knowledge management: a novel approach for ...

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, 20 (1), 1-16 (2015) (Regular Paper

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: A NOVEL APPROACH FOR IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ORGANISATIONS IN EGYPT Othman, A.A.E.1 and Halim, A.S.A.2 1

2

Architectural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, The British University in Egypt (BUE), El Shorouk, Cairo, Egypt, Postal No. 11837 - P.O. Box 43 Email1: [email protected]

Space Consultants, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt, Postal No. 11451. Email1: [email protected]

‫ﺗﻬﺪف هﺬﻩ اﻟﻮرﻗﺔ اﻟﺒﺤﺜﻴﺔ إﻟﻰ دراﺳﺔ اﻟﺪوراﻟﺬي ﻳﻤﻜﻦ أن ﺗﻠﻌﺒﻪ إدارة اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺗﺤﺴﻴﻦ أداء ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ‬ ‫ ﺗﻢ ﺗﺼﻤﻴﻢ ﻣﻨﻬﺠﻴﺔ ﺑﺤﺜﻴﺔ ﺗﺘﻜﻮن ﻣﻦ ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺔ‬،‫ ﻟﺘﺤﻘﻴﻖ ذﻟﻚ‬.‫اﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎري ﻓﻲ ﻣﺼﺮ ﺧﻼل ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺘﻲ اﻹﻋﺪاد و اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ‬ ‫ ﻗﻴﺎس‬،‫ﻣﺮاﺟﻌﺔ اﻷدﺑﻴﺎت اﻟﺨﺎﺻﺔ ﺑﺈدارة اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ‬:‫ﻻ‬ ً ‫ أو‬.‫اﻷدﺑﻴﺎت و اﻟﻤﻘﺎﺑﻼت اﻟﺸﺨﺼﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻨﻈﻤﺔ ﻟﺘﺤﻘﻴﻖ ﺛﻼﺛﺔ أهﺪاف‬ :‫ ﺛﺎﻧﻴﺎ‬.‫ ﻓﻀﻼ ﻋﻦ ﺧﺼﺎﺋﺺ ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺘﻲ اﻹﻋﺪاد و اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎري‬،‫و إدارة اﻷداء اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺻﻨﺎﻋﺔ اﻟﺘﺸﻴﻴﺪ‬ ‫أﺟﺮاء ﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﺑﻼت اﻟﺸﺨﺼﻴﺔ ﻣﻊ ﻋﻴﻨﺔ ﻣﻤﺜﻠﺔ ﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎري ﻓﻲ ﻣﺼﺮ ﻟﻠﻮﻗﻮف ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺪي‬ .‫ﻓﻬﻤﻬﻢ و ﺗﻄﺒﻴﻘﻬﻢ ﻹدارة اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ آﻤﻨﻬﺞ ﻣﺒﺘﻜﺮ ﻟﺘﺤﺴﻴﻦ اﻷداء اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﻲ ﺧﻼل ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺘﻲ اﻹﻋﺪاد و اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎري‬ ‫ وﻗﺪ ﺧﻠﺼﺖ اﻟﻮرﻗﺔ‬.‫ إﺳﺘﺨﻼص اﻟﻨﺘﺎﺋﺞ و اﻟﺘﻮﺻﻴﺎت اﻟﻤﻔﻴﺪة ﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎري وﺻﻨﺎع اﻟﻘﺮار‬:‫وأﺧﻴﺮا‬ ‫اﻟﺒﺤﺜﻴﺔ إﻟﻰ أن إدارة اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻟﻢ ﻳﺘﻢ ﺗﻘﺪﻳﻤﻬﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﺸﻜﻞ اﻟﻤﻨﺎﺳﺐ ﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎري ﻓﻲ ﻣﺼﺮ و أﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺴﺘﺨﺪم‬ ‫ إن إدارة اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻟﺪﻳﻬﺎ اﻟﻘﺪرة ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺤﺴﻴﻦ اﻷداء اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﻲ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼل ﺗﺴﻬﻴﻞ اﻟﺤﺼﻮل‬.‫ﻓﻘﻂ آﺄداﻩ ﻟﻠﺘﻮﺛﻴﻖ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎﺗﻲ‬ ‫ هﺬا ﺳﻮف ﻳﺴﺎﻋﺪ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﻀﺎء ﻋﻠﻰ اﻷﺧﻄﺎء‬.‫اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎت و إﺳﺘﺨﺪاﻣﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ ﺟﻤﻴﻊ أﻧﺤﺎء اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻮﻗﺖ اﻟﻤﻄﻠﻮب‬ .‫ وﺗﺠﻨﺐ إﻋﺎدة اﺧﺘﺮاع اﻟﻌﺠﻠﺔ و اﻟﺤﻔﺎظ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎت ذات اﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﺼﻤﻴﻢ اﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎري‬، ‫اﻟﻤﺘﻜﺮرة‬ This paper aims to investigate the role of Knowledge Management towards improving the performance of Architectural Design Organisations (ADOs) in Egypt during the preparation and design stages. A research methodology, consisted of literature review and structured interviews, is designed to accomplish three objectives. Firstly, literature review studied Knowledge Management, performance measurement and management in construction as well as the characteristics of the preparation and design stages. Secondly, structured interviews, conducted with a representative sample of ADOs, investigated their perception and application of Knowledge Management as a novel approach for improving organisational performance during the preparation and design stages. Finally, research conclusions and recommendations useful to design organisations and decision makers are summarised. The paper has concluded that Knowledge Management is not well introduced to ADOs and merely used for documentation. Knowledge Management has the potential to improve organisation performance through making information accessible throughout the organisation on a timely fashion. This will help eliminating recurring errors, avoiding reinventing the wheel and saving valuable knowledge.

