Type of Safe Motos Innovation - Case Study Example

Type of Safe Motos Innovation The key organisational innovation is in the process of integrating technology in the taxi and transport industry in Africa. The innovation includes the development of a smartphone application for its customers and drivers. In this case, the application has a number of innovation features (Buchana, 2015). First, it enables the company track all the drivers and their each and every move. Consequently, through the safe Motos application, the transport stakeholders, especially the owners can monitor the drivers’ activities on a real time basis. This includes the driver's driving habit as well as their decision-making abilities when faced with out of the ordinary situations while driving. As a result, the innovation has been a major player for promoting drivers evaluation. This is a critical performance appraisal tool, where instead of evaluating drivers through the end justifies the means approach as was traditionally done, the drivers are evaluated on a means justifies the end approach. This means that, traditionally, the driver’s performance appraisal was based on the number of an accident caused and safe drives journeys respectively (Buchana, 2015). Consequently, irrespective of he means through which the drivers arrived safely, such as unreported traffic rules violations, such drivers were registered as competent. However, through the safe motos application, all this changes. In this case, rather than just evaluating the end, the means to achieving it is equally evaluated. In this context, the drivers’ decision-making skills and ability to ensure the safety of the passengers even in extraordinary situations forms the basis for their appraisal systems respectively. Consequently, the innovation forms a basis through which the drivers’ competency and reward systems are evaluated. A second element of the organisational innovation is its customer focused application system. Under the innovation, customers are able to request for Taxis online through the application. In this case, the system allows for the evaluation of drivers location and their commitments. Thus, the nearest drivers are allocated the customers for increased convenience and the reduction of the consumers wait time for the taxis. In addition, for the customers, the application provides different payment opportunities through which the customers can pay through mobile money, a payment system that has expanded and continues to gain popularity in the African continent. Adoption Attributes The adoption of the Safe Motos technology has had many attribute and implications on the customers as well as the taxi vehicle owner. On one hand, there has been an increased customer service level in the Rwandese taxi industry. Traditionally, the industry was characterised by low customer services. In this case, each of the taxi drivers set their own operational terms and standards. This was because it was hard for the taxi company and employers to micro-monitor their every trip and service to customers, as well as the bureaucracy hindering the customers from reporting such low customer service instances to the taxi company owners for the appropriate courses of actions (Chonghaile, 2015). However, through the Safe Motos application, this challenge has been mitigated. On one hand, the application provides the customers with the actual distance for the requested travel, based on the pickup point and the indicated drop point and destination. As such, the application allows for a standardised charge per a kilometre of travel. This means that the drivers cannot oppress the customers through price hikes in peak seasons. Similarly, it allows for customers reporting back to the taxi company on the driver's conduct. As such, there is an opportunity for a feedback and reviews by the customers. This ensures that any below expectations customer service by a driver is reported and noted for appropriate actions. On the same note, drivers who offer above service and ensure customer satisfaction are equally noted and the reward system applied accordingly. The adoption process and effectiveness can be illustrated by a large number of taxi companies in Rwanda that apply the technology. In this case, it has been reported that through the technology application process, the rates of deaths and accidents in the Rwandese taxi industry has been exponentially reduced. In this case, through their ability to monitor drivers’ actions, taxi companies such as Uber have effectively developed a driver’s evaluation approach which ensures that the rogue and unfit drivers are weeded out of the Company. Moreover, through the understanding that every move is monitored, the Tai drivers conduct and discipline has increased exponentially. The success of the approach application has spilt over to neighbouring nations in the Eastern Africa region such as Uganda and Kenya respectively. First Mover Approach In the evaluation of technology application, the diffusion of the innovation (DOI) theory comes into play. In this case, the theory argued that the level of technology innovation adoption in organisations varies. As such, the model developed a lifecycle approach where the different levels of technology application are grouped based on the time and stage at which an organisation applies technology. In this case, the stages include the innovators, first movers, early majority, late majority and the laggards respectively (Reyes et al 2625). A critical evaluation of the Safe Motos Company and the applied technology indicates that the organisation is a first mover. In this case, it applied a technology approach that was not common in the African continent. In its application of the safe motos application, the organisation served as a pioneer in the industry. This was an application that occurred in an industry that traditionally relied on the manual operational systems common in the Taxi business. The adoption of this technology and application development coincided with two main developments. First, was the rising number of persons using taxis in the Rwandese society. This is as a result of a developing market and earnings in the market (Scully 45). A more and more people moved to the middle class and the economy in main centres such as Kigali slowly evolved into a 24 hours economy, the demand for Taxis. Thus, based