Introduction and Implementation of Knowledge Management Systems at Budget Car Rental Company - Case Study Example

Introduction and Implementation of Knowledge Management Systems at Budget Car rental Company Abstract This report investigates the effects of implementing a knowledge management strategy and respective methodologies to Budget Rental Car Company. The impacts as well as the benefits are discussed in this paper. Knowledge Management Systems have arisen due to increasing demand for quality and speed of service by both staff and clients of Budget Rental Car Company. Information and knowledge have become the avenues through which problems in businesses are solved. Hence, knowledge management is the basic opportunity aimed at achieving numerous savings, competitive advantage and achieving substantial improvement in the performance of human resource. In this perspective, to enhance management of knowledge in the organization, information accessibility is vital and it involves effective methods of reuse and access of documents such as databases, full-text-search and hypertext linking. Technological networking through groupware and intranet are key solutions to knowledge management (Addicott, McGivern, Ferlie, 2006). Contents Abstract 2 Contents 3 Executive Summary 5 In reality, the world has come to realize the importance of managing records for the purpose of extracting information from them. Exploiting these records for the purposes of solving day to day challenges then have taking advantage of that knowledge gained from data repositories. A range of strategies are utilized by the management of organizations regarding how data will be collected and employed in making processes more efficient. After careful and intuitive collection of ideas and thoughts form productive members, the information is then analyzed and implemented to bring about innovative products and services. Knowledge management is often explained within two dimensions; the first dimension is to take the components of activities related to business as linked to strategy and practices that should be implemented in all levels within an organization. The second dimension involves making direct association between the resources related to generation of logical and intellectual assets which have the effect of inducing encouraging results. KM involves many processes, but the main ones include the discovery of new talent within the company, generation of new information, and ensuring that there is a way that the information can be easily shared. Although this definition varies from profession to profession, the essence of knowledge management remains the same. He further goes on to state that just as in all management principles, knowledge management is interlinked with other management strategies such as change and risk management. 6 Introduction 7 Strategies for enhancing knowledge 8 Assessment 9 Measuring contribution 10 Rewarding/motivation 11 Important issues to ponder 12 Technological 12 Physical assessment of employees 12 Motivation 12 Contribution 13 Implementation of Knowledge management policies 13 Why Budget Car Rental should Undertake KM Efforts 14 Example of Knowledge Management Tool 15 Implementation of Intranet across Budget Car Rental 15 Road map to implementation 16 Adoption of the intranet as a Knowledge Management Tool 17 Conclusion 17 Executive Summary In reality, the world has come to realize the importance of managing records for the purpose of extracting information from them. Exploiting these records for the purposes of solving day to day challenges then have taking advantage of that knowledge gained from data repositories. A range of strategies are utilized by the management of organizations regarding how data will be collected and employed in making processes more efficient. After careful and intuitive collection of ideas and thoughts form productive members, the information is then analyzed and implemented to bring about innovative products and services. Knowledge management is often explained within two dimensions; the first dimension is to take the components of activities related to business as linked to strategy and practices that should be implemented in all levels within an organization. The second dimension involves making direct association between the resources related to generation of logical and intellectual assets which have the effect of inducing encouraging results. KM involves many processes, but the main ones include the discovery of new talent within the company, generation of new information, and ensuring that there is a way that the information can be easily shared. Although this definition varies from profession to profession, the essence of knowledge management remains the same. He further goes on to state that just as in all management principles, knowledge management is interlinked with other management strategies such as change and risk management. Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. is one of the leading service providers in the transport industry. Their core business is in renting automobiles for the sake of commercial or consumer use. The company was started in 1958 and has evolved to become one of the biggest names in the car rental industry. Operating in more than one hundred countries, the company has continued to endear to the market through its quality of service and enhancement of the customer experience. Having a large fleet of cars and large human resource requires the organization have checks and balances in place in order to increase both efficiency and quality of service. It is hence imperative that the company adopt knowledge management strategies in order to stay ahead of the competition. Introduction What is knowledge? As Simmers (2008) discusses and summarizes, knowledge can best be defined as the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association. Research has shown that knowledge is the application of facts in order to solve problems that could be hindering person. Knowledge is often described as an infinite asset because it is the only asset that increases when it is shared. It is also described as information received and applied in the performance of activities. In addition, knowledge is related to the experiences of people in organizations and societies. Many scholars and researchers have forwarded the concept of knowledge as a resource and an intangible asset and forms part of the so-called intellectual capital of an organization. In order to fully understand how knowledge based value creation works, an understanding by management on what it is and how it relates to the competence of the firm is crucial. Most times it is information combined with understanding and capability. It lives in the minds of people and is based on individual experiences, beliefs and expectation. Scholars have often put it that knowledge provides a level of repeatability, reliability or predictability that usually stems from the recognition of patterns. For example, an astute executive knows the significance of the dollar figures on his /her company’s income statement