Chapter IV
PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
This part of the study shall provide a discussion on the results of both the qualitative and quantitative methods used in this research. For the qualitative part of the discussion, tables are provided to further summarize the data.
Qualitative Data
As Viewed by Knowledge Managers A survey of works regarding KM has been made in order to provide what other knowledge managers regarding the viability, potentials as well as pitfalls of the KM principles particularly in the financial sector. According to Taylor (2000), financial businesses are generally not acting in a way that suggests that they really believe they are knowledge-based businesses and that the practices of knowledge management are a vital part of achieving their missions. In truth, this observation holds for many types of business across all sectors. The reason is simple: Knowledge is invisible and intangible, and, in any case, it’s free. Or, at least, these are the unspoken beliefs that have been the norm up until the current ‘knowledge awakening’. They fail to realize that “cost reduction” through improved processes and reducing the cost of employee turnover; “value creation” by reducing the amount of time required by employees to ‘re-learn’ documented lessons and through improved relationships with stakeholder; and “revenue earners” in that the company’s knowledge can be readily packaged and sold as the key potential benefits of KM to financial businesses. (Allen, 2001)
Moreover majority of those who have implemented the scheme are currently in their early stages. The full potential of KM in these firms is yet to be realized. One could find that organizations of all kinds share the same issues at this early stage. These include the business case, management support, staff motivation and behaviors, and so on. (Taylor, 2000) Specifically, Few financial institutions have launched serious KM programmes. Of those that have most are in the early stages and their focus tends to be infrastructure rather than strategic. (Allen, 2001) These firms address nonspecific issues such as fostering knowledge sharing, and supporting knowledge communities. (Taylor, 2000)
In addition, Allen (2001) suggested that the financial sector is lagging behind other major industries. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to the rule and certain financial institutions have excelled in the field of knowledge management leading not only their peers but also the majority of organizations operating outside the financial marketplace. Allen further described the industry as both an IT and people-intensive industry so there are plenty of potential ‘ins’ for KM yet there is unanimous agreement that take-up of KM has been markedly slower across the financial sector as a whole than in most other industries. This is partly due to the reduced emphasis on research and development in the financial sector that has often facilitated the early uptake of KM in other industries.
Concurrently, definitions of KM in the financial sector are confused particularly when it comes to the difference between knowledge and document management. Similarly it seems financial institutions are failing to establish a link between the acknowledged driving forces in the industry and the opportunities an effective KM program can present. (Allen, 2001) Taylor (2000) further noted that the financial businesses are beset with challenges on every front such as those in industry consolidation as mergers and acquisitions; customer focus specifically segmentation and ‘farming’ of the customer base, customer knowledge, customer service; new channels such as Internet, WAP, interactive digital TV which present new knowledge needs in themselves; new products such as stakeholder pensions, ISAs, online share dealing; new competition like foreign banks, Internet banks, insurance companies entering banking, supermarket banks; changes in the regulatory and economic environment similar to keeping staff, systems and processes up to date with regulatory requirements is a major challenge in the financial sector; information technology particularly in mastering new technologies, managing legacy systems, gaining the business benefits; and cost pressures for instance automation vs. staffing, ‘e’ channels vs. branches etc. Moreover, blames a lack of well-defined end-to-end processes compared for example to the manufacturing industry as well as an over-reliance on IT. (Allen, 2001) Perhaps the biggest danger to progress for knowledge management in the financial sector is a continued confusion as to what KM actually means.
In addition, the key difficulty lies in breaking down the traditional cultural barriers to sharing knowledge that still exist within the industry. (Allen, 2001) This is reflected by the continued emphasis in many areas of financial operations on individual achievement rather than team results. Many organizations in the financial sector also have to cope with the problems presented by connecting large numbers of geographically dispersed employees as well as numerous restrictions relating to knowledge sharing raised by industry-wide regulations and issues of client confidentiality. Thus, the clarification of a knowledge sharing organization: knowledge sharing improves competitive advantage; it improves cost effectiveness; it leads to personal growth; and knowledge sharing will be a performance criterion come bonus time.
