Knowledge Management System: ofTransport for London - Case Study Example

Knowledge Management System Name Date Course Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Transport for London case study 4 3.0 Actors knowledge 4 4.0 Knowledge Required 5 5.0 Components and Functions 7 6.0 Lifecycle Model 8 6.1 Creation of Knowledge 8 6.2 Sharing of knowledge within the organization 9 6.3 Structuring of the Knowledge 9 6.4 Use of knowledge 9 6.5 Monitoring and Evaluation 9 7.0 Conclusion 9 8.0 List of References 10 Executive Summary Transport for London intends to enhance the standards in the industry by shortening the time taken to train the taxi drivers and hence reduce costs. Knowledge management system is an important tool that can be used for the purposes of solving the problem. Electronic document and Knowledge management system is useful in managing the knowledge in the sector and hence enabling the training of the taxi drivers within a shorter time. The use of technology like knowledge bases together with fitting GPS and Google systems can play a significant role in solving the problem faced by the industry. This will benefit all the actors involved. The lifecycle of the knowledge management system will also be carried out in five steps. Continuous monitoring and evaluation will be required in order to ensure that the process is successful. 1.0 Introduction Knowledge management is important to an organization and industry. It basically ensures that resources are fully utilized. Knowledge management system has thus become an important factor of production in the current organizations. It is defined as a technology based group of interconnected group of functions that facilitates the discovery, capture, integration sharing and delivery of knowledge that is required by an organization for the purposes of ensuring that it meets its objectives (Dalkir, 2013). KMS is technology based and it plays an essential role in ensuring that the intellectual capital of an organization is effectively utilized. It simplifies the complex tasks into easy tasks. This plays an essential role in ensuring that the organization is able to achieve its goals and objectives within a shorter time. The ability to effectively utilize the resources of an organization reduces the cost of operations and save time (Hislop, 2013). Knowledge management system requires several components in order for it to be successful. The paper discusses the concepts of knowledge management system and provides a solution to Transport for London Taxi industry. 2.0 Transport for London case study Transport for London is in the process of increasing the efficiency in the sector in order to ensure that the Taxi drivers have more skills and knowledge. This is by increasing the standards of the applicants who intend to be Taxi drivers in terms of knowledge and skills. Transport for London also intends to reduce the barriers to skills and knowledge for the taxi driver. The main barrier in the knowledge process is the time and cost that is involved before one becomes a cab driver in London. According to the knowledge Taxi, (2014), the problem lies on the knowledge of routes and pick up points. This has increased the time taken before one becomes a taxi driver. In London, it takes between 2 to 5 years before one is allowed to become a taxi driver. The numbers of years is aimed at developing knowledge of the routes and pick points. This has also increased the costs required before one becomes a taxi driver. The issue has affected the industry and it indicates that there is a problem with regards to knowledge management. The purposes of knowledge management system required is aimed at ensuring that a system is developed in order to train the Cab drivers within a shorter period of time and reduce costs. 3.0 Actors knowledge It is always important to identify all the actors and their roles and knowledge before designing a knowledge management system. In the case of Transport for London, various actors are involved and their level of knowledge is limited. This has contributed to the exploitation of the immigrants who always seeks for jobs as taxi drivers. Taxi for London which is the organization in charge of regulating the industry is one of the major actors. The organization has been accused of increasing the amount of time required before one becomes a taxi driver for the purposes of exploiting the immigrants. The high amount of time required before one becomes a taxi driver is an indication that a knowledge gap exists on the part of the regulators. The potential taxi drivers or those who are training to become taxi drivers are also important actors. These groups of actors are affected by the long duration that is required for them to undergo training. On the other hand, it is costly to them and hence affecting the process of acquiring knowledge. The introduction of knowledge management system will impact positively on all the actors. This is because the regulators will improve the standards and the potential taxi drivers will take a shorter time to train. This will lead to efficiency and reduction of costs for all the actors in the sector. The knowledge management system should create a positive impact for all the actors involved (Fuller, 2012). 4.0 Knowledge Required Transport for London needs to understand that the improvement of standards in terms of knowledge and skills cannot be possible if the concepts of technology are not involved. The organization also needs to change its policies with regards to the time taken to train the Taxi drivers and the resources that are used during the training process. Over the years technology has evolved and it is widely used in most of the industry. Through the use of technology like knowledge bases, the Taxi drivers do not have to take between 2 to 5 years in order to become taxi drivers. The organization therefore needs to incorporate the concepts of technology during the training of the drivers. Electronic document and Knowledge management system (EDKMS) is required during the training as it will enhance the process of knowledge sharing and hence reducing the time taken to carry out the training. The Google technology is increasingly becoming popular in the transport industry. Through the use of Google maps and technology, the taxi drivers can drive to any part of London without necessarily knowing the areas. The organization should therefore advise the drivers to fit their taxis with the technological gadgets that will inform them of the locations and routes. This will play an essential role in ensuring that the drivers can pick or drive passengers to any part of London. This will play an essential role in reducing the time taken for one to become a taxi driver. It will also ensure that the standards in the industry are improved as by the requirement of the regulator. The use of technology plays an important role in improving on the efficiency of operations in the transport industry (Liebowitz, 2010). It is also notable from the case study that failure of using technology is responsible for the long time taken for one to become a taxi driver and the amount involved. The use of Electronic document and Knowledge management system is required in order to solve the problem. The system will play an essential role in eliminating the barriers that faces the industry in terms of enhancing the standards. