 1.3 million cases in 1000 listening rooms yearly. The ministry has generally confronted difficulties in transforming huge quantities of cases rapidly, alongside issues such as checking IDs and providing administration in remote areas. These issues were exacerbated by non-existent or outdated system links in a few areas. Server centres had a tendency to serve only in regional or provincial business offices, hampering institutionalised administration conveyance. Finally, the ministry confronted operational expenses connected with utilising diverse innovations as a part of distinct areas (Cisco, 2013).

Cultural Issues

Dehghani and Ramsin (2015) reflected that successful execution of KM in organisations poses the biggest challenge of cultural differences and compatibility. How individuals relate with each other and the dynamics of the MOJ culture as an organisation can be a serious challenge for the MOJ while implementing KM because KM requires the presence of a positive and shared culture.

To ensure that KM fits comfortably with the national cultural ideals, it needs to be emphasised that KM involves all parties; it is representative of collectivism, not individualism and as such should be fully acceptable to the citizens of KSA.

Other cultural considerations associated with KM in the MOJ could be connected to attitudes to overseas workers and to women but these must be resolved internally in a way that does not offend Sharia law or the constitution and emphasises that knowledge held by any individual is of value to the MOJ and must be utilised to its best extent, using a Knowledge Map (KMap) of the MOJ as a starting point.

Communication Issues

Effective KM results can be achieved by introducing, improving and increasing two-way communication, which is essential in organisations (Tıngoy & Kurt, 2009). Therefore, developing and maintaining effective communication throughout the MOJ at all levels can be a serious challenge for the MOJ. This has so far not been fully addressed by the MOJ, although it is an on-going project. It is essential for the development of KM because knowledge held but not shared or used is knowledge wasted (Taylor, 2013). Awareness of the importance of each individual’s knowledge is growing (Girard & McIntyre, 2010) and as it does, sharing and disseminating that knowledge is increasing in importance (Hau, Kim, Lee, & Kim, 2013). As shown above, the MOJ has its own department responsible for the training and advancement of members of the MOJ staff (the General Directorate of Training and Scholarship) and this directorate needs to ensure that ‘effective communication’ is a core subject for trainees.

Lack of Competencies

Proper implementation of KM requires the organisation to possess an aware and skilled workforce who can fit into the KM culture and in this regard managerial competency is of the utmost importance (Dewhurst, Hancock, & Ellsworth, 2013). Therefore, the MOJ can face a shortage of effective and competent managers who are capable of handling and managing KM activities within the MOJ. This is another area in which the training directorate needs to take direct action. The directorate can ensure that every member of staff at the MOJ has at least a basic grounding in the required competencies and that managers are not appointed unless they are competent in every aspect. This is an area the MOJ needs to follow the practices of the private sector and learn from the major companies that already utilise KM effectively and efficiently.

Lack of Leadership for KM

Effective KM cannot be ensured on a long-term basis in organisations if leadership support and participative leadership is unavailable for organisations (Chandrasegaran et al., 2013). Therefore, for the MOJ a lack of effective and proactive leadership can also appear as a challenge in the long-run. Leadership training is an essential key to effective KM (Hmshari, 2013) because unless the management display KM characteristics, the rest of the staff will not do so. If any organisation, public or private, has a shortage of effective and successful leaders, it will not be prosperous or worthwhile. Cultivating leadership in management trainees must be a core element of the programme for the training directorate in the same way that it is regarded as essential in the private sector.

Lack of Employee Engagement and Commitment

A positive and high level of employee engagement and commitment tends to enhance the extent of benefits that organisations can derive from KM activities (Chandrasegaran et al., 2013). A lack of engaged and committed individuals can be a serious matter of concern for the MOJ in Saudi organisational culture. In fact, this is yet another area in which the training directorate needs to take action to ensure that the staff members are valued as Knowledge Workers (KW) (Chu, Krishna Kumar, & Khosla, 2010). This is also closely related to staff retention; not necessarily a problem for the MOJ but nevertheless, the more valued a member of staff feels, the more likely they are to remain in the employment of the ministry.

Lack of Awareness of Knowledge Assets

Where KM should reside holds crucial importance for longevity and effectiveness (Groff & Jones, 2012). For the MOJ, it will be a major challenge for deciding and knowing where KM should reside because this will directly affect the KM initiative within the MOJ.

This is the main reason that it is essential to carry out a knowledge audit and draw up a KMap. The KMap is an essential tool for the knowledge manager because it allows the manager to categorically know what knowledge is where. This allows the manager to utilise retiring staff to pass on their specific knowledge to the new intake so that their knowledge is not permanently lost when they reach retirement (Hau et al., 2013).

Keeping Up with Technology Changes

The awareness, presence and utilisation of technology tools are another major challenge that organisations face during KM activities (Lopez, Peon, & Ordás, 2009). This is because both effectiveness and rapidness are required in KM initiatives and it will be difficult for the MOJ to identify quick and responsive KM technology-based tools for enhancing the end results of KM for the MOJ.