Interview Results
This part of the chapter shall be present the results of the collated interviews from the management and supervisory level officers in the company.
British Bankers Association
Based on the interview results, majority of the managers and supervisors have been relatively accustomed to the system imposed in the company, with a weighted average of 5-10 years in their sleeves. According to the respondents there have been numerous reforms that the company attempted to implement particularly with the end to establish a higher level of efficiency among its personnel. Aspects such as the company’s morale and level of motivation has been predominant factors that the administration indulge in, nonetheless, the respondents stated that the top priority then was the enhancement of employee’s skill through training.
They added that it was only more than a decade ago that the company opted to implement a knowledge management program. Prior to the implementation of the implementation of the said program, the company’s financial performance is merely break even. After the program has been implemented, the company’s performance significantly developed as a result from the efficiency provided by the program among its employees. Aside from the training provided by the company, the noticeable increase in the accessibility of the materials needed by the employees to complete their respective tasks has been a major effect. The installation of both intranets and extranets also allowed the respondents to interact with both its internal workforce as well as the clients. According to the respondents this opening of the communication lines among its vital stakeholder, the company is assured of consumer loyalty as well as employee efficiency.
Royal Bank of Scotland
The managers and supervisors of the Royal Bank of Scotland stated that after instituting knowledge management over 12 years ago, their relationship among the rank and file employees has been very amicable. This is also evident among the CEOs of the company. The opening of the communication lines and the dissolution of the hierarchical barriers served as an impetus among the company as a whole to improve their performance. As a result, the ideas of respective individuals involved in the firm are inevitably converted into a corporate voice with the provision of a significance of knowledge in the company. Likewise, this importance given to the ideas of even the simplest personnel ensued flexibility among the entire workforce.
Moreover, with the installation of intranets and extranets as their primary information portal, they similarly achieved the effects on the level of performance of that achieved by the BBA. Furthermore, the respondents added that with the installation of the KM principles in the company aided in the significant reduction of the number of paper documents stored as files. With the conversion of these documents into soft copies in their database, the acquisition of data has been very accelerated.
The Yorkshire Building Society
The top management level employees of Yorkshire assert that after the KM programs has been instituted in their system, the firm has maximized its internal efficiency, internal co-ordination, service to clients, and overall profitability. This is accomplished by the firm by making an explicit as much as possible of the tacit knowledge within an organization, and then keeps it up to date in a form that is “accessible-on-demand” as well as “pushed-out-as-useful”. Moreover, according to the respondents, with the imposition of KM, the use of power has been significantly balanced. The culture of power acquisition has been converted into a factor used to serve others. They added that KM required the firm to the institutionalization of a fundamental unselfishness, a fundamental attitude of wishing to serve customers, not only outside a company, but also crucially within the company. This is reflected in the installation of the company’s intranets and extranets. In this manner the dissemination of information is significantly unbiased.
Britannia
According to the supervisors and managers of Britannia, the institution of KM principles in their firm has started over fifteen years ago. They stated that the one observes greater thrust by the HR departments on creating and maintaining portfolios of organizational skill sets in terms of knowledge assets. On the other hand, one observes the encounters trying to translate the organization’s intangible assets into dollar figures on the company’s balance sheets so that they may be used for determining the company’s `real worth.’ Moreover, with the implementation of the said scheme, the organization is able to seek synergistic combination of data and information processing capacity of information technologies, and the creative and innovative capacity of human beings.
They added that KM has been increasingly important for organizational survival in the long run, given that knowledge creation is the core competence of any organization. This knowledge may relate — among other issues — to new products or services, to new product / service definitions, to new organization / industry definitions, or to new channels of distributions. Third, it is not a separate function characterized by a separate KM department or a KM process, but is embedded into all organization’s business processes. Fourth, latest advances of information technology can facilitate the processes such as channeling, gathering, or dissemination of information; however, the final burden is on the humans to translate this information into actionable knowledge depending on an acute understanding of their business context. Having the best-of-breed technologies doesn’t necessarily ensure creativity and innovation that is necessary for organizational competence. Effective utilization of technology is necessary — synchronized with effective utilization of the creative and innovative capacity of the human components.