1. INTRODUCTION The substantial changes in policy, economy, law, technology, and competition nationally and internationally have a critical impact on today's organisations [1,2]. For decades, the construction industry has been known for its chronic problems of fragmentation, low productivity, time and cost overruns, poor safety, inferior working conditions and insufficient quality. A number of visions, strategies, methodologies and action plans have been developed to alleviate these problems. They included for instance: industrialization, computer integrated construction, constructability, partnership, robotized and automated construction as well as benchmarking. In spite of the valuable contribution of these solutions, the performance of the construction industry is considered low if compared to other industries [1,3,4,5,6]. Being the first line of contact

with clients in the construction industry and the entity that is responsible for designing and delivering sustainable projects. Architectural Design Organisations (ADOs) which aim to achieve their objectives, increase their output, remain in market and compete for the future have a mission of measuring and improving their performance [2]. The construction process consists of a number of stages namely, preparation, design, pre-construction, construction and use [7]. Smith and Wyatt [8] stated that the early stages in the development of a project (i.e. preparation stage and design stage) are crucial to its success. This is because the key decisions made during these early stages influence the characteristics and the form of the project. Once these decisions have been made, by their very nature, they can’t be readily deleted or dramatically changed in subsequent stages. Construction projects are of unique character and dynamic nature where each stage of the project

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Othman, A. A. E. and Halim, A. S. A.

life cycle includes a number of potential opportunities to capture knowledge. If this knowledge is well managed it will reduce the waste of “reinventing the wheel” and improve the performance of the construction process in general [9]. Due to the fragmented nature of the construction industry as a whole and the design process in particular accompanied with the lack of a common platform to capture and share information, valuable knowledge is lost [10]. Although Knowledge Management has been applied successfully in other industries (i.e. manufacturing, aerospace) and played a major role in improving their performance, its adoption and application in the architectural design process is limited [11]. This paper aims to investigate the role of Knowledge Management as a novel approach for improving the performance of ADOs in Egypt during the preparation and design stages. The research work presented in this paper is a continuation of a previous research conducted by the authors [11] and supported by a case study and detailed analysis.

reasonable sample size that supports the research findings, the following equations were used. Equation (1) is applied to compute the initial sample size. Since the population is finite (less than 50,000), Equation (2) is used to compute the new sample size [14,15]. SS = Z2 * (p) * (1-p) / c2

New SS= SS/(1+(SS-1)/Pop)

2.1 Sampling The sampling plan, using a stratified random sampling method, aimed at selecting a representative and non-biased sample of design managers to achieve the structured interview objectives. It was applied across all population strata so every unit had an equal chance of being included in the sample [12,13]. The structured interview population was the list of 195 ADOs registered with the Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers at Cairo region, Egypt. These organisations are classified according to their disciplinary specialisation at three strata: 22 Expertise Houses which have all disciplinarians; 76 Multi-disciplinary Bureaus which have more than one disciplinary and 97 Specialist Architectural Bureaus which have only one disciplinary. To get a representative and 2

........

Equation (2)

Where: SS Sample Size Z

Z-values for confidence levels are (1.645 for 90% confidence level, 1.96 for 95% confidence level and 2.576 for 99% confidence level)

P

Percentage picking a choice, expressed as decimal (0.375 used for sample size needed)

C

Confidence interval, expressed as decimal (e.g., .04 = ±4)

Pop

Population

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY To achieve this aim, a research methodology consisted of literature review and structured interviews, is developed to achieve three objectives.  Firstly, literature review is used to build an indepth understanding of the research topic through covering Knowledge Management, organisational performance and management as well as the characteristics of the preparation and design stages.  Secondly, structured interviews are conducted with representative sample of Design Managers in Egyptian ADOs to investigate their perception and application of Knowledge Management as a novel approach for improving organisational performance during the preparation and design stages.  Finally, outlining research conclusions and recommendations useful to ADOs and decision makers.

................ Equation (1)

In our case: SS = (1.96)2 * (0.375) * (1 - 0.375) / (0.1069)2 = 78.789 New SS = 78.789 / (1+ (78.789 - 1) / 195) = 56.48 ≈ 56 The same result was confirmed by the sample calculator [16], through using a confidence level of (95%) and confidence interval of (10.95) when combined with a population of (195) ADOs yielded a suitable sample size of (56) participants. This approach is adopted by many researchers to avoid using manual and complicated sample size formulas. Sample size calculator is an online simple and accurate tool designed to analyse sample size through giving researchers different options to select from [17]. Due to the different nature and capabilities of the identified sampling strata and in order to distribute the required sample size amongst all strata, a sampling factor of 1:1 was applied to Expertise House as they have sophisticated hierarchical system that will help achieve the interview objectives. In addition, sampling factor of 1:5 was applied o the other two strata, which resulted in the numbers shown in (Table 1). All the 56 organisations were contacted in order to find out their motivation to participate in the study. Only 22 organisations agreed to participate in the study, representing 39.29%. Babbie [18] stated that as a rule of thumb 50% is adequate while, McNeil and Chapman [19]; Saunders et al. [20]; Gillham [21]; Tashakkori and Teddlie [22]; Fellows and Liu [23] agreed that 30%-40% is acceptable because of the fact that few people respond to questionnaires and interviews. Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, Vol. 20, No.1, 2015

