Introduction
KM is defined as the set of organized and regimented actions that can be taken to attain the maximum value from the knowledge available to it by an organization. A proper combination of organizational, social and administration motivation along with exploitation of apposite technology is required by knowledge management. Gathering, classify, store and spread all knowledge which the organization needs to both develop and progress is the idea of KM. To leverage and reuse knowledge resources that previously supply in the organization. As a result people will create best practices rather than reinvent the wheel KM deals with two types of knowledge, tacit and explicit as reported by Huergo (2006) and Jennex (2005).
The front office is considered the show case of the hotel at this point that customer forms the first impression. This department is divided in to various sections (like telephone operator, reservations, registration, reception and so on), deals with the client right from the reservation to the registration (check in) till the guest leaves the hotel. This department is taking care of any grievances and private needs of the guests (Guo, 2004).
By following the, the KM technique, front office department can plan better for the future, achieve a better standard of decision making, and essentially increase competitiveness and earn maximum benefits. The front office department in particular and hotel in general will be benefited that is the KM primary
This chapter describes what is knowledge management in details as well as what is the factors of implementing knowledge management which are implementing best practices, network expansion, systematic information system infrastructure, good organizational culture, senior management leadership and commitment and trustworthiness of teamwork.
Knowledge management was defined as the turning of information into actionable knowledge which can be accessed by people who can apply it. Robbins (2003) gives a time perspective in his definition of knowledge management. He mentions as part of knowledge management the distribution of the right information to the right people at the right time. Lytras et al (2002) gives a definition of knowledge management which emphasises the purpose of knowledge management. In the definition creation of new capabilities, enablement for superior performance, encouraging innovation and enhancement of customer value were mentioned. For the purpose of this study the researcher summarised knowledge management as the intentional process of coordinating people, technology and systems to optimise creation and sharing of intellectual
The superior capabilities of knowledge management systems provide an opportunity for the business to engage the most effective components and recognize the importance of communication to make informed, accurate decisions (McGrath, 2001). This system can organize the company’s knowledge resources, knowledge obtaining, organizing, and applying to make a sound routine the will enforce effectiveness (Niu, 2008). The dynamic function of knowledge management to create, capture, and apply knowledge to achieve an organization’s objective will allow them to be more profitable and successful (Zucker, 1986). In addition to increasing profits, the system can be also used to reduce costs and enhance research and development (DeTienne & Jackson, 2001). With all of these advantages, it would be wasteful for a company to not employ knowledge management. As seen in the Discovery Communications, Inc. example, the company can attribute their new productivity levels and increase in ease of securing documents to the knowledge management system that put into place by Carefree Technology. Like Discovery Communications, Inc., knowledge management is so popular today because companies can collect, process and share knowledge to ignite employees ' creativity which in turn will make the business grow. Wenhong and Jianhua (2009) explained the core of knowledge management is to convert company’s knowledge resources into an increased company
While Knowledge Management (KM) is important in any business however, there is no real agreed upon definition. KM is a concept that includes the
The front office is very important to the hotel for many obvious reasons, but some not so obvious. A solid portion of the time the front desk agent is the first employee at the hotel whom the guest encounters. The front desk agent
Should focus on making hotel more luxurious to get attention and invite a larger crowd to book a stay. Build more welcoming atmosphere and provide best services to make it different.
The literature has been unable to agree on a definition or the concepts behind KM (Bhatt, 2001; Hlupic, et al., 2002; Neef, 1999). For instance, Snowden (1998) defines KM as the identification, optimization and active management of intellectual assets, either in the form of explicit knowledge held in artifacts or tacit knowledge possessed by individuals or communities; Hedlund (1994) suggests that KM addresses the generation, representation, storage, transfer, transformation, application, embedding, and protecting of organizational knowledge; Brooking (1997) suggests that KM is the activity which is concerned with strategy and tactics to manage human centered assets; De Jarnet (1996) defines KM as knowledge creation, which is followed by knowledge
Knowledge can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be tacit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); it can be more or less formal or systematic. Botha et al (2008) pointed out that tacit and explicit knowledge should be seen as a spectrum rather than as definitive points. Therefore, in practice, all knowledge is a mixture of tacit and explicit elements rather than being one or the other. The most important distinction within KM is between explicit and tacit knowledge. The overload of data is making knowledge management increasingly more important as it facilitates decision-making capabilities; builds learning organizations by making learning routine, and stimulates cultural change and innovation.
