Knowledge as Asset: Case Studies in Public and Private Organisations

The Rail industry has a long standing and distinguished record of contributing to economic and social development within Australia, and continues to be an essential infrastructure of Australia’s transport system. It also... [ view full abstract ]

The Rail industry has a long standing and distinguished record of contributing to economic and social development within Australia, and continues to be an essential infrastructure of Australia’s transport system. It also has an important influence on efficiency and competitiveness to other industries, especially those industries with an export focus such as mining and agriculture.

In the last two decades, Australia’s railway sector has undergone significant changes. Initiatives by the Commonwealth and State Governments to promote more competition and efficiency within the rail industry (Hilmer 1993) have resulted in an increase in private rail activity and a decline in government ownership and management of railways.

A consequence of the reform process has been a large scale reduction in employment within both sectors which now face significant constraints with regard to the availability of appropriately skilled and trained labour to meet its growth potential (Price Waterhouse Coopers 2007). A critical resource embedded within rail organisations is the knowledge that workers bring to work every day. Knowledge is created in people and transacted through the networks of people that they know. Furthermore, as an engineering driven domain, knowledge about the many physical assets is a critical aspect that contributes to the success of this industry. The importance of knowledge as a source of wealth is not new. Druker suggested that knowledge is now the basic economic resource (2006) and hence can be seen as an industry and organisational asset. The downsizing and restructuring of the ARI has seen significant loss to both public and private sector organisations intellectual assets and has created challenges to public infrastructure provision and delivery of services.

This study uses a social network analysis approach to determine how Australian Rail organisations, both within the private and public sector, transfer, store and ultimately utilise their intellectual assets. The intent of this study is to determine whether public and private sector organisations exhibit different characteristics in transferring knowledge within and between infrastructure projects, and whether these differences will require a resultant shift in best practice thinking.

This presentation will focus on a comparative study of case studies in public and private organisations within the Australian Rail Industry. It will discuss knowledge as an asset and its criticality for retainment and the implications of privatisation and developing ‘silos’ of knowledge. It will outline the possible measures that can be adopted to overcome the public/private divide and maintenance of the knowledge asset.


Drucker, P.F. (2006) The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done, Harper Business, UK
Hilmer (1993) Hilmer was the Chairman of the Independent Committee of Inquiry into Competition Policy in Australia and is commonly referred to as the ‘Hilmer Report’

Price Watershouse Coopers (2007) The Changing Face of Rail: A Journey to the Employer of Choice. Attraction and Retention of Employees in the Australasian Rail Industry. Industry Report for the Australasian Railway Association Inc