Knowledge Management: A Novel Approach for Improving the Performance of Architectural Design Organisations in Egypt

Units agreed to participate

22 76 97

Stratified Sample

Expertise House Multi-disciplinary Bureaus Specialist Architectural Bureaus Total

Sampling Factor

Strata

No. of Units

Table 1. Initial stratified sample size

1:1 1:5 1:5

22 15 19

10 7 5

56

22

195

organisation aiming to achieve business objectives by making the best use of knowledge through acquiring, creating and sharing knowledge. It necessitates developing cultural and technical foundations that support its implementation [26]. Knowledge Management is tied to organisational objectives such as improving performance, sustaining competitive advantage and innovation, transferring lessons learned between projects and the general development of collaborative practices. The concept of Knowledge Management witnessed important developments throughout the last decades, see (Table 2).

2.2 Interview Structure

3.1.2 Types of knowledge

The structured interview consisted of three sections as follows: Section (1) collected general information about the surveyed organisations, section (2) investigated the different aspects of organisational performance and measurements, section (3) focused on the perception and application of Knowledge Management as a novel approach for improving the performance of ADOs in Egypt. Two types of questions were used in the interview namely, closedended and open-ended. Firstly, the closed-ended questions allowed the respondent to select a single response (i.e. yes/no, one of the list of possible answers or to rank factors on a scale of 1-5). This type of questions was easier and quicker to be answered and responses were easier to be coded and statistically analysed. Second, open-ended questions, which stated a question and left room for the respondent to write his/her answer. In addition, openended questions gave respondents the chance to openly express their feels, beliefs, or provide recommendations. Furthermore, they allowed unanticipated findings to be discovered and permitted creativity, self-expression, and richness of details. In order to escalate the validity and reliability of the structured interview, the research ensured that the designed questions fully represent the underlying concept of the subject being studied. This was called content validity. In addition, a number of specialists were consulted to assess the extent to which the questions relate to the subject being investigated [24].

Explicit Knowledge

3. LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 Knowledge and Knowledge Management 3.1.1 Definitions and Concept Development Knowledge is defined as the fact or condition of knowing and understanding of science, art or technique as well as the skills gained through education and experience [25]. There are several statements and perspectives that define Knowledge Management and explain its contents and objectives. However, all these definitions and perspectives agree that Knowledge Management is a multi-disciplinary and holistic initiative adopted across the entire

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, Vol. 20, No.1, 2015

This type of knowledge, which is usually found in databases, memos, notes, documents, scientific formulae, product specification [32], is formalized and codified, and is sometimes referred to as knowwhat [33]. It is therefore fairly easy to identify, store, and retrieve [34]. This type of knowledge is easily handled by Knowledge Management Systems, which are very effective at facilitates storing, retrieving and modifying documents and texts. The greatest challenge with explicit knowledge is ensuring that people have access to what they need on a timely fashion. Many theoreticians regard explicit knowledge as being less important [33,35,36]. It is considered simpler in nature and can’t contain the rich experience based know-how that can generate sustainable competitive advantage. Tacit Knowledge This type of knowledge, which is intuitive, highly personal and largely experience based, is hard to define and formalize, making it difficult to communicate or share with others. It is referred to as know-how [33,37]. Tacit knowledge is regarded as being the most valuable source of knowledge and the most likely to lead to breakthroughs in organisations [34]. Gamble and Blackwell [38] link the lack of focus on tacit knowledge directly to the reduced capability for innovation and sustained competitiveness. Tacit knowledge is found in the minds of human stakeholders. It includes cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, mental models as well as skills, capabilities and expertise [39] which made it difficult to handle by Knowledge Management Systems. Specifically, there are two dimensions to tacit knowledge. The first is the "technical" dimension, which encompasses the kind of informal and hard-to-pin-down skills or crafts often captured in the term "know-how". The second dimension is “cognitive" which consists of beliefs, perceptions, ideals, values, emotions and mental models that shape the way of perceiving the business environment around organisations.

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Table 2. Historical Development of Knowledge Management During 1970s

During 1980s

During 1990s

During 2000s

4



Growing importance of information and explicit knowledge as organisational resources.



Developing the concept of "learning organisation" a cultural dimension of managing knowledge.



Understanding how knowledge is produced, used, and diffused within organisations.



Developing the importance of knowledge as a competitive asset in organisations especially with the exponential increases in the amount of available knowledge, complex products and processes.



Increasing the role of computer technology as a solution for Knowledge Management in a variety of domains [27].



Developing systems for managing knowledge relying on work done in artificial intelligence and expert systems which resulted in the development of "knowledge acquisition", "knowledge engineering", "knowledge-base systems”, and “computer-based onto logic” concepts.



The phrase "Knowledge Management" entered the lexicon in earnest and a consortium of U.S. companies started the Initiative for Managing Knowledge Assets.



Knowledge Management-related articles began appearing in journals and the first books on organisational learning and knowledge management were published [27].



Developing in house Knowledge Management programmes by U.S., European, and Japanese consulting organisations.



Knowledge Management was introduced in the popular press in 1991.



The Internet played a significant role towards flourishing Knowledge Management initiatives.



The International Knowledge Management Network (IKMN), begun in Europe in 1989, went online in 1994 and was soon joined by the U.S. based Knowledge Management Forum and other Knowledge Management related groups and publications.