With the benefit of hindsight, it is apparent that in the knowledge era, creating and leveraging knowledge is the business of business. By all available measures, the stock market is already providing handsome rewards to companies that successfully leverage their knowledge--a phenomenon that will almost surely grow in significance as knowledge-based organizations increase in size and number. A number of firms are anticipating this and looking to knowledge management to enhance, measure, and manage the knowledge of their employees and organizations more effectively.
Understanding the nature, role, importance, and value of tacit knowledge at individual or group level, is imprudent to formulating a KM strategy You must also formulate decisions about the organizations cultural change, picking the appropriate tools and finding a suitable measurement system. Without awareness of tacit knowledge any KM program is unlikely to maintain perspective and balance. In contrast to the views held by the tacit knowledge approach, the explicit knowledge approach shows that knowledge is something that can be explained by individuals. The explicit knowledge takes some effort and assistance may be required to obtain the desired knowledge. As a result, the explicit knowledge approach assumes that the useful tacit knowledge of individuals in organizations can be articulated and made explicit. The explicit knowledge approach also shows that explicit knowledge assets can then be dispersed within an organization through documents, drawings, standard operating procedures, manuals of best practice, and the like.
Since the mid-1990s, knowledge management has become increasingly significant for business managers and companies. ‘It is broadly accepted that systematic knowledge management is tightly linked with gaining and sustaining competitive advantage.’ (Bogner & Bansal, 2007, p658-6 as cited in Hislop, 2009, p1) The definition of knowledge management is various because of the wide range of this concept and its complexity (Al-Hawamdeh, 2003). For example, the broad definition provided by McAdam and McCreedy (2000, p155 as cited in Hislop 2009, p53) note that: ‘KM relates to the management of anything classified as knowledge’ Furthermore, Hislop (2009, p59)
The duties of a front office manager within a budget roadside hotel are basically to oversee and carry out required duties on the premise daily. The front office manager within a budget hotel may also be the front desk clerk and night auditor considering the size of the establishment and the employee’s employed by the specific small/medium hotel. The front office manager, during the night hours, is usually the housekeeping employee which entitles him or her to meet the accommodation needs of the guest utilizing the hotel for a place to stay. The front office manager of a large hotel usually only oversees the employee’s working in each department considering the size of the establishment and the employee’s employed within the company. The front office manager of a large hotel intervenes with guests if a situation occurs that requires a manager’s response (Axia College, 2010).
It is usually divided into several distinct departments, each responsible for a particular area of the hotel. Thus, this is how the organization fits together. The General Manager is the main lead of the various hotel departments following by operations manager. While General Manager coordinating and formulate hotel policies and strategies, the operations manager will assume the responsibilities for the daily operations and management of the hotel. There are several major hotel departments in the hotel such as Maintenance, Security, Human Resources, Food and beverage (F&B), Sales and marketing, Accounts, Front Office and Housekeeping. Based on the conversation with the HR personnel, this hotel has more than 200 employees working together to runs 24 hours operations. The larger the hotel is and the more facilities it offered, the more specialized the departments
Organisational learning can be seen as the goal of knowledge management and may be obtained by good knowledge management strategies and processes. By motivating the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge, KM initiatives pay off by helping the organization embed knowledge into organisational processes so that it can continuously improve its practices and behaviours and pursue the achievement of its goals.
The hotel chain when entered in the Indian market already had big competitors who had gained their market share and customer base, so it became difficult to attract customers for the first hotel. (Cunill, 2006) The organisation then started focusing on Market Penetration schemes to acquire the rival’s customers by providing the same services at a lower price than competitors. This chain has attracted many customers through providing high quality services and having hotels in developed areas with customer satisfaction in mind. The organisation uses the Three Pronged Strategy which focuses on generate more usage, generate new users and generate new uses for the business. (Hill and