They even suggested that KM is not limited to collecting information from various domain experts and creating databases supported by organizational intranets. Nor is it defined in terms of determining the individual knowledge needs of every employee and then trying to parcel out quotas of knowledge that are considered relevant to each employee’s needs. More on the above view of knowledge management is accessible in the following articles.
NatWest Bank
The management level employees of Natwest Bank stated that Focusing on knowledge raises the premium for looking forward and reacting to the unexpected, not for simplifying the past and extrapolating it with the use of computer models. They defined their system of KM as a system that refers to the critical issues of organizational adaptation, survival and competence against discontinuous environmental change. Essentially it embodies organizational processes that seek synergistic combination of data and information processing capacity of information technologies, and the creative and innovative capacity of human beings.
Moreover, the respondents retorted that the key in achieving a relatively successful KM scheme in the firm is to constantly assess and reassess routines that are embedded in decision-making processes, in order to surface the assumptions that may inhibit learning and innovation and stretch beyond traditional information systems to a dynamic knowledge-based organization.
Quantitative Data
Profile of Respondents
This part of the chapter shall provide a general impression of the respondents, particularly those in the rank-and-file positions in the respondent institutions.
Based on the results of the survey, over a quarter of the respondents are in their early twenties. This means that professionals who are currently at their peak compose a major part of the workforce in the financial sector predominantly. The said assertion is also supported by the fact that 20% of the respondents are between 18 – 20 years of age. Another indication of this fact is that these employees are considerably idealistic, thus an impression of extreme professionalism is apparent from this population. On the other hand, 19% of the respondents are on their late twenties. This shows the availability of mature individuals in the financial sector. This is backed up by the fact that over a quarter of the employees are aged 30 and above. The results are summarized in the figure below.
Figure 1. Age of Respondents
On the other hand, the survey also shows that the financial sector, particularly those belonging in the banking industry, is dominated by males. Men constitute over a half of the population. This shows an impression that the said industry constitute a high masculine index. Having a high masculine index means that people tend to value having a high opportunity for earnings, getting the recognition they deserve when doing a good job, having an opportunity for advancement to a higher-level job, and having challenging work to do to derive a sense of accomplishment. The data discussed here is summarized below.
Figure 2. Gender of Respondents
In addition, the study also found out that 41% of the respondents are already raising a family. This indicates that a large part of the population is already married. On the other hand, only 23% of the respondents stated that they were single. Notwithstanding the 21% separated, and the 15% widows/widower, one could posit that majority of the respondents are currently living by themselves. This data is summarized in the figure below.
Figure 3. Civil Status of Respondents
Moreover, the respondents could be considered intellectually competitive considering the fat that almost half of the population has earned their degree in college. Furthermore, this is even backed up by the fact that 13% of the respondents have completed post-graduate studies. On the other hand, it is satisfying to know that over one-third of the respondents have accomplished their secondary education. This means that a great bulk of the respondents have at least a simple grasp on the affairs of the financial sector with respect to their academic achievement. The data is summed up in the figure below.
Figure 4. Educational Attainment
In terms of seniority in their positions, over one third of the respondents have worked for their respective companies for at least a year. Moreover, 31% of the said personnel have been in the company for at least six years, not to mention the 15% who have served their companies. This presents that majority of the respondents has enough work experience in order to know what they require from their respective companies.