Growing the number of Knowledge Management conferences and seminars as organisation focus on managing and leveraging explicit and tacit knowledge resources to achieve competitive advantage.



The IKMN published the results of a Knowledge Management survey conducted among European organisation, and the European Community began offering funding for Knowledge Management related projects through the ESPRIT programme in 1995 [28].



Although knowledge is recognised as an important organisational asset nowadays, many organisations are not doing enough to effectively manage this important asset to achieve their competitive advantage [29].



In such organisations, knowledge is regarded as a crucial resource, and harnessing knowledgeprocessing skills to maximize the value of this resource is recognized as a paramount concern [30].



Knowledge is integrated in Small and Medium Enterprises [31].



Utilising Knowledge Management to improve the performance of ADOs during the Preparation and Design Stages [11].



3.1.3

Knowledge Management Pillars

New business environment requires foresight, improved performance, innovation and adaptation, rather than the traditional emphasis on optimization. Thus, effective and complete planning for enterprise Knowledge Management is critical. The four pillars for successful adoption and implementation of Knowledge Management are: leadership, organisation, technology and learning [40], see (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Pillars of Knowledge Management (Developed by the Authors)

Leadership In today’s dynamic business environment, leaders play an important role towards developing business and operational strategies to improve the performance of their organisations and increase their competitiveness. These strategies include establishing organisational vision, mission and objectives which align Knowledge Management with business tactics to drive the value of Knowledge Management throughout the organisation. Attention has to be devoted towards building executive support and creating Knowledge Management champions. Successful implementation of Knowledge Management demands senior management support in order to provide needed resources and ensure successful organisational cultural change. Organisation The value of creating and sharing knowledge should be intertwined throughout the organisation. This necessitates aligning all enterprise plans with Knowledge Management activities. Due to the different nature of organisational plans, Knowledge Management systems have to be designed in a way that facilitates its application throughout the organisation. Successful application of knowledge Management requires organisational change. Examples of such changes include improving employees’ capabilities; rising job complexity and immediate availability and accessibility of information. These changes are fundamental to make better utilisation of Knowledge Management solutions. Improving organisational performance calls for integrating Knowledge Management into business processes.


Technology Technology provides all the infrastructure and tools required to support and ensure effective application of Knowledge Management within an organisation. This could be accomplished through achieving the functions of searching and retrieving information; sending critical information to individuals or groups; structuring and navigation; collaborating and sharing information and best practice; synthesising, profiling and personalising; solving and recommending solutions; integrating with business applications and maintaining data bases. While organisational and cultural changes are crucial to achieve Knowledge Management objectives, a lack of proper technical infrastructure and tools can lead to failure. Proper assessment and definition of IT capabilities and tools is essential to match and align with the organisation’s requirements. Learning Learning is an integral part of knowledge Management. Utilising Knowledge Management to achieve organisational objectives entails the involvement of the whole organisation. Alone, the best tools and processes will not accomplish Knowledge Management strategies. People are the driving force for using these tools and performing the required tasks. Establishing learning as organisational behaviour is essential to support Knowledge Management strategy. Organisational learning is achieved through improving organisational communications, supporting crossfunctional teams and creating a learning community. Learning is best described as the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience or instruction, collaboration, sharing knowledge and building on each other’s ideas. Senior Management has to realise that tacit knowledge exists in people, and knowledge creation is generated through social interaction and learning. Knowledge Management is not a separate function characterized by a separate department or a process; it must be embedded into all organisational business processes. 3.1.4 Knowledge management activities The activities of Knowledge Management are: Acquire Knowledge acquisition is the process by which knowledge is obtained [41], or transferred from a source to a company through written forms, physical objects, people, cooperation between source and recipient, courses and outsourcing [31]. Codify Knowledge codification is the process of converting the generated knowledge into accessible and applicable formats [42]. It is concerned with the capture, representation and storage of knowledge in computerized knowledge bases [43]. 5


Hansen et al. [44] stated that codification strategy supports the use of knowledge repositories such as documentation and more specifically technological databases to store organisational knowledge.



Store Knowledge storage involves obtaining the knowledge from organisational members and/or external sources, coding and indexing the knowledge for later retrieval and capturing [28]. Storing organisational knowledge enables employees to anticipate future needs of the organisation in order for the most valuable knowledge to be stored [41].



Maintain Maintaining Knowledge stores is essential to the continued progression of an organisation’s ability to learn. It is about providing accurate, consistent relevant and required quantity and quality of knowledge when needed [30].



Transfer Knowledge transfer is established through personto-person or system-to-person interaction. Knowledge transfer occurs inside and outside the organisation. Thus, an organisation may transfer knowledge or receive it from outside the organisation, which is knowledge acquisition [45]. Create Knowledge creation involves developing new content or replacing existing content within the organisation’s tacit and explicit knowledge [46]. While it may be argued that new knowledge may be created through formalized mechanisms such as surveys and research and development [47], others propose that the creation of new knowledge shouldn’t be a formalized process but one which is socially constructed and occurs over time through human networks [33,48]. 3.1.5 Benefits and Barriers of Knowledge Management Applications Due to its benefits, Knowledge Management has been applied successfully in a wide range of disciplines and technologies including [43]: (1) expert systems; (2) artificial intelligence; (3) Knowledge Base Management Systems (KBMS); (4) library and information science; (5) technical writing; (6) document management; (7) decision support systems; (8) semantic networks; (9) relational and object databases; (10) simulation; (11) organisational science; (12) object-oriented information modelling; (13) electronic publishing technology, hypertext, World Wide Web and helpdesk technology and (14) performance support systems. The wide range of adoption and application of Knowledge Management could be attributed to its benefits such as:  Improving the decision making process and mitigating risk. 6



  

Building profound relationships and ongoing mind-share with customers. Improving productivity, efficiency and competitiveness as well as speeding Innovation and creativity. Creating more adaptive, responsive, dynamic and flexible organisations. Enhancing team collaboration and coordination. Maximising the use of organisational available collective wisdom, experience, and the brain-power of human capital assets. Improving the flow of knowledge and the ability of managing organisational change. Reducing operating costs by substituting information and knowledge stores for inventory [10].

