Analysis of Knowledge Management at Focus Design: A Case Study

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the knowledge management system (KMS) employed by Focus Design, a New Zealand-based company specializing in system design. The assignment explores the sources, targets, and flow of knowledge within the organization, focusing on how Focus Design manages and shares its intellectual capital to maintain a competitive advantage. The analysis utilizes the 'organizational intelligence' tool to evaluate the company's knowledge situation, examining the informal organizational structure, stakeholder relationships, and strategic planning processes. The report identifies key activities requiring knowledge, such as system design, application testing, and market analysis. It also details the flow of knowledge between individuals, groups, and the organization as a whole. The report highlights the types of knowledge acquired, created, and transferred, with a particular focus on the challenges of transferring tacit knowledge. Furthermore, it examines the targets of knowledge management within Focus Design, which include staff members and new employees, and the various sources from which knowledge is acquired. Finally, the report identifies gaps, shortcomings, and potential risks within Focus Design's KMS, such as challenges in motivating knowledge acquisition, keeping up with technological changes, and the difficulties associated with transferring tacit knowledge. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and recommendations for improving the company's knowledge management practices.

RUNNING HEAD: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
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Knowledge Management

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Introduction
Knowledge Management is defined as the process of managing, gathering and sharing
knowledge capital of employees throughout the organization. Sharing of knowledge
throughput the organization improves existing businesses processes, introduces effective and
efficient businesses processes and removes any issues in processes (Dalkir,2017).
Knowledge Management is the discipline that promotes integrated and collaborative
approach to capture and access or use knowledge assets of an enterprise. It becomes the
priority of each and every organization to identify valuable knowledge and distribute it
throughout the organization. (Dayan et.al,2017). In order to understand the concept and
application and tools of knowledge management this paper includes analysis of case study of
Focus design New Zealand. The below sections in paper highlights; the source of knowledge,
target of knowledge and knowledge situation in an organization and a tool has been used
“organizational intelligence” to analyse and understand the knowledge situation. At last,
shortcoming, gaps and risks in the situation are highlighted.
Case Study Analysis
The paper is based on the knowledge or asset that Focus Design has and how this knowledge
can be further used by the company for expansion and development of business. Focus
Design is a New Zealand based company that design health care, government, education and
social systems. The company also has partnership with international design organizations.
Knowledge Situation
Focus Design is the company that runs on the basis of knowledge as the designing system
require knowledge of IT and well trained staff with innovative mind and solutions. In this
case the knowledge situation is providing training to youth trainees in order to develop their
knowledge about the systems, changing technology and handling of projects. The company
offers different IT services with the help of international design organization. Here, the focus
design is the firm, and government, institutions and other organizations are its clients that get
services from Focus Design. In order to provide best application, IT services and products to
clients the company require skilled and knowledge workforce for that Focus Design going to
change its process and use different technique to distribute knowledge from one group to
other less skilled group in order to build strong workforce that prove to be asset for the
company (Abubakar et.al,2019).

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In order to understand the impact that Focus Design can create in its business and in order to
analyse the knowledge situation a tool is used that is organizational intelligence,
Organizational intelligence is considered as the ability of an organization to create knowledge
and use that knowledge strategically in its business.
Organizational intelligence
Organization intelligence is considered as the ability of the company to use knowledge as an
asset and use this asset in the business to compete in the marketplace. Earlier, organization
have been viewed as compilations of products, tasks, employees , processes and profit centres
but at present they are seen as the intelligent systems that help the organization to manage
knowledge. This complex process involves interaction of large number of people in an
organization (Dalkir,2017). .
Figure 1: Organizational Intelligence
Source: (Dana et.al,2018)
Focus Design is a leading player in system design at the international platform. For the
organization knowledge management plays an important role as the company depend more
on knowledge sharing and transferring it to its new employees in order to retain the
competitive advantage. The organizational change process of the company depend on the
techniques used by the company to share knowledge, Focus Design used tools such as

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training, development programs and internal communication to share knowledge with its
employees (Dayan et.al,2017).
By using organizational intelligence tool the knowledge situation of Focus Design is analysed
that includes:
 Informal organization structure of the company as employees is free to share
information with each other without interference of any superior.
 Focus design maintain strong relationship with its stakeholders that includes client,
employees, and partners as the company offer better design services to its clients by
offering innovative solution for their problems, and at last by providing platform to
their employees such as youth trainees to acquired knowledge from experienced
person.
 Knowledge management process in Focus Design includes three components that are
people who acquire knowledge that are staff members or young trainees. Further
components are; form of knowledge that is to be transferred and in this situation tacit
knowledge transfer to employees and the person who transfer knowledge includes
experienced project managers, and employees who are working in this field and
develop special skills and knowledge throughout their journey (Capilla et.al,2016).
 Strategic planning that is done by Focus Design includes use of training, personality
development programs and strengthening of internal communication tools that help
in to easily transfer knowledge and information to employees that need to acquired it.
The above tool is selected because it considers whole system of Focus Design and helps in to
understand the relationships that drive Focus design activities. This tool helps in to
understand the role of different factors such as stakeholder’s relation, organization structure
and strategic planning and knowledge management in the success of the organization (Capilla
et.al,2016). In order to analyse the knowledge situation for Focus Design this tool give detail
information.
From the above analysis of knowledge situation it is identified that Focus design knowledge
situation is not that complex and can be improved to bring more efficiency and effectiveness
in Focus design business processes.