Figure 5. Length of Service
Knowledge Management as a Firm’s Coping Mechanism
This portion of the study shall provide a presentation of the responses furnished by the staff regarding the use of knowledge management as a mechanism aiding their respective companies in facilitating business in the financial sector. This part of the chapter shall be divided into the five respondent companies, namely the British Bankers Association, Yorkshire Building Society, Britannia, NatWest Bank, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
British Bankers Association
The results of the responses of the British Bankers Association (BBA) personnel are summarized in figure 6 below. Apparently, half of the respondents in this area strongly believe that they understand the basic business objectives of their firm. This shows that a major part of the population is relatively aware of the fundamental thrust of their company. Moreover, thirty percent of them slightly agree that the company possesses a concrete comprehension on the principles of KM. In analyzing such response, one could posit that there is a slight doubt whether the company could fully maximize their resources with KM at hand. This doubt is reflected in the uncertain response of 20% as well as in the disagree response. Notwithstanding the fact that a great majority of the respondents is aware of the installation of an internal network to aid the company in propagating KM, one could not help but be cynical in the adoption of KM in BBA as fully functional due to the fact that there are still employees who do not support the project.
Fifty three percent of the respondents strongly admitted that the company’s use of intranets and extranets have helped in disseminating information. In this light, the employees of the company have relatively perceived that the management has involved them greatly in the proper execution of KM. Moreover, the employees also perceive that the information provided by the company’s intranets and extranets has been considerably easy to understand. Nonetheless, since KM involves technology, the impression of rejection as well as difficulty in understanding the general procedures in accessing the information. In addition, the imposition of KM in the financial sector has greatly influenced the performance of the respective companies particularly in competing among other companies.
Figure 6. KM as Coping Mechanism Responses of the Staff of BBA
The Yorkshire Building Society
On the Yorkshire Building Society, only 43% of the employees have a firm knowledge of the objectives and thrusts of the company. This shows that a meager part of the employees has significantly acquired the instituted KM program of the company. The apparent ignorance of the remaining thirty percent who responded negatively reflects the shortcomings of the company particularly in implementing its KM program.
Moreover, the employees of YBS have been divided in considering the level of understanding of company regarding K principles. Twenty seven percent of the employees strongly agreed that the company has a significant knowledge on KM principles, however, a similar percentage of the employees have disagreed on the statement. This shows that the personnel have an apparent doubt on the company’s ability to maximize the potentials brought about by KM. Although the said company has installed its intranets and extranets, only one third of the personnel strongly agreed that it has significantly aided the management in circulating information among its personnel. Similarly, only 27% of the respondents agreed that the company’s information posted in the intranets and extranets is easy to comprehend. It is backed up by 20% of the respondents disagreeing that they understand the said information. This goes to show the apparent inefficiency of YBS to design a KM program that would not only be accepted by the personnel wholeheartedly but use it practically as well. Although 40% of the respondents stated that the KM program of the company has increased their efficiency, this increased efficiency might also have been caused by the enhancement of appraisal schemes and incentives, which purposively increased the motivational level of the employees.
Figure 7. KM as Coping Mechanism Responses of the Staff of YBS
Britannia
Forty percent of the employees of Britannia on the other hand, claim that they have a simple understanding of the basic objectives of the firm. Nevertheless, a significant 20% also claim that they are not aware of these objectives. This data shows that the company’s KM programs are apparently inefficient considering the fact that the employees are unaware of the basic information regarding the company that they work for. Although it is widely known throughout the company that it has instituted its own intranets and extranets, the employees has shown doubt in the capacity of the company to exploit the KM programs to the advantage of the organization. This is shown in the figure below. This fact might be due to the apparent complexity of the information posted in the said dissemination tools used by Britannia. This is reflected from the findings where only one-third of the respondents strongly agreeing in the said statement. Concurrently, this contributed to the low perception of the personnel particularly in the efficiency of their company particularly in competing in the financial sector, despite the fact that majority of them is aware of the appraisals and initiatives provided by the Britannia in pursuit of knowledge sharing.
Figure 8. KM as Coping Mechanism Responses of the Staff of Britannia
NatWest Bank
The employees of NatWest Bank satisfactorily understand the basic business objectives of the firm with 47% asserting that they do. Nevertheless, the sample was divided when asked regarding the level of understanding of the firm with regards to KM principles. Over a quarter of the respondents agreed that the company is well equipped in terms of implementing KM, however the same number of respondents disagreed.
