Rahinah Ibrahim

Discontinuity in Organizations: Developing a Knowledge-Based Organizational Performance Model for Discontinuous Membership

Tacit knowledge attenuates particularly quickly in organizations that experience discontinuous membership: the coming and going of organizational roles or positions during a workflow process. Because knowledge flows enable workflows, and workflows drive performance, theory suggests that dynamic knowledge—particularly tacit knowledge—is critical for competitive advantage. This research seeks to extend established organization theory, through integration of emerging knowledge-flow theory, to inform the design of discontinuous organizations. Toward this end, we build a computational model based upon ethnographic study of an affordable housing project that experienced severe discontinuous membership. Analysis of this model reveals problematic theoretical gaps, and provides insight into how scholarly understanding of knowledge flows can extend organization theory to address discontinuous organizations. This research contributes new knowledge for designing knowledge-based organizations in discontinuous contexts.

Discontinuity in organisations: Identifying business environments affecting efficiency of knowledge flows in Product Lifecycle Management

We conducted an ethnographic study on an affordable housing developer to understand why knowledge losses recur despite investments in Knowledge Management (KM) systems by property developers. We found four operating environmental characteristics – multiple concurrent and sequential phases, discontinuous memberships, tasks interdependencies and different dominating knowledge types for each lifecycle phases – contributing to the Knowledge-loss phenomenon. These findings suggest a review of the information processing theory in business operations since it cannot fully support the operations of highly discontinuous teams. This understanding is critical as a basis for the design and development of future KM technologies in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). It also highlights the needs for the design and development of KM systems that cater to both the tacit- and explicit-dominant lifecycle phases within a PLM system.

Emerging Technology to Model Dynamic Knowledge Creation and Flow among Construction Industry Stakeholders during the Critical Feasibility-Entitlements Phase

Managing facility development is challenging for several reasons. For instance, the developer’s organizational structure differs over multiple workflow processes, and changes over different development phases. As another instance, individuals and organizations become affiliated on a temporary—or even virtual—basis, yet they must learn quickly how to work together as a coherent team. Managing the development of affordable housing is even more challenging, for financing regulatory requirements add burden to an already complex management task, and little organizational learning—through the flow of knowledge—appears to manifest itself from one challenging project to the next. Supporting this challenging management and learning task motivates us to employ agent-based simulation technology to model and analyze the development process—before the project begins—and thereby seek to improve project performance through enhanced owner-design-construction coordination. Further, such new technology can support the dynamic process of knowledge creation and flow among temporary stakeholders, who do not belong to the project sponsor’s organization, but whose combined decisions during the entitlements-feasibility phase impact the facility’s overall implementation time and cost. We model the pre-construction activities of an affordable housing project in California, as a particularly challenging case, to illustrate how an agent-based organization simulation tool can be used to analyze dynamic knowledge creation and flow. Despite the challenge associated with modeling the affordable housing case, however, the technology and approach articulated in the paper remain quite general, and should also apply well to more-conventional construction projects and organizations, across all project phases.

Creating green culturally responsive intelligent buildings: Socio-cultural and environmental influences

Today, the concept of green and sustainably built environments is considered one of the main targets of various governmental sectors and policy-makers in the creation of a better environment for the population. However, a critical task consists in debating the significance of sustainability and a green built environment before the initiation of any green project. Accordingly, this article suggests the fundamental role of sustainability in better built environments as well as indicating an omission within green and sustainable design development arising because of a lack of consideration of the traditional, cultural and regional values of users. Focus is made on smart housing as an intelligent building design development that is highly interrelated with sustainable issues, highlighting the lack of a deep consideration of the cultural values of users for ensuring socio-cultural sustainability. The article also draws attention to the profound vernacular features of vernacular settlements, which are substantially in harmony with the regional and cultural values of a region. The context is limited to the Malay experience, identifying the vernacular features of the functional spaces of a Malay vernacular settlement for utilization in a smart housing design within Malaysia with a view to making them culturally responsive. At the same time, this article proposes the concept of green culturally responsive intelligent building design development based on the integration of vernacular architectural features into intelligent buildings in order to enhance the quality of life.

Dynamic information retrieval and allocation flows in project teams with discontinuous membership

Project teams with discontinuous membership face unique knowledge management challenges. Team members in various roles create information during early project phases; however, certain of these roles may no longer be part of a project team during subsequent project phases when the knowledge needs to be applied. This research utilises instrumental role theory to examine the dynamics of information allocation and retrieval in a property development project team. We find that discontinuous membership significantly impacts information allocation and retrieval in project teams: continuous team members were more likely to be allocated information in tacit knowledge areas during earlier workflow phases, and they were more likely to retrieve both tacit and explicit information during later workflow phases. These results suggest that discontinuity of roles can result in the loss of key information in knowledge teams. Thus, managers should ensure that continuous team members recognise their role in compensating for such knowledge loss.