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Activities require knowledge
From the analysis of case study it is identified that IT system design requires knowledge that
can be learned from one person and from experience. In Focus Design, staffs includes
designers, data analysts, application testing people and the one who collect information about
customer experience and needs and accordingly set bid prices considering the competitive
environment. Hence, activities in Focus Design that requires knowledge are designers as for
designing a system as per the demand of customers need codification knowledge, application
testing require experience and knowledge about bugs need to be fixed and project managers
who collect information from the market to offer bid price require knowledge about the
competitors and market conditions and customer expectations (Hwang et.al,2018).
Flow of Knowledge
Flow of knowledge occurs between individuals, amongst groups and between organizations.
Further, this component includes knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing amongst groups,
individual and between organizations using different platform (Hwang et.al,2018).
In focus design flow of knowledge is done between
1. individuals
2. Groups in the organization
In the company the knowledge that share with all employees in the organization includes
sustainable technology and design as it is necessary for employees to understand the goals
and expectation of the company for that knowledge regarding sustainable technology is
transferred from director to employees. Second knowledge transferred amongst groups that
are divided into three according to their function; one group is of designers, other is of
application testers and last one of project managers. In these three groups in Focus Design,
knowledge flow from most experienced people to the one who joined recently. Hence,
knowledge transfer and sharing take place between groups from experienced employees of
the company, and to individuals from director of the company.
Acquired, created or transferred knowledge
From the analysis of Focus Design knowledge situation, and knowledge transfer and sharing
platforms, it is find out that knowledge in the organization can be acquired, created and
transferred. The knowledge that can be created in Focus Design includes designing of

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different systems as per the requirement of customers. As this required experience and
knowledge and with experience more innovative solution can be created by new employees
as well as by old ones (Abualoush et.al,2018).
The knowledge that can be acquired by individuals and groups in Focus Design includes
product knowledge from customers this can be done by taking feedbacks, collecting
suggestions, and collecting market information about competitors bid prices, services they are
offering and innovation that is done by other companies (North and Kumta, 2018). Further,
Focus Design can acquire knowledge from partners and from alliances. As the company
already do by acquiring knowledge with its international system design organizations.
Hence, knowledge that can be acquired includes competitor’s information and customer
expectation and that can be acquired by project managers. Further, knowledge that is created
and can be transferred includes designs, testing and codification. This is tacit knowledge that
is difficult to transfer and cannot be learned without experience. Due to that it becomes
difficult for Focus Design to transfer this knowledge amongst groups.
Target of Knowledge
The knowledge management in Focus Design targeted to the expansion of the company and
to increase the profitability and knowledge assets of the company. The targets of knowledge
are staff members, and newly joined employees (North and Kumta,2018). Focus design
knowledge process is based on the professional development of staff and expansion of the
company and for that enhancing of skills of young people in order to retain the knowledge
assets of the organization. As if target of knowledge is not set appropriately it will resultant in
lack of knowledge in the organization and business like design system require knowledge
transferring and sharing with the correct target in order to expand and grow (Kianto
et.al,2016).
Source of Knowledge
There are different sources for acquiring different type of knowledge, as for acquiring explicit
knowledge sources that are used includes import documents, assigning responsibilities and
roles to people in order transfer knowledge. The sources for acquiring tacit knowledge
includes informal networks, interaction between people within the work environment,
hierarchies, using different means of communication and by encouraging social interaction
and experimentation in the organization setting (Hislop et.al,2018).

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In the context of Focus Design, the company mainly depend on tacit knowledge but
codification of this knowledge but if not done that will resultant in knowledge loss for the
company. So in order to transfer or share tact knowledge the sources that are used by Focus
design includes mentoring by experienced people to new employees, conducting of programs
in order to encourage socialization and experimenting and practicing. These sources help
Focus Design to retain knowledge for gaining competitive advantage. The sharing of tacit
knowledge need culture that supports this type of sharing and Focus Design give this culture
to its employees. “This endeavour is very much about managing people and change in the
organization” (Hwang et.al,2018).
Gaps, shortcomings and risks in situation
From the case analysis of Focus Design it is identified that the manager of Focus design face
risks and challenges in knowledge management process that is collecting, analysing and
sharing of knowledge to others. The shortcomings that are identified includes motivating
people to acquire knowledge as this process is successful with the involvement and
engagement of target people and if process lacks engagement of people it might be difficult
to transfer knowledge and take advantage of it for long run (Inkinen,2016). It is difficult for
the company to up to date with the changes taking place in technology and due to that the
company may face gaps in sharing knowledge at the timer of urgency. Knowledge transfer
and sharing and especially of tacit knowledge is not that easy, focus design face challenges in
transferring same experience and knowledge to other employees in the same manner as it is
time taking process. Further, risk of data leakage and knowledge sharing with competitors by
employees is another shortcoming that is faced by the company.
Conclusion
It is concluded from the paper that Knowledge management is a complex process that
includes collecting, storing and sharing knowledge to individuals and groups in the
organization. From the case study of Focus design it is analysed that the knowledge situation
of the company includes the providing training to young employees in order to develop their
knowledge about the systems, understanding of changing technology and handling of
projects. It is concluded that the company is using tacit knowledge to transfer and use sources
such as training and development programs for transferring knowledge.

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