and this makes him/her capable of taking positive action. It also guides action, whereas data and information can merely inform or confuse. Discusses and summarizes, knowledge is the product of individual and collective learning which is embodied in products, services and systems. Strategies for enhancing knowledge There are several strategies for enhancing knowledge management in the organization and the adoption of each strategy must take into consideration the natural diversity of the employees. For example, some employees are outgoing while others are quiet and may contribute little knowledge towards the knowledge sharing in the organization. The strategies include assessment, measuring contribution, identifying technological requirements and the use of rewards to motivate the employees to open up and share their knowledge with the rest. Assessment Through assessment, the assessor gets to know his/her employees better. Several methods for assessment include observation, use of questionnaires and short interviews with employees. Through observation the assessor identifies the natural capabilities of the employees to share their knowledge with the rest. This can be seen in the manner in which the employees interact and try to promote team work with each other. Natural communicators are therefore singled out from quiet employees. The second method is the use of questionnaires (Andriessen, 2004). The assessor should develop leading questions aimed at identifying the views of the employees towards each other and specifically in the subject of knowledge sharing. For example, “does employee Y get along with you” “Do you share your knowledge with the rest of the employees” “Are there instances when other employees failed to share their knowledge with you? “Which employee do you think is a natural communicator and which one do you regard as naturally quiet”. Such questions help the assessor to identify the views of the employees towards one another since they spend more time together. The use of interviews directly with employees would also help to identify how much an employee can share his/her knowledge with the rest. Each employee should be interviewed on area of his expertise as well as areas outside his expertise. In order to identify the extent to which an employee can share his knowledge, an open statement such as “tell me about……” should be used. Natural communicators may want to explore a wide range of issues they know with regard to their expertise while quite employees may use very few words and touch on very few areas. Measuring contribution As mentored above, employees are different and their differences must be taken positively. While other employees may constantly want to pass information to the rest, other employees may not be interested in such information. As the manager, you should identify an interactive session where employees can meet and share their knowledge on how to make the organization a success. This would give every employee an opportunity to contribute to share their knowledge regarding a common subject. However, the interactive session must be carried out off working hours to ensure that employees are only engaged in a common subject. In the situation where an employee makes a contribution that saves a substantial amount of financial resources while another makes many but small incremental improvements, the two should be regarded as equal. Quality should determine the manager’s measurement of contribution since every employee in the organization desire to be recognized for their contributions whether small or big. If the contribution is from a team, the team leader should be apportioned a larger proportion of the contribution due to his/her extra efforts to coordinate the other team members. After the team leader has been apportioned his share of the contribution, the rest should be apportioned according to the activeness of the team members. The team leader should provide vital infroamtion regarding his members’ contribution in order to single out the active and dormant members in the team (Enbasat, Zmud, 1999). Technology is very important in the sharing of knowledge. However, resource limitations may hinder effective sharing of knowledge amongst the employees. The availability of BMC remedy (CRM), Microsoft share point and Enterprise E-mail (Microsoft exchange) are important systems which can aid in sharing of knowledge. In this connection such technologies such as Web server 2007 should be used because it contains enhanced elements which facilitate communication between different parties. It necessitates improved worker access to information, unified messaging, improved calendaring and improved access to the web. Due to its mobility features, employees can share knowledge even when they are not physically together. Additionally, technological tools for social computing such as blogs, wikis and bookmarks necessitates the creation, transfer and capturing of knowledge and they enhance knowledge sharing among the employees (Wright, 2005). Rewarding/motivation Effective sharing of knowledge can be enhanced through rewarding the employees who outstandingly contribute their skills and knowledge with others in order to make organizational activities a success. Both tangible and intangible reward strategies can be adopted. Tangible strategies include the use of material items such as money or certificates of excellence. However, due to limitations of resources, intangible motivational strategies such as the use praises, sponsoring for training and workshops should be adopted. Outstanding employees in knowledge sharing should be given the first priority to attend to external trainings and workshops because they are highly likely to share the knowledge they acquire with other employees. Important issues to ponder In light of the above issues related to knowledge management, the following factors must be put into consideration. Technological That the available infrastructure such as intranet with Microsoft Sharepoint back end, corporate email with Microsoft Exchange back end and BMC Remedy Customer Relations Application be used widely to enhance knowledge sharing in the organization. Physical assessment of employees I also recommend that assessment of employees with regard to knowledge sharing be undertaken from a physical perspective through the use of such methods as interviews, observation and use of questionnaires. This will enhance a realistic and a practical approach to the issue of sharing knowledge in order to enhance the abilities of the employees to spread their knowledge to their colleagues (Ferguson, 2005). Motivation Due to insufficient financial resources in the organization for motivational purposes, the organizational management should adopt the intangible methods of motivating employees, such as the use of praises, sponsoring for training and workshops to enhance the skills for those employees who display outstanding capabilities in knowledge sharing. Contribution The manager should provide an avenue through which employees can interact and share their knowledge. However, this