In the field of design and construction, Knowledge Management is now recognized as a core business concern and intellectual asset that play a vital role in gaining competitive advantage. The need for innovation and business improvement in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, necessitated effective deployment and utilization of project knowledge. However, there are barriers that hinder the adoption and application of Knowledge Management in the design and construction field including:  Lack of previous processes or systems that focus on the process of Knowledge Management as they were not part of the original system specification to improve organisational performance.  Lack of systems that could be used to monitor the creation and distribution of knowledge throughout the architectural design process.  There are no means of measuring the performance of Knowledge Management plans that are being carried out, because it’s not always tangible measures.  Poor understanding of Knowledge Management and its benefits, led many construction professional to respond negatively to Knowledge Management as they view it as a threat to their self-image.  Knowledge Management as a new concept is inadequately made explicit in a language that all individuals inside the organisation can understand [49].  High staff turnover which leading to loss of experience  Large size of organisations make knowledge sharing difficult  Departmental silos and fragmentation within the organisation [50].



3.2 Performance Measurement and Management in Construction 3.2.1 Definitions and Background Performance measurement and performance management are two concepts adopted by organisations that strive to sustain their competitive advantage, increase their market share and increase their profitability. Organisations that don’t measure their results, can’t distinguish between their success and failure. Consequently, such organisations can’t claim or reward success or avoid unintentional failure. If the organisation can’t recognize success, it can neither manage nor improve its performance [51]. Performance measurement is primarily managing outcome and reducing or eliminating overall variation in the work product or process [52]. Organisational performance comprises the actual output or results of an organisation as measured against its intended goals and objectives. It encompasses three specific areas of organisation outcomes: (a) Financial performance (profits, return on assets, return on investment, etc.) (b) Product market performance (sales, market share, etc.) (c) Shareholder return (total shareholder return, economic value added, etc.) [53]. Bititci et al. [54] discussed the difference between performance measurement and performance management. On the one hand, they defined performance measurement as the process of determining how successful organisations or individuals have been in attaining their objectives. This process is usually determined by the metric of a number of indicators, which include both financial and non-financial indicators. On the other hand, performance management is described as a closed loop control system which deploys policy and strategy, and obtains feedback from various levels in order to manage the performance of the system. 3.2.2 Benefits of Measuring Performance in Construction The benefits of measuring performance in construction are:  Identifying whether the organisation is meeting customer requirements and providing the services/products that the customers require.  Helping the organisation to understand its problems and production processes.  Ensuring that decisions are based on well documents facts and figures and not on intuition and gut feelings.  Identifying areas of specialization that require improvement, improvement timeframe and method of improvement.  Evaluating the achievement of organisational improvement objectives [52].


3.2.3

Levels and Categories of Performance Measurement in Construction Traditionally, performance measurement in construction focused on project level. However, over the past decades, the performance measurement target in the construction industry has been developed and extended to include the project level, organisational level and project stakeholder level, see (Table 3). Most performance measures can be grouped into one of the following six general categories, see (Table 4) [52].

3.3

The Characteristics of the Preparation and Design Stages

The construction process consists of a number of stages namely, preparation, design, preconstruction, construction and use [65] Due to their nature, the preparation and design stages represent cornerstone elements of project success. The preparation stage has two components namely, appraisal and design brief. On the one hand, appraisal focuses on identifying the client needs and objectives, business case and possible constraints on development. In addition, the feasibility studies and assessment of options to enable the client decides whether to proceed are prepared. On the other hand, design brief concentrates on developing the initial statement of requirements into the design brief of the client confirming key requirements and constraints. Moreover, identification of procurement method, procedures, organisational structure and range of consultants and others to be engaged for the project are established [65]. The design stage consists of three components namely, concept, design development and technical design. The concept component implements the design brief, prepares concept design including outline proposals for structural and building services systems, outline specifications and preliminary cost plan as well as review of procurement route. The design development component focuses on developing the concept design to include detailed structural and building services systems, updated outline specifications and cost plan. In addition, it completes the project brief and applies for detailed planning permission. Finally, the technical design component prepares the technical design(s) and specifications, sufficient to co-ordinate components and elements of the project and information for statutory standards and construction safety [65]. The preparation and design stages are characterized with the large amount of knowledge gained from different project stakeholders (i.e. clients, designers, contractors, suppliers, etc.). Professional management and utilisation of this knowledge will definitely, improve the performance of the developed project and the design organisation [66]. 7