Although the company is successful in installing intranets and extranets, only 30% of the employees stated that the information in the said company hardware is relatively easy to understand, the other 50% said otherwise or even undecided. Moreover, over a quarter of the respondents also stated that company has increased their competitive value with KM. This might be similarly caused by the incentives and appraisals utilized by the firm to encourage knowledge performance among its personnel.
Figure 9. KM as Coping Mechanism Responses of the Staff of NatWest Bank
Royal Bank of Scotland
With 43% of the respondents strongly asserting that they understand the basic objectives of the business, one could posit that this is caused by a wide knowledge of the personnel regarding the installation of intranets and extranets in the firm. This helps them in keeping track with the basic thrust of the firm with the help of an easy-access program. This resulted from the 70% positive reaction of the respondents regarding the effectiveness of the information posted in the intranet. Nevertheless, only 30% of the respondents strongly agreed on the fact that the information is digestible. This insinuates that the information placed in the intranets might have been useful for a particular group of people in the firm. This lack of a general perspective in the KM program of the firm ensues the meager responses of the personnel regarding the consequent efficiency brought about by the program despite the fact that the company has provided the ample appraisals and incentives for the use of KM principles. Figure 10. KM as Coping Mechanism Responses of the Staff of RBS
Generally, over a half of the all the respondents claim that they have the grasp of the basic business objectives of their firm. On the other hand, a third of the respondents are uncertain whether their company has a better comprehension of the basic principles of KM. Although 53% of the respondents claimed that their company has installed its own intranet and extranet, only 43% of them stated that the system actually helps the employees in understanding and acquiring information in the firm.
Table 1. Overall Perception of Respondents Regarding KM as Coping Mechanism
SA
A
U
D
SD
The employees understands
the basic business objectives
of this firm
78
52
12
4
4
The company has a solid
understanding of Knowledge
management
30
23
45
25
27
The company have installed
its own intranets or extranets
79
32
15
20
4
The installation of intranets
or extranets has helped the
firm in disseminating information
among its personnel
64
35
12
35
4
Technology has greatly
involved the company’s
personnel in the proper
execution of knowledge
management
78
25
16
12
19
The information provided in
the company’s intranets or
extranets is easily digestible
by the personnel
57
26
12
25
30
The provision of knowledge
management among the
personnel has increased
the level of efficiency particularly
in competing with other
firms in the financial sector
68
26
10
26
20
The company incorporates
knowledge-performance in
employee performance appraisals
95
26
3
18
8
the company introduced
awards/recognition schemes
both at the individual and
company level to encourage
knowledge-sharing as well
as application / re-use
67
26
26
23
8
Potentials of Knowledge Management
This part of the chapter shall be discussing the results of the responses posted by the population when they were asked by questions pertaining to the potentials of KM in their company. The respondents are similarly divided into the respondent companies as stated above.
British Bankers Association With the imposition of KM in BBA, the employees stated that it provided the firm with the much-needed functionality required in terms of documents and communication in the organization. This is fundamentally due to the fact that the company has exercised its initiative to effectively choose the suitable option to meet its objectives and investment plan. Although the top management is dedicated in the implementation of the said program, the employees realized the failure of the company to acquire external practices apposite for the organization. The apparent demonstration of the top level management to reach to its rank and file leads half of the respondents to strongly agree and 20% to simply agree to the fact that the firm is able to maximize the KM program by using individual knowledge into a corporate property. Moreover, the flexibility and recognition of the firm with the cooperation of the employees increases their level of motivation and thus enhancing the level of efficiency of the firm as a whole. Figure 11. Responses of BBA Employees Regarding the Potentials of KM
The Yorkshire Building Society
Over a half of the respondents strongly stated that KM minimizes the inefficiency within the firm. This finding is backed by the fact that the top management to choose a suitable plan for the company. Nonetheless, the company apparently keeps its strategic commitment from the knowledge of its rank-and-file. This is noticeable as well in its external activities. This data insinuates that the company is rather subdued in the communication among its workforce. Although the employees have noticed the efforts of the top management to reach to its regular employees, the firm stays reserved in entertaining suggestion from the employees. The top management of YBS is a willing listener to its rank-and-file but rather reluctant in enforcing the suggestions of the workforce.
