6.1Introduction

For a decade, Creative-Knowledge-Company has successfully delivered consultancy services, targeting soft funding instruments of research and development (R&D) projects, to a wide portfolio of clients, currently spread across nine European countries. In 2016, the company began facing the challenges associated with growing a high-performance, knowledge-based team, in all its different dimensions (e.g., cultural, technical, geographical), from one office and one nationality to three offices in three countries (Denmark in 2006, Portugal in 2009, and Norway in 2014) and five nationalities.

With hundreds of projects archived and countless field experiences, the generated knowledge has significant potential to improve the company’s internal management processes, leading to further valorization and optimized exploitation of resources and talent, generating more value to clients.

Addressing this situation systematically will allow the company to overcome the following challenges:

As a well-known company of Scandinavian origin, Creative-Knowledge-Company’s organizational structure has remained flat over the years [1], with the partners of the company at the top and all other consultants at the same level. The typical profile of the consultants is that of someone with a technical or business background, with very good analytical skills, average IT literacy (user perspective), and a capacity to work in a multicultural environment (on both sides of activities, meaning with both clients and colleagues). All consultants work flexibly across all the different business areas of the company, with experience and availability being the core criteria for task assignment. This concept is aligned with recent descriptions that jobs in knowledge-based companies are designed in broad terms to promote innovation, autonomy, participation in decision-making, and continuous improvement [2]. This allows staff members to develop their own skills, but it also makes organizations more dependent on individual skills and abilities. Whereas socially such a setup is conducive to a very friendly work environment, as the company grows, it is not sustainable not to have an organizational architecture that is more structured and that adds some layers of specialization to internal procedures.

The aim of this chapter is to make an initial diagnostic on the company’s organization in terms of human resources by conducting a job analysis. With all consultants recognizing the need for these changes and the relevance of the situation, the specific objective of conducting this job analysis is to better understand the current formal workflow of the company. This is expected to highlight potential synergies and identify gaps and information needs.

The outcome of the study will mainly support managerial decisions on the organizational architecture of the company to allow for continuous growth and success. An additional outcome of the study will be to support the definition of performance indicators related to knowledge management, so that once the structure is in place, the team can take one step further and focus on optimizing knowledge sharing, to enhance overall performance.

6.2Theoretical background

The current global economic climate and the emergence of a knowledge-based society impose new challenges for human resource management (HRM) [2]. It is no longer enough to implement HR processes that were designed to meet the needs of industrialization in organizations. Companies are now “born global,” hold intangible competitive drivers, and face unprecedented demand for new ways of organizing work structures and sustaining innovation. Worker skills and knowledge are now the most valuable asset of companies and have unprecedented levels of impact on organizational performance [2]. Therefore, strategic human resource management (SHRM) is considered a key element in promoting innovation capacity [3], and effective HRM has emerged as a determining factor in achieving and sustaining organizational success [4]. Best practices in the field of SHRM of competitive companies include selective recruitment, team work and mobility, competence development and information sharing, autonomy, and attractive compensation packages [5].

In this scenario, SMEs are significantly different from large organizations that shape HRM practices, which is to say that studies conducted and frameworks developed at large institutions do not fully apply to SMEs [6]. In addition to being largely dependent on their human resources [7], SMEs typically have simpler organizational structures and lower levels of decentralization and specialization [8], which translate into short distances (between colleagues and management) [9] and informal procedures [7]. Taken together, these intrinsic features of SMEs are the same elements that hamper the growth sustainability of a multicultural and geographically dispersed team.

Creative-Knowledge-Company’s context, thus, is of a dual nature. While the company acknowledges its workers’ individual skills and talent as the main source of its competitive advantages, at the same time, diversity and dispersion become more complex to manage in a sustainable way. This complexity highlights the need for analyzing different elements in the development of a new organizational architecture, departing, with this study, from its core element – human resources. In fact, the way corporate governance is organized has direct implications not only in a company’s performance and operations but also, importantly, in organizational knowledge transfer [10] and in SHRM [11].