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the exploitation of the immigrants will end with the introduction of the technology. This is considering that most of the taxi drivers are immigrants. The high amount of resources and time required during the training has a negative impact on the knowledge management. The knowledge preventing the high costs and time taken is thus useful to the industry. The industry can seek the services of some of the experts in the technology for the purposes of delivering knowledge to the taxi drivers. The taxis can easily be fitted with the technology and the drivers can start utilizing it immediately and hence saving time. Through the use of technology, it is possible to back the location of the drivers and the areas that they visited and hence improving on the standards in the industry as required by the regulator. Technological use will reduce the number of years that the taxi drivers currently train to a few months. It is thus important to note that knowledge becomes valuable only when it is put into use (Lindner, 2011). 5.0 Components and Functions The strategy for implementing the knowledge management system will be required by Transport for London. The strategy will involve the governance of the industry in order to ensure that all the Taxi drivers are fully aware of the knowledge management system. Policies will also be required as part of the strategy ion order to link the knowledge management system to the overall goals of the organization in managing the industry. The actor will also be important in solving the problem facing the industry through the use of the knowledge management system. The taxi drivers are important actors who will be using the system directly. London for transport will also play an important role as they are regulators of the industry. It is also important to note that the organization will act as the custodian of the knowledge management process. The infrastructure is also an important component for the purposes of ensuring that the system operates effectively (Esper, 2010). Both the software and the hardware will be required for the purposes of enabling the system to operate. All the taxis will have to be fitted with the GPS and the Google software for providing direction for different points and routes. The control of the system can be carried out by the regulator in consultations with the service providers. All the information regarding the movement of the taxis can be obtained by the regulator from the service providers through a partnership. Functionality is also an important component of the knowledge management system (Serenko, 2010). This is mainly for the purposes of capturing, transforming, linking and integrating the data. The functionality of the system will enable the organization to ensure that the barriers facing the industry are solved. This will also play an essential role in ensuring that the drivers are able to use the system effectively. Rules will also be established in the system in order to ensure that the users do not use the system for the wrong purposes. Through the use of the technology, the training of the taxi drivers can be carried out from different parts and hence saving on the costs. Knowledge is also an important component of knowledge management system. The knowledge will mainly be used for the purposes of ensuring that the users benefit from it. The knowledge is reliable and sufficient to solve the problem facing the industry. The knowledge management system should be reviewed from time to time. This is for the purposes of ensuring that continuous improvements are carried out. The continuous improvement of a knowledge management system is beneficial to the actors and it is also an important components. 6.0 Lifecycle Model The lifecycle of the knowledge management system consists of five major steps. 6.1 Creation of Knowledge The first step involves the creation of the knowledge for the purposes of solving the problem at hand (Von Krogh, 2012). This will involve the concepts required during the training process and its relevance to the drivers. Both the implicit and explicit aspects will also be involved at this stage. 6.2 Sharing of knowledge within the organization The second step involves the sharing of knowledge within the organization. This will be carried out through the use of the system under the management of Transport for London. 6.3 Structuring of the Knowledge The third step involves the structuring of the knowledge and this will require different techniques like mapping. The process is for identifying all the potential taxi drivers within London who require the training. 6.4 Use of knowledge The fourth process of knowledge management involves using the knowledge for the purposes of achieving the required goals and objectives and this will involve the sharing of knowledge in order to facilitate the training. 6.5 Monitoring and Evaluation The fifth step which is also the last involves the monitoring and evaluation. This step ensures that continuous improvements are carried out steadily. The process will be based on the outcome of the training. 7.0 Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the knowledge management system plays an important role in ensuring that an organization is able to carry out its operations effectively. The use of the knowledge management system will ensure that Transport for London is able to reduce the time taken to train the taxi drivers and hence reducing the costs. The process of knowledge management requires some components in order to be successful. The implementation of the knowledge management system requires some expertise and an understanding of the problem facing the organization. It is also evident that different actors have different needs with regards to the knowledge management system. 8.0 List of References Dalkir, K, 2013, Knowledge management in theory and practice, Routledge. Hislop, D, 2013, Knowledge management in organizations: A critical introduction, Oxford University Press. Fuller, S, 2012, Knowledge management foundations, Routledge, London. Liebowitz, J, 2010, Knowledge Management and E-learning, CRC Press, Ney York. Lindner, F, 2011, Success factors of knowledge management in temporary organizations, International Journal of Project Management, 29(7), 877-888. Esper, T, 2010, Demand and supply integration: a conceptual framework of value creation through knowledge management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(1), 5-18. The Knowledge Taxi, 2014, Becoming a London Cabbie, Retrieved on 10 July 2014 from, . Serenko, A, 2010, A scientometric analysis of knowledge management and intellectual capital academic literature (1994-2008), Journal of Knowledge Management, 14(1), 3-23. Von Krogh, G, 2012, How does social software change knowledge management? Toward a strategic research agenda, The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 21(2), 154-164. Read More