In addition, the MOJ must carefully choose the best technology for their specific needs (Kingston, 2010). There are several different approaches to sharing knowledge and each requires different technological hardware. Thus it is essential to plan both aspects when trying to keep up with technology; it is also necessary for the courts to ensure that any new systems remain compatible with the existing or legacy IT systems in order to preserve older records and knowledge.

Business Needs

Since 1970, the MOJ in KSA has been in charge of enhancing the organisation of a boundless arrangement of courts and judges in a country the size of Western Europe (Library of Congress, 2006). Innovation is presently assuming an expanding part in institutionalising the business procedures of legitimate organisations and enhancing the business discernment, business information (BI) data accessible to judges and legal officials. Modernisation of the organisation of the courts and legal framework had the full support of King Abdullah and will continue under the rule of King Salman. His administration has distributed US$1.9 billion (Sar7 billion) to a reconstructing and updating project covering 478 legal offices (Stensile, 2012).

The undertaking involves making an IT framework at all court structures and public accountant offices in the kingdom. According to the Chief Information Officer at the MOJ, Mr. Majid Ibrahim Al-Adwan, they are working towards updating 400 new courthouses and public accountant offices. The objective is to modernise work reforms. An expanding number of the courts in the kingdom are currently joined with online services and brought together in the framework so that they can be checked and monitored through it (Microsoft, 2012; Wienroth, Morling, & Williams, 2014).

The courts’ organisation framework in KSA in recent years has created a system utilising Oracle running on physical servers. Reacting to the administration’s approaches to the modernisation of business courses of action, the MOJ needed to further create and modernise its administrations through a heterogeneous environment including an alternate major vendor. In particular, it is expected to create a BI framework for courts and other legitimate administrations with open access for more substantial openness and a collaborative environment for public accountants. It additionally expects to redesign the IT infrastructure, including working frameworks and informing arrangements (Microsoft, 2012; Wienroth et al., 2014).

Driving Factors in the Public Sector

Driving factors in the public sector note that the sharing of knowledge is not a natural phenomenon in the corporate sector. It requires a psychological model transformation. A culture of knowledge sharing has to be formed to transform the behaviours and attitudes of individuals working in the organisation as well as to cut down barriers (Bolisani & Handzic, 2014). The suggested structure recommends the following to generate the required transformation:

  1. 1.

    Increase awareness of the advantages of KM. Staff and managers are supposed to be well informed about the changes and benefits that KM can offer them as well as their organisation. Although they feel and acknowledge the power of knowledge, they have to believe in the power of sharing knowledge (Bolisani & Handzic, 2014).

  2. 2.

    Increase the trend of knowledge sharing by building an environment of trust because when people know one another they are more inclined to share knowledge. More knowledge is shared by people if they are more trusting.

  3. 3.

    As an ideal, a leader should encourage knowledge sharing. A champion is required for KM implementation.

The MOJ should establish a formal system for rewards and recognition to foster knowledge sharing. Workers have to be formally rewarded and recognised, not just for knowledge sharing with others but also for their willingness to utilise the knowledge shared by others (Kim, Lee, Chun, & Benbasat, 2014).

It is very important for organisations to create and foster communities of practice (COPs). COPs are organisational centres of knowledge in which individual groups having similar job-related duties but do not participate in an officially established work team generating, disseminating and practising knowledge (Bi & Jiang, 2012). COPs can have a wider significance than simply sharing implied knowledge. These can be productive in the activities of the public sector, either on a specific or generic basis. Organisations need to foster COPs by ensuring the availability of resources and also through permitting members the chance to participate in order to develop and sustain COPs (Bi & Jiang, 2012).

Conclusion

When researching KM and its application within the MOJ in KSA, the importance of this relatively new approach has been clearly demonstrated. There are several key points that have been concluded from the above discussion such as the importance of cultural, technological and communication challenges for effective KM; i.e. both in the specific context of the MOJ and public sector organisations in general. Currently, government as well as non-government organisations throughout the world are facing a delay due to which some hurdles arise in KM. Exploitation of knowledge in services can be enhanced through KM which is integrated with their national systems, dogmas, rulings and strategies. However, hurdles and trials in KM agendas differ according to the situation of the respective country. Some factors can influence and enhance the working environment of a country. The educational and cultural levels of any society, telecommunications infrastructure, technology, research and development, science and technology strategies are some of these key factors that can influence the working environment at large. It is concluded that managing knowledge is a complex process because as they are usually linked to long-term time horizons, a high level of uncertainty, and impacts that are often difficult to quantify. If public sector organisations do not fully comprehend what drives the need for managing knowledge, they may fall into the trap of creating an inefficient strategy and operational plans. It should be noted that for some public sector organisations the key drivers may vary.

To gain sustainable competitive advantage, it is necessary for decision makers to recognise and use a blend of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and non-ICT based KM techniques and technologies. It is advisable to use conventional, simple, low cost and easy to use with minimum training needs KM techniques and technologies.