Understood as a critical tool of any organization due to its innumerable uses, job analysis assumes a great relevance when implemented proactively owing to its positive relation with organizational performance, deserving, in this way, special attention from HR professionals, top management, and line managers [12]. Also, Suthar, Latha Chakravarthi, and Pradhan [13, p. 166] share the opinion that “A regular or proactive job analysis practices help [sic] to identify factors that shape the employees’ motivation and job satisfaction.” In other words, despite the many criticisms of job analysis due to increasing demands placed on many positions and the need to continuously update job contents, which are the result of the dynamic and ongoing evolution of the organizational environment (internal and external) (e.g., [14–16]), this HR practice, developed in a strategic and proactive way [12], still assumes a great relevance and critical role in organizational effectiveness.

Over the years, a number of job analysis methods have been developed; some are described as task-oriented, others more behavior-oriented or attribute-oriented [17]. Looking, nowadays, at job analysis from a strategic and proactive perspective, authors still build their approaches to it based on models composed of different steps. Indeed, Campbell [18] used a job analysis schedule that provides a framework of 12 items organized into 4 sections to report job analysis information. Chang and Kleiner [19] defined five main steps in the process of job analysis. Schneider and Konz (1989, cited in [20]), in turn, identified eight stages in the implementation of job analysis; in addition, these authors provide their own contribution as in their final stage they emphasize a reevaluation of job requirements by comparing the existing ones to the expected changes in the job, injecting more dynamism into the process. In the same line of thought of these authors, Baruch and Lessem [21] also take into account the business environment dynamism, highlighting the differences that can exist between job analysis for lower-level jobs and for managerial positions. For these authors, while in lower-level jobs traditional job analysis methods can give excellent results, in what concerns managerial positions (which, by comparison, can’t be described in very specific terms), other methods are needed, namely what they call “spectral management theory,” leading to the “spectral management type inventory (SMTI)” [21, p. 4]. This method, based on three traits of a person, such as cognitive, affective, and behavioral characteristics, can lead to eight different types of management style.

In sum, owing to its critical relevance, job analysis continues to serve as the foundation for managing organizations and HR because it represents the essence of general management.

6.3Approach and methodology

As in most types of management research studies, this case study is no exception; it covers applied research, oriented toward problem solving, that is, a problem is identified in a company, and we wish to sort it out in a systematic way.

As stressed earlier, job analysis consists of a process to gather information related to tasks and requirements that identify the specific contents of a job. It includes personal features and outlines technical requirements and skills needed to perform the job, and, beyond describing to workers what their roles are, it serves as support for different HR processes such as training, performance assessment, recruitment, definition of incentives, and occupational health, among others.

Following the literature (e.g., [18, 19]; Schneider and Konz (1989, cited in [20]),we note that job analysis consists of four stages:

Because this work is part of an internal project that is broader in scope, this study will only cover the first three stages and end with communication to the organization about the findings. Since stage 4 of the job analysis is beyond the scope of this work, the methodology covered in all tasks will be predominantly descriptive, entailing the gathering of information from different sources at the company and relating features and processes. In what follows, methods and procedures defined for stages 1 to 3 are described in more detail.

6.4Findings and discussion

Staff inventory

Creative-Knowledge-Company’s staff inventory is presented in the list below (Table 6.1).

Creative-Knowledge-Company’s current staff is composed of a young gender-balanced team of 24 individuals, aged between 22 and 52 and from 5 different nationalities. Most academic backgrounds (15 out of 23) include a PhD, with the majority in engineering and natural sciences, while others have an academic background related to political and economic sciences. The team is spread out between 3 locations as follows: 6 people in Denmark, 16 in Portugal, and 1 in Norway. New hires mainly took place in 2015 and 2016 (11 out of 24), and 5 team members have enrolled in various external training events upon request.