Figure 12. Responses of YBS Employees Regarding the Potentials of KM
Britannia
Similar to other companies, the Britannia employees realized the potential of KM programs in providing functionality in the work area. Furthermore, they strongly stated that it could only be achieved if the company chooses a technology option that suits its investment plan. Moreover, the apparent opening of the communication lines between the CEOs and the rank-and-file increases the knowledge of the latter regarding the strategic commitment of the former in KM programs. This allowed the employees of Britannia to realize that the key to the success of KM is the effective transition of individual knowledge into a collective one. However, the findings also show that the employees find the apparent reservation of the top management in terms of addressing the employees with the information relating to the external affairs of the firm.
Figure 13. Responses of Britannia Employees Regarding the Potentials of KM
NatWest Bank
The fundamental potential of KM according to the employees of NatWest Bank the motivational aspects brought about by KM is the top potential with respect on their firm. Besides the fact that they strongly agree that it enhances functionality, it is the ability of the program to make CEOs correspond to the low level employees is the most prevalent potential of KM. The findings are summarized in the table below.
Figure 14. Responses of NatWest Employees Regarding the Potentials of KM
Royal Bank of Scotland
Although the respondents of the RBS recognize the ensuing disclosure of communication lines with the top management, it is the ability of KM to induce functionality in terms of work related issues is their primal concern. Moreover, they also adhere to the fact that a suitable technology as well as the strategic commitment of the management is among the strength of KM. Conversely, the employees also admits the importance of the conversion of individual information into an aggregate knowledge yet it is placed secondary the motivational aspect of the program. The responses of the employees are summarized below.
Figure 15. Responses of RBS Employees Regarding the Potentials of KM
Generally, half of the total population stated that their respective companies have made their functions more efficient in the imposition of KM in their system. This is because the industry has the initiative to acquire specific techniques that suits their respective organizational cultures. Moreover, 59% of the respondents stated that another potential of KM is the fact that it provides the top management the venue to sustain the company’s strategic goals without compromising any other aspect of the organization. Concurrently, a third of the population asserted that the program also allows the company to cultivate the affairs of the organization, particularly those that are significantly relevant for the company. Moreover, the respondents also perceive that the imposition of KM in their system has significantly provided the individual employees with the right to be heard in the conglomerate. Similarly, the principles of KM have provided the much needed communication line between the CEOs and those in the rank-and-file employees. This opening of the communication lines has allowed the employees to inquire about the existing ways of operations in order to take a full grasp of the thrust of the company. This is reflected with the positive responses of the responses in questions 5 – 8 in the third part of the questionnaire.
Table 2. Overall Perception of Respondents Regarding the Potentials of KM
SA
A
U
D
SD
KM technology solutions provide functionality
to support knowledge-sharing, collaboration,
workflow, document-management, across the enterprise.
75
46
6
19
4
The company chose a technology option
that meets its KM objectives & investment plan
56
26
18
17
33
A key to success in KM is for top management
to provide sustained strategic commitment to KM
89
26
3
18
14
The firm engages in sharing and cross-fertilization
of leading practices from both within and outside
the organization in areas that are relevant to the business
46
26
56
19
3
The firm converts individual knowledge into
corporate knowledge assets to the maximum
extent possible
79
16
28
23
4
The company considers the combination of
recognition, reward and buy-in by employees
necessary to motivate knowledge performance
62
36
19
26
7
There is a demonstration-effect and constant
communication by role-models such as CEOs and
functional heads
45
32
16
36
21
KM provides employees the flexibility to question
existing ways of operating and experiment with
new methods/processes based on learnings from
outside their function/company
69
35
15
10
21
Reference:
Allen, Nick. (2001) “Playing Catch-up?” KM Magazine, Volume 5; 1.
Taylor, Robert. (2000) “Profiting from Knowledge?” KM Magazine, Volume 4; 1.
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