should only be done through specific questions developed by the manager to guide the discussions either in the boardroom or outside in the open air. Implementation of Knowledge management policies Budget Car rental Company is an organization that has over 1800 rental locations all over the World. The organization is large to the extent that it has approximately nine hundred and twenty staff, who are currently undergoing training at various company facilities. The organization is also at the forefront in the establishing research and development initiatives regarding service provision to their valued clients. The company as highly rated as one of the best car rental service providers. Founded in 1928, the company has grown in leaps and bounds. The rental organization has endured a number of challenges in its years of existence. Itis known for innovation in coming up with new car rental procedures and techniques and all this is attributed to the importance the management in the company, place on research initiatives. The company has an annual expenditure of millions dollars devoted to research, and is never short of achievements as it boasts to have the best techniques in how to handle intricate and demanding conditions that are present. (Ferguson, 2005). The organization has devoted its time and energy into collecting knowledge from all staff. The company has apparently been doing this for the last seventy-five years since its existence. With an existing educational programmed involving ways in which this knowledge can be passed from person to person at the time they need it in an organized manner is one of achievement that the company can try ensure that processes are streamlined. Why Budget Car Rental should Undertake KM Efforts Members of the organization can meet and discuss on the importance of implementing a knowledge management program in the organization as the general idea is that once implemented, the benefits accrued will not only apply to the profits of the organization but will also enable efficiency in work processes. It is the purpose of this paper to dissect these claims and assess the ones that will be of the most value to the clinic. Typical deliberations of executing such a program include: The organization is bound to benefit from the Facilitation and management of innovation and organization learning. This goes hand in hand with leveraging the expertise of people across the organization helps group and individual to share valuable organizational insights. Increasing network connectively between internal and external individuals. Intractable a wicked problems Managing the intellectual capital and intellectual assets in the workforce (such as the expertise and know-how by key individuals). With the new program, there is no need to reinvent the wheel per se as the organization can trim down training time for staff. The program will also market current innovations that the organization would be currently pursuing. A knowledge management initiative make certain that Market places are increasingly competitive and the ratio of innovation is rising. Decrease in recruitment forms a need to substitute unofficial knowledge with official techniques. Early departure of staff from the organization and their escalating mobility leads to the organization losing knowledge. The need for lifelong learning is an inescapable reality as also the number of challenges especially in the car rental field. Most of the work is information based as experiences from one specialist is of great importance to another (Wright, 2005) Example of Knowledge Management Tool Implementation of Intranet across Budget Car Rental Simmers (2008) sampled and found out that with a high number of staff and clients as well as automotive resources within the organization, there is a serious need for a clear and strategic method of gathering information from all the specialists within the organization and this can only be done by integrating information technology in all the processes that are used in the handling of records. Records management and knowledge management can better be managed with the assistance of information technology. The company can decide to implement an Intranet which will be used across the organization in order to display information to whoever needs it at the right time. Road map to implementation The organization can decide to incorporate an intranet that was to be used in the storage and display of information such as documents, forms, charts and graphs, pictures & scanned image, databases & corporate and organizational calendar. The intranet will be commissioned by the organization to contain relatively static information, somewhat dynamic information and highly dynamic information. Within the relatively static information are: benefits descriptions, policies and procedures, forms, organizational charts, news letters, document templates, facility locations & maps and minutes of meetings. Some of the dynamic information listed on the organization’s intranet includes phone listings, internal job listings, project data, including their summaries and schedules. Highly dynamic information on the website incorporated daily news, corporate contacts, individual employee data, email address listings, corporate calendar (Andriessen, 2004). Adoption of the intranet as a Knowledge Management Tool After the intranet is implemented, the challenge will come in the form of sensitizing the users on how to use the intranet and how the new system would ease normal business operations. Instead of refusing to adopt the new technology, users will be advised and educated on why operations within the organization will be made much better as there will be faster access to data. A good example of this is how the intranet incorporates web based reporting tools which enables information to be accessible anywhere and anytime. Within the system is a central source for user self help (Online training, user guides). The intranet is shown to reduce the cost of employee training as there is now a new single application interface. After all this is highlighted to the staff, adoption was made much easier as the technology savvy members of the organization led the way in adopting the technology (Ferguson,2005 ). Conclusion Knowledge sharing is a vital factor in every organization because it enhances the transfer of knowledge from one employee to the other. Through knowledge sharing, managers become less worried about the shift, resignation or absence of employees since their responsibilities can be undertaken by others. However, it is imperative for the manager to assess the capabilities of each employee to share their knowledge with others since each individual has different capabilities. Through observation, interviews and use of questionnaires, the manager can draw vital information from the employees regarding the abilities depicted by each one of them. Interactive sessions must be invented by the manager to enhance the interaction between employees. This opens up those employees who are naturally quiet to contribute their share of knowledge. Read More