The notable net growth of the Portuguese office can be explained not only by the availability of highly qualified labor, but also by the dynamics of the Scandinavian labormarket. Over the years there have been more hires in Denmark; however, employee retention is far from those levels seen in Portugal. This reflects both cultural and economic aspects. People in Portugal are more reluctant to change jobs and, hence, are less vulnerable to the risk that entails [1], whereas the latest reports from the EU show higher vacancy rates in Northern Europe [23] owing to the better economic conditions. In such markets, unique job requirements in knowledge-based organizations have also created a shortage and increased competition for talented workers [2]. This reality has shaped Creative-Knowledge-Company‘s organic growth.

Six different positions were identified, with some team members rising to management positions. A summary of the job of each position is described in what follows, and the relationship between the different positions, in terms of supervision, dependency, autonomy, and synergies, is also outlined (Table 6.2).

The tasks of each position, and underlying responsibilities, are better understood in the light of the company’s core workflow. The operational workflow that serves as a basis for all services delivered by Creative-Knowledge-Company is presented in what follows (Figure 6.1), followed by a description of the tasks, responsible person, and information requirements for each step (Table 6.3). A first observation that can be made about these results is that the company has grown organically to mainly locate delivery in Portugal and sales in Denmark and Norway.

Tab. 6.1: Creative-Knowledge-Company’s staff inventory.

Tab. 6.2: Job descriptions of different positions at Creative-Knowledge-Company.

Project developer (12)	Involved in delivery: development of project proposals, research on projecttopics, research on rules and formalities, contact with clients for gatheringinformation, contact with funding authorities
Senior consultant (3)	Involved in delivery and quality control and sales: development of projectproposals, research on project topics, research on rules and formalities,contact with clients to gather information and scout for new opportunities,contact with funding authorities, negotiating and drafting contracts
Chief consultant (3)	Involved in quality control and sales: research on rules and formalities,contact with clients for scouting opportunities, contact with fundingauthorities, negotiating and drafting contracts, managing key accounts
Partner (3)	Involved in quality control, sales, and strategic management; shareholder
Researcher (2)	Supports activities for delivery and management
Manager/Head (4)	Overall internal organization: support of operations and strategicmanagement (financial control, accounts, HR, internal organization)

All tasks performed at Creative-Knowledge-Company evolve around specific projects that have seasonal delivery deadlines. For each project, a small team of two to three people is assigned. There is a wide range in the frequency of deadlines, with some projects being due quarterly and others only once a year. This frequency is defined by external stakeholders, and Creative-Knowledge-Company has no control over it.

With extensive consultants’ profiles and broad job descriptions generically used at Creative-Knowledge-Company, the mapping of processes contributes to a formalization of procedures and tacit knowledge, currently available only through informal media, such as word of mouth, within the small teams assigned to each project. In this way, instead of hesitant actions, performance can be structured in a way that facilitates control and knowledge transfer.

Tab. 6.3: Breakdown of tasks, manager, and information requirements for each step of the process map.

Formal flow of information

When considering knowledge management in virtual organizations, measuring the formal flow of information can reveal positive and negative aspects of the current organizational architecture. Given the degree of dispersion at Creative-Knowledge-Company, the behavior of the team of consultants can be described in the form of a network, aiming to realize advantages from diversity and collaboration [24]. The results of the model are presented in Tables 6.4 and 6.5 and Figure 6.2 in what follows.

The network density ranges from 0 to 1 and is calculated by the sum of existing ties divided by the number of potential ties (Nodes × Nodes − 1). While the existing ties increase linearly, the potential ties increase exponentially, which results in lower densities for larger networks. Therefore, at the network level, and for a single component with 19 nodes, the density of Creative-Knowledge-Company’s formal network is high (0.497, which mean half of the possible ties, or coparticipations, took place in the period of analysis). However, the network centralizes around just five nodes (KG, MH, MK, RS, and TK), as a result of these nodes being selected very often for the role of responsible or backup. These 5 nodes have an in-degree equal or above to 15, which means that 15 or more network members reported to them on at least one project. In total, these nodes control 49.4%of all in-degree ties, which could reflect the expected hierarchy associated with internal quality control processes since these members are either partners or chief consultants. At the tie level, four of the five strongest ties in the network reported to TK (from MH, DB, RR, and PS, in descending order of magnitude), which may reflect growing interdependencies among these members.

