Doing nothing (I know this is not the answer…but should mention it briefly)
Staying in Waterloo
For obvious reasons
Staying Within North America: New York
They have office in New York currently
Cornell university is located relatively close enough to new york
** The other place I was thinking was in California…there were a lot of top ranked university’s, however none really close to RIM’s LA location. **
Going International: United Kingdom
They have a head office in Slough
They have an office in Birmingham
Birmingham has a university in top 100
** The other place I was thinking of was the Netherlands…they have an office in but I don’t know where exactly. Netherlands has two universities in the top 100 to ranked (17th, 49th). **
If we can all decided on which ones to use for North American and International....then we can start writing up our sections regarding these alternatives and then ultimately picking the best alternative for our recommendation.
I've been doing more research into Knowledge Sharing and its impacts on organizations and its a HUGE issue. Im wading through pages and pages and pages of stuff right now but its pretty fascinating and it would work with whichever direction we adapt. I think it could quite possibly be much more meaningful for the company than the location we even pick.
SIEMENS have had a knowledge management system like this for many years and i have a number of other examples including HP and others who see it as a key area of their company and it itself becomes a driver and massive system of knowledge which can be mined for information, you could even use it to create some kind of mini WIKI as afterall wikipedia is just a knowledge sharing system in the simplist use of the technology.
I'll work on some kind of write up about it over the weekend buit i think it is probably a much bigger issue than where to locate (when we break down 4 similar locations, im not saying if you go to the place where there is no staff its gonna work we know it wont but this is a massive issue that many worldwide companies are now utilizing)
LEt me know what you think
I'd love to spend part of the presentation pitching it to be board, its an enormous tool that RIM has the infrastructure and compencies to set up quickly and operate efficently.
Joel
Heres some info from one source i just saw on the SIEMENS website:
Siemens Makes Knowledge Management Hall of Fame One of twelve enterprises to be named to one of the world`s "top 10" listSiemens has been named one of the world`s top 10 Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises--an award that recognizes world-class efforts in managing knowledge that lead to superior performance. The award is based on the fourth Annual Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) study, conducted by Teleos, an independent knowledge management research company, in association with The KNOW Network. One of 12 select enterprises named to the MAKE Hall of Fame, Siemens was honored with a top ranking in the "Ability to Develop and Deliver Knowledge- Based Goods/Services" performance dimension, according to Teleos. Ranked 17th overall in 2000, Siemens climbed to seventh in the 2001 study. To select the MAKE finalists, senior executives at Fortune Global 500 companies and a panel of chief knowledge officers and leading knowledge management practitioners were asked to nominate companies and rank them against eight key drivers of outstanding performance. These eight knowledge performance categories reflect a company`s: · success in establishing an enterprise Knowledge Culture · top management support for managing knowledge · ability to develop and deliver knowledge-based goods/services · success in maximizing the value of the enterprise`s intellectual capital · effectiveness in creating an environment of knowledge of sharing · success in establishing a culture of continuous learning · effectiveness of managing customer knowledge to increase loyalty/value · ability to manage knowledge to generate shareholder value "Siemens is the only German company to have ranked in the top 20 in each of the last four years," said Guenther Klementz, Siemens Knowledge Officer. "The jump from 17 to seven reflects the enormous efforts the company is making to create and share knowledge on a global basis. "Today, Siemens boasts both a Corporate Knowledge Management organization and more than 150 knowledge management projects worldwide," Klementz said. "Siemens` ShareNet - linking 13,000 telecommunications sales and marketing experts in more than 80 countries - is the most notable of these projects. "CEO Dr. Heinrich von Pierer is convinced that one of Siemens` top priorities is to increase efficiency and customer value by electronically networking and managing company knowledge," Klementz added. "The ultimate goal is to enable all Siemens employees to access the company`s unequaled pool of knowledge." The Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises study is administered annually by Teleos, an independent knowledge management research company. The KNOW is a group of leading knowledge-based organizations dedicated to benchmarking and sharing best knowledge practices leading to superior business performance.
New Location Criteria (RIM has used before): · The city/region has to already have a pool of talent that houses a mature skill set. o City/region has existing base of software or hardware companies. · City/region has to have universities with strong technical programs. o RIM can expand co-op programs and graduate recruitment initiatives.
Issue: · Issue of how to transfer RIM’s young and dynamic corporate culture to these locations.
Alternatives:
Expand within North America New York, USA
Prons 1. Surrounding by top universities There is one university in New York listed in the top 25 of top 100 list of the top university engineering faculty. 2. World capital, rich talent pool 3. Sophisticate technical infrastructure 4. Top engineer and up to date mindset 5. Easier to control: a. Similar cultural background with RIM Headquarter b. New York is in the same time zone with Waterloo. 6. Listed as one of top 7 IT communities of 2008
Cons 1. Neglect local culture impact – surging subscriber area such as china, India 2. High salary expenses 3. High cost – rent, house, transportation 4. Existing 5 US locations- self competition
Expand Internationally [Outside of North America] United Kingdom
Prons 1. Sophisticate technical infrastructure 2. Multi-cultural area – France, German, Italy 3. Listed as one of the top 7 IT communities of 2008 4. Has 3 universities listed in the top 25 of the list of the top university engineering faculty
Cons 1. Harder to control: a. different cultural background with RIM Headquarter b. UK is not in the same time zone with Waterloo.
NEED TO CHECK TO SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER SOFTWARE/HARDWARE COMPANIES IN UNITED KINGDOM [if we are using the requirements that RIM has used in the past].
Expand within Waterloo Prons 1. Existing resources a. Universities b. Government support 2. Listed as one of the top 7 IT communities of 2007 3. Multi-cultural country 4. Nice living environment 5. Loss immigration policy