Using IT/ICT as a new medium toward implementation of interactive architectural communication cultures

Design is a multi-aspect, iterative, and complicated exclusive human activity and a critical aspect of many modern industries. The early phases of design are drastically affected by quality of communications among process stakeholders. Communication culture within every society depends on the tools people use for their communicational transactions. Today globalization and advanced IT/ICT technologies revolutionized communication culture in every society. We can see extreme changes in product design in the architectural design process. So understanding the situation of design culture dealing with IT/ICT seems vital. This paper contributes with an overview of the current situation of IT/ICT related benefits and challenges due to several aspects of the design process and culture. Explored key points here, establish the background for the introduction of an IT/ICT impact on the design collaboration culture. Conclusions outline the new design interaction culture and the IT/ICT related impacts on different phases of the architectural design process.

Developing a Knowledge-Based Organizational Performance Model for Discontinuous Participatory Enterprises

Our research seeks to understand how to extend established organization theory and emerging knowledge-flow theory to inform the design of organizations with discontinuous participation. Because knowledge flows enable workflows, and work determines performance, theory suggests the organization of knowledge-particularly tacit knowledge-is critical for competitive advantage. However, tacit knowledge does not flow well through the enterprise, and it attenuates particularly quickly in organizations that experience discontinuous participation. In this paper we build upon an ethnographic study and computational organization theory (COT) to model and analyze discontinuous participation in the domain of facility development. We find organizational design characteristics such as task interdependency affect flows of tacit knowledge and hence work performance in the enterprise. Computational and analytical results suggest how we can extend organization theory to address the dynamics of knowledge flows when designing organizations with discontinuous participation.

Embedding Cultural Knowledge in Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Fabrication Efficiency to Reduce Industrialized Construction Waste

Going “green” and global has marshaled Architects, Engineers and Contractors (AEC) to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) to be competitive across the globe. However, little is known on the effect of cultural and human factors on BIM technologies in industrialized building projects, especially in Malaysia. This paper examined the extant literature of BIM technologies to reduce construction waste and improving the efficiency of Industrialized Building Systems (IBS) in fabrication process. The paper supports BIM’s implementation as AEC professionals’ communication culture, effective cultural knowledge to mitigate knowledge loss, and key enabler for fabrication in a project. The paper concludes that despite having competent technological support, fabrication efficiency is still much affected by cultural knowledge between professionals during design phase which could affect production of waste in IBS construction. The result is expected to improve AEC collaboration knowledge during sustainable development through efficient environmental management during an industrialized project lifecycle.

A technique to capture multi-disciplinary tacit knowledge during the conceptual design phase of a building project

The construction industry is suffering from incomplete knowledge flow that results in time and cost over-runs. Many researchers believe that a large part of this problem is related to the design phase being a tacit knowledge-dominated area. Since tacitness of knowledge contributes to incomplete flow of knowledge, we posit that facilitating the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge can improve the overall knowledge flow. Within this context, this paper analyses recognised knowledge-capturing techniques and compares them in view of the operating characteristics of the conceptual design phase. This paper proposes a new tacit knowledge-capturing technique for this phase. The outcomes include a new knowledge-capturing technique, a method for validation of the proposed technique, and recommendations on how to deal with the challenges concomitant with the application and utilisation of the proposed technique in the building industry. By proposing a combinational tacit knowledge-capturing technique, this study attempts to mitigate the impact of the potential incomplete knowledge flow during the conceptual design phase in building projects.

Industrialized Construction Chronology: The Disputes and Success Factors for a Resilient Construction Industry in Malaysia

Discussion and Conclusion: This study redefines an IBS as a computer-integrated design, manufacturing, and construction system, using the concept of off-site or on-site prefabricated mass-production techniques within a controlled environment. Furthermore, the system uses proper coordination and planning to transport, position, and install building components with minimal in-situ work. With the success of modern methods of construction, IBS is expected to transform construction industry practices through the application of manufacturing and mechanization concepts. The study concludes by recommending incorporation of computer-aided learning technology at all workforces’ training levels when learning IBS applications. It is expected that this will improve performance in terms of construction quality, waste reduction, occupational safety, cost effectiveness, and productivity.