Table 3. Objectives of Performance Measurement in Construction Levels Project Level  Delivering project design within planned timeframe, estimated cost & required quality  Enhancing environmental and design performance  Integrating concepts such as sustainability, constructability and safety in design  Adopting innovative solutions  Procurement performance  Learning from post-occupancy evaluation  Utilizing the benefits of project management tools and techniques  Maintenance  Thermal and air conditioning  Involving customers in the decision making process  Client satisfactions  Net present value  Reducing accident rate [55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62] Organisational Level  Gaining high profit  Opening new markets  Creating new production lines  Developing new technological capability  Increasing positive reputation  Achieving design and construction teams satisfaction  Enhancing organisation image and reputation  Improving human resource performance through empowerment and development [55,63,64] Stakeholder Level  Meeting acquisition goals  Answering the operational need  Product entered service  Reached the end user on time  Product has a substantial time for use  Meaningful improvement of user operational level  User is satisfied with product  Decreasing dependence on outside sources  Contributing to other projects [55,63,64]

Table 4. Categories of Performance Measurement in Construction Effectiveness

Efficiency

Quality Timeliness Productivity Safety

8

Measures the degree in which the process output (work product) conforms to requirements, (Are we doing the right things?) Measures the degree in which the process produces the required output at minimum resource cost. (Are we doing things right?) Measures the degree that a product or service meets customer requirements and expectations. Measures whether a unit of work was done correctly and on time. Measures the value added by the process divided by the value of the labor and capital consumed. Measures the overall health of the organisation and the working environment of its employees.

4. A CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHTING THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN IMPROVING PERFORMANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ORGANISATIONS Keppie Design is a Scottish leading independent architectural practice established about 150 years ago. The company has an international reputation in health-care design and education. Throughout that time, the company has established a reputable background in quality buildings that work well technically and aesthetically. A number of issues have been raised and led the company to invest in Knowledge Management. Firstly, the rapid expansion of health-care and education projects necessitated opening new offices and doubling staff members which added loads on ordinary forms of knowledge transfer, training and communication. Secondly, the gap between the technical skills of fresh architectural graduates and needs of the construction industry affected the firm's reputation and performance. The main challenges that encountered Knowledge Management implementation and achieving stated objectives are: lack of understanding the benefits of applying Knowledge Management, poor circulation of information to remote offices and contacts between architects to discuss repeated issues, the need to form a repository of experience and skills such as directory of standard drawing details, library of technical and design information, and directory of standard firm information for bid documents and finally the need for training. A Knowledge Manager was assigned to facilitate the internal communication, improve the training and professional development within the firm and identify the expertise developed in project working. This was achieved through:  Active collaboration of all staff members of different organisational levels.  Forming technical working groups to utilise their experience and skills.  Developing a simple intranet model to demonstrate the potentials of communication using a fully developed web based system.  Observing and guiding the procedure of using the system and developing it.  Establishing an experience and skills database based on interviews with staff members to facilitate searching for experienced staff based on their different experience levels. Over a two-year period Keppie Design achieved substantial advantages from a relatively small financial investment in Knowledge Management. Trainee staff was quickly inducted into the business, reducing the time to productivity; technical information was readily accessible under Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, Vol. 20, No.1, 2015


the guidance of experienced technical managers; the staff directory allowed increased collaboration among dispersed teams of architects; and the efficiency of bid preparation was substantially improved. Many more opportunities remain to increase productivity through more effective internal communication [67].

5. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVING ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE DURING THE PREPARATION AND DESIGN STAGES The different stages of the construction project include a number of potential opportunities to generate and capture explicit and tacit knowledge. Due to the fragmented nature of the construction process generally and the architectural design process in particular valuable knowledge is lost. Poor management of this knowledge leads to “reinventing the wheel”, repeating errors and mistake as well as poor performance. Amidon [68] stated that knowledge resources need to be carefully managed rather than being left to serendipity. Documented cases of organisations that have achieved notable success in improving their performance through Knowledge Management included Chaparral Steel, Honda, Canon, Buckman Laboratories, and Skandia [37,69,70]. However, Nonaka [37] pointed out that despite all the discussions about brainpower and intellectual capital, few managers grasp the true nature of the knowledge- creating company—let alone how to manage it. Zack and Serino [71] maintain that while the business case for Knowledge Management is becoming widely accepted, few organisations today are fully capable of developing and leveraging critical organisational knowledge to improve their performance. Knowledge has been widely accepted as strategic resource in ADOs, however its developmental potential is often not well exploited. Amongst other reasons, this is caused by the wide variety of Knowledge Management concepts, methods and tools challenging company management in selecting the appropriate measure for the specific company situation and developmental goal. Furthermore, knowledge is directly linked to people and knowledge-based interventions therefore can’t be successful without reaching the company’s employees and getting them involved in any change processes. Although Knowledge Management has been applied successfully in other industries and played a crucial role towards improving their performance, its adoption and application in the architectural design process is limited [11], see (Figure 2). . Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, Vol. 20, No.1, 2015

6. DATA ANALYSIS Two approaches were utilized for analysing the collected data, namely quantitative and qualitative. Firstly, quantitative analysis was conducted through measuring the central tendency and dispersion of the interviews responses. The measure of central tendency was used to get an overall view of the typical values for each variable by calculating the mean, median and mode. The measure of dispersion was used to assess the homogenous or heterogeneous nature of the collected data by calculating the variance (V) and the standard deviation (SD) [72]. Analysis of the collected data revealed close values of these measures which confirmed the quality and the homogeneity of the collected data. Since not all factors that affect organsational performance have the same importance, the relative importance index was used to differentiate between these factors, using the formula of: RII = ∑W/AN, Where: W: weighting given to each factor by the respondents and range from 1 to 5, A:

highest weight (five in our case);

N:

total number of sample [73,74,75]. The data was analysed with the aid of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Secondly, since there is no quantification without qualification and no statistical analysis without interpretation [76] during the course of this research, qualitative data analysis were employed to explain quantitative values and to analyse open ended questions that require views and explanations of respondents.