on this development, it is apparent that the Safe Motos Company was a first mover investor, an approach that took advantage of a growing market to establish market loyalty and presence at the industry’s formative stages respectively. Secondly, the first mover approach is evidenced by the rising use of smartphones and internet infrastructure and connectivity rise in Rwanda. In this case, the competition of the Safe Motos application idea coincided with a period where the use of Smartphones and the spread of internet connectivity in Rwanda were increasing. Thus, this is an illustration that the idea was a first mover approach to take advantage of market changes prior to waiting for the competition to build. In this case, rather than waiting to emulate an existing market innovation, the Safe Motos Corporation ensured that it was a pioneer in the innovation and idea development. Protection strategy Once an innovation has been developed, the next step is to ensure that the Company benefits from such an innovation. In this case, the highest risk in the market is innovation replication. Thus, it is imperative that an organisation develops a system to ensure the protection of the innovation rights and benefits. In a bid to ensure that the organisation safeguards the innovation, it has a copyright (Mehmood, et al 352). Through the copy regulations, the organisations reserve the right to distribute and offer the application to the market. As such, no competition ca directly emulates the venture application features an offer it as a competitive product. In addition, the organisation ensures the programme protection through the retention of a high secrecy system on the programming of the application. As such, rather than the products belonging to the developing employees, it belongs to the organisation. Moreover, the employees, even if they leave the organisation, they are legally restricted against sharing such information. If shared, the employees or the ex-employees would be held legally liable. Complementary Assets The organisation has additional supplementary assets that promote its innovation success and sustainability in the long run period. The complementary assets range from the tangible physical assets to the intangible assets respectively. The analysis of organisational assets includes the use of the resource based view (RBV) model. Under the model, the author argued that organisational assets are mainly classified into two main categories, namely the tangible and the intangible assets respectively (Taher 156). In the evaluation of the Safe Motos Company, this review illustrates that the Company has both the tangible and the intangible complimentary assets. One of the key tangible assets is its current financial base. Over the year, the company has established a strong financial base, and currently has a reasonable profitability margin and a stable financial base. This offers the company the required financial ability to develop and continuously improving on its current motors safety application. Moreover, this has empowered the venture to spread and expand its influence and reputation across the East African region and expects to venture into the Southern and Central African regions respectively. On the other hand, the organisation has additional complementary intangible assets. One among the complementary intangible assets is a market reputation. Since its roll out in Rwanda, the safe Motos application has created a difference in the Taxi industry. In this case, it has increased service delivery in the previously unruly industry, and reduced the number of accidents resulting from drivers’ recklessness (Ngoboka, 2015). As such, this has earned the application and innovation market brand equity through the existence of a positive reputation. Consequently, this serves as its main marketing end for market growth and expansion both in Rwanda and beyond. The second intangible supplementary asset for the Company is its employee workforce. In this case, the organisation has developed a large pool of talented and skilled employees in the market. In this case, its workforce is both experienced in human relations, in client management and customer care services, as well as in technical skills in developing and continuously improving the application features. Appropriability Strategy The applied organisational innovation strategy is appropriate for the East African Taxi industry. On one hand, the industry was facing challenges in creating stakeholders inclusion in the management and operations. In this case, there was a major disconnect between the taxi industry shareholders and the customers. In this case, there was a communication barrier, and this reduced he effectiveness of customer service delivery, satisfaction, and loyalty respectively. As such, the development of the new application was a befitting market strategy that resolved an existing market challenge. Moreover, due to its spot on approach to an existing business challenge, the organisational innovation strategy was a viable option as it has enabled the venture earn profits as well as increase its market expansion strategy. Works Cited Buchanan Patrick, ‘ICT startup gets boost to develop safer taxi moto rides, The New York Times. < http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-02-15/186003/> [Accessed: 6th April 2016]. Chonghaile, Clar Ni, ‘SafeMotos helps Rwanda separate 'good drivers from the crazy ones' The Guardian. < http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/dec/28/safemotos-rwanda-motorbike-taxis-road-safety> [Accessed: 6th April 2016]. Reyes, Darwin R., et al. "Micro total analysis systems. 1. Introduction, theory, and technology." Analytical chemistry 74.12 (2002): 2623-2636. Scully, Gerald W. Constitutional environments and economic growth. Princeton University Press, 2014.Print Mehmood, Khawar, et al. "A practical approach to impede key recovery and piracy in Digital Rights Management System (DRM)." Applied Sciences and Technology (IBCAST), 2015 12th International Bhurban Conference on. IEEE, 2015. Taher, Mahdieh. "Resource-based view theory." Information Systems Theory. Springer New York, 2012. 151-163. Ngoboka, Ivan, ‘Two IT geeks out to end taxi-moto accidents’, The New Times. < http://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/article/2015-05-31/189288/> [Accessed: 6th April 2016]. Read More