Figure 2. Relationship between Knowledge Management and Improving Organisational Performance (developed by the Authors)

6.1 Response Rate and Profile of Surveyed Organisations Out of 22 structured interviews planned to be achieved and due to the busy schedule of Design Managers, only 15 were conducted, see (Table 5). This represents a 68.18% response rate that supports the research findings and recommendations. 9


Table 5. Planned and conducted Interviews Strata Expertise house Multidisciplinary bureaus Specialist Architectural bureaus Total







Planned Interviews

Conducted Interviews

Response Rate (%)

10 7

7 5

70 71.43

5

3

60

22

15

68.18

80% (12 out of 15) respondents stated that their organisations have structured functional hierarchy system including specialised departments, where the remaining organisations were run as projectised entities. 20% (3 out of 15) respondents mentioned that their organisations have Project Management Office (PMO) which plays a centralised and coordinated role towards managing projects under its domain. This role includes (1) providing support and guidance to organisational departments, (2) managing shared and coordinated resources, (3) central monitoring of all PMO timelines and budgets and (4) improving the integration between projects and business objectives. On a scale of 1-5, 66.67% (10 out of 15) and 53.33% (8 out of 15) respondents agreed on the important role that the preparatory and design stages play towards improving the performance of their organisations with a rate of 4.25 and 3.75 out of 5 respectively, see (Figure 3).



60% (9 out of 15) respondents stated that their organisational performance is measured on both monetary and non-monetary bases, where the remaining respondents mentioned that they depend on monetary measures only.



80% (12 out of 15) respondents highlighted that the performance of their organisations is measured at organisational and stakeholder levels and it is usually measured by departments’ heads. On the other hand, the remaining organisations measured their performance at project level only by the project manager. All organisations responded that performance is measured on annual basis.

6.2.1

Relative Importance and Ranking of Organisational Success Indicators

The numerical scores obtained from the structured interviews’ responses provided an indication of the varying degree of the importance of each organisational success indicator (OSI) to enable ADOs to measure and improve their performance. To further investigate the data, the Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to rate the OSIs according to their importance. As would be expected, while some OSIs have very high importance on organisational performance, others don’t. Table (6) provides a full list of the RIIs and ranking of OSIs in ADOs respectively. The numbers in brackets in the “rank” column represents the sequential ranking, as some OSIs have similar RIIs as in the case of the first three indicators. It worth mentioning here that the “final rank” (column 13) of OSIs is based on the indicator’s highest mean and percentage of respondents scoring. For example, although OSI3 and OSI4 have the same mean and RIIs, OSI3 was ranked higher as it has higher percentage of respondents scoring than the other indicator. Likewise, although OSI13 and OSI4 have the same mean and RIIs, OSI13 was ranked higher as it has higher percentage of respondents scoring. Inspection of the results showed that the OSIs could be classified into three categories, see (Figure 4).

Figure 3. The Importance of Preparatory and Design Stages on the Organisational Performance

6.2 Analysis of Responses related to Organisational Performance This section of the structured interview aimed to investigate the perception and application of organisational measurements and performance in ADOs. 

10

All design managers attended the interviews were aware of the importance of measuring organisation performance as an approach for sustaining their competitive advantage and improving their performance.

Figure 4. RII of Organisational Success Indicators Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, Vol. 20, No.1, 2015


(1) First, the high to very high importance (OSIs) with RIIs above 0.800, which includes: 

Increasing market share / profitability.



Delivering design within planned timeframe, estimated cost & required quality.



Integrating sustainability, constructability and safety concepts in design.



Improving organisational image and reputation.



Developing creative design concept / technical approach.

(2) Second, the average to high importance (OSIs) with RIIs lying between 0.600 and 0.800, which includes: 

Developing quality design defects and quality facility.



Improving design through lessons and feedback.



Complying to customers’ requirements and achieving their satisfaction.



Empowering employees and enhancing their competency.



Applying Project Management tools and techniques.

free

of

learned

(3) Finally, the low to average importance (OSIs) with RIIs less than 0.600, which includes:  Adapting to changes of business environment, market demand and needs of project users that appear at later stages.  Maintaining long-term relationship with clients.  Ensuring employees’ satisfaction.  Conducting after sales services.  Involving customers in the decision making process at early stages of the project life cycle.

6.3 Analysis of Responses related to Knowledge Management



respondents highlighted that lack of senior management awareness and support as well as the absence of structured framework to utilise the valuable information during the design process affects adversely the performance of ADOs. All respondents added that professional introduction of Knowledge Management and its benefits to senior management in ADOs will improve the performance at project, organisation and stakeholder levels.

6.3.1

Relative Importance and Ranking of Knowledge Management Barriers Table (7) provides a list of the RIIs and ranking of Knowledge Management Barriers (KMBs) in ADOs respectively. These barriers were ranked according to their highest mean and percentage of respondents scoring. For example, KMB1 was ranked first as it has the highest mean and percentage of respondents scoring than any other barrier. Inspection of the results showed that the KMBs are classified as high to very high importance as their RIIs above 0.800, see (Figure 5).

Figure 5. RII of Knowledge Management Barriers in ADOSs

This section of the structured interview investigated the perception and application of Knowledge Management as a tool for improving the performance of ADOs in Egypt.  73.33% (11 out of 15) respondents stated that they haven’t been introduced to the concept of Knowledge Management or used it before. Only 4 organisations agreed that they used Knowledge Management but merely for documentation purpose.  All respondents stated that valuable information is lost during preparation and design stages due to the fragmented nature of the architectural design process. In addition,


11


Perce ntage of Resp onde nts

Table 6. The Organisational Success Indicators against their Measures of Central Tendency, Dispersion and Ranking

Median (4)

Mode (5)

(9) SD (7)

< 3 (8)

(10)

V (6)

3–4

>4

RII (11)

Rank (12)

Final Rank (13)

Organisational Success Indicators in ADOs (2)

Mean (3)

No. (1)

4.60 4.53

5 5

5 5

0.08 0.05

0.01 0.00

0 0

5 6

10 9

0.92 0.91

(1) (2)

1 2

4.47

5

5

0.02

0.00

0

6

9

0.89

(3)

3

4.47 4.07

5 5

5 5

0.02 0.20

0.00 0.01

0 0

7 8

8 7

0.89 0.81

(3) (4)

4 5

4.40

4

4

0.047

0.00

2

8

5

0.77

(5)

6

4.40

4

4

0.00

0.00

3

8

4

0.73

(6)

7

4.27

4

4

0.01

0.00

3

9

3

0.71

(7)

8

4.27

4

4

0.03

0.00

4

8

3

0.69

(8)

9

4.27

4

4

0.10

0.01

4

8

3

0.67

(9)

10

3.00

3

3

0.81

0.05

5

7

3

0.60

(10)

11

OSI12

Increasing market share / profitability Delivering design within planned timeframe, estimated cost & required quality Integrating sustainability, constructability and safety concepts in design Improving organisational image and reputation Developing creative design concept / technical approach Developing quality design free of defects and quality facility Improving design through learned lessons and feedback Complying to customers’ requirements and achieving their satisfaction Empowering employees and enhancing their competency Applying Project Management tools and techniques Adapting to changes of business environment, market demand and needs of project users that appear at later stages Maintaining long-term relationship with clients

2.93

3

3

0.93

0.06

6

6

3

0.59

(11)

12

OSI13

Ensuring employees’ satisfaction

2.87

3

3

1.06

0.07

4

6

5

0.57

(12)

13

OSI14

Conducting after sales services

2.87

3

3

1.28

0.09

6

7

2

0.57

(12)

14

OSI15

Involving customers in the decision making process at early stages of the project life cycle

2.67

3

3

1.52

0.10

7

6

2

0.53

(13)

15

OSI1 OSI2 OSI3 OSI4 OSI5 OSI6 OSI7 OSI8 OSI9 OSI10 OSI11

Table 7. The Barriers to Knowledge Management Adoption and Application in ADOs against their Measures of Central Tendency, Dispersion and Ranking

Mean (3)

Median (4)

Mode (5)

V (6)

SD (7)

< 3 (8)

3–4 (9)

> 4 (10)

RII (11)

Rank (12)

Final Rank (13)

Percentage of Respondents Scoring

KM B1

Lack of processes and systems to monitor the creation and distribution of knowledge throughout the architectural design process.

4.60

5

5

0.07

0.01

0

5

10

0.92

(1)

1

KM B2

The dominant perception that Knowledge Management is not a tangible performance measures.

4.53

5

5

0.04

0.00

0

6

9

0.91

(2)

2

KM B3

Poor understanding of Knowledge Management and its benefits

4.47

5

5

0.03

0.00

0

6

9

0.89

(3)

3

KM B4

High staff turnover

4.33

5

5

0.00

0.00

1

6

8

0.87

(4)

4

KM B5

Large size of organisations make knowledge sharing difficult

4.07

4

5

0.07

0.01

2

6

7

0.81

(5)

5

KM B6

Departmental silos and fragmentation within the organisation

4.00

4

5

0.11

0.01

2

6

7

0.80

(6)

6

No. (1)

12

Barriers to Knowledge Management Adoption and Application in ADOs (2)



across Contexts”, Group & Organisation Management, 28, 444-474.

7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The early stages of the construction project play a significant role towards its success. This is because the important decisions made during these stages affect the characteristics and the form of the project and they can’t be easily deleted or changed. These stages have potential opportunities for developing and capturing explicit and tacit knowledge. The fragmented nature of the construction industry in general and the architectural design process resulted in losing valuable knowledge which affects the performance of ADOs. Knowledge resources have to be well managed in order to avoid repeating errors, reinventing the wheel and improving organisational performance. The presented case study highlighted the role of Knowledge Management in improving the performance and sustaining the competitive advantage of Keppie Design. This was achieved through conducting training programmes, reducing productivity time, facilitating information accessibility, increasing collaboration among spread teams and efficiency of bid preparation process. Results of the structured interview revealed that the preparation and design stages, due to their nature and activities, are important for improving the performance of ADOs. In addition, interviewees stated that measuring and managing the performance of ADOs is a corner stone for improving their performance. Furthermore, Interviewees highlighted that Knowledge Management is not well introduced in the architectural design process and its use is mainly for documentation purpose and a number of barriers to knowledge management adoption and application in ADOs was studied. Based on the above the research may come to the following recommendations:   



Particular attention should be paid towards managing and capturing the knowledge Knowledge management has to be integrated as a strategic tool for improving performance in ADOs. The benefits of Knowledge Management have to be presented to senior management and decision makers in ADOs to facilitate its adoption and application. Senior management support and providing necessary training and resources to ensure the successful integration of Knowledge Management in ADOs.

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