Tab. 6.4: Matrix of interactions based on project coparticipation (one-mode network).

One-mode social network computed using UCINET.

Tab. 6.5: In- and out-degree centrality of network nodes.

	Out-degree	In-degree
AA	10	4
AM	6	0
CC	8	10
DB	11	11
DF	10	8
EP	11	3
KG	5	18
LL	9	4
MG	10	8
MH	10	17
MK	8	15
MM	8	1
MP	11	5
PG	10	10
PS	11	11
RR	11	10
RS	6	16
SL	7	1
TK	8	18
	Density	0.497076

One-mode social network computed using UCINET

The results suggest that to improve internal knowledge transfer at Creative-Knowledge-Company, the overall density of the network should be increased while at the same time avoiding centralization. Any deliberations and suggestions for new organizational architectures or for new forms of organizing work management should therefore consider stimulating cooperation between peripheral nodes. This requires that direct “reporting-to” is spread across more members, and preferably not so frequently to those five central nodes.

Having a measurable indicator of the network performance and corresponding formal information flow is of utmost importance because it can support management in developing strategies promoting knowledge sharing, and it would make it possible to measure the impact of any changes to be made.

Furthermore, in the near future, the goal is to compare these findings with another study focusing on informal information flow. Being able to compare the two will provide invaluable insights into potentially fragmented aspects of knowledge management, namely those related to collaboration among team members and how that can be used to frame structures, work processes, and HR practices [25].

6.5Concluding remarks

Creative-Knowledge-Company’s core asset is knowledge and, inherently, human resources. For a number of years, HR best practices implemented and the distance between team members were just enough to perform knowledge transfer successfully, establishing a solid business leveraged by diversity. With the company’s expansion and growth, this distance is perceived as a barrier to knowledge transfer and long-term sustainability, in a number of ways, as previously described. The company finds itself in a vortex of change in many interdependent areas. Adjusting HRM practices, which by its nature includes knowledge management, to the company’s strategy can be the basis for the design of an organizational architecture tailored to performance sustainability.

This study, as part of a project of broader dimensions, elucidates the current formal workflow of the company and serves as a diagnostic of the staff’s operational performance. Formalizing processes at Creative-Knowledge-Company to this level of detail was deemed necessary only after the company had experienced exponential growth for the past 2 years, and so it can be considered an organizational advancement on its own. Since inappropriate internal processes can hamper sustainable growth, which is especially critical in a discussion of virtual teams, this diagnostic, to be presented to all staff in the near future, establishes a point of departure for supporting management decisions on new forms of organizing work that can improve knowledge sharing within a team.

These findings also reveal a scenario where more research is needed to investigate the informal knowledge sharing network of the team and compare it with the formal network analyzed in this study. In any case, and anticipating the changes that are universally recognized as necessary, the relevance of having tangible data and measures to support those changes becomes a key instrument of justification and engagement of staff, which are crucial for the implementation of a flexible corporate strategy.

The definition of metrics and key performance indicators of a broad nature, which are not necessarily objective, would also be another key step in this project. This would enable measurements of the impact of different decisions/ changes taken around the four pillars of knowledge management [26]: (a)management and organization, (b) infrastructure, (c) people and culture, and (d) content management systems.

One limitation of this study was that the person conducting it is part of the team; however, all methods were kept as descriptive and objective as possible, and in addition this team member is, with the exception of the partners, the person who has been at the company for the longest, which makes her familiar with all processes and staff. Another limitation is that the time allocated in the resource assignment spreadsheet does not necessarily reflect the actual amount of time that consultants have been working together on the same project. As such, for future work another internal tool, which reflects exactly how much time each person has worked, will be used to measure the formal workflow interactions (data not available at the time of this study).

To conclude, this study contributes to the implementation of a knowledge management system at Creative-Knowledge-Company that, given the specific nature of the company, is completely integrated in a quality management system. Ultimately, an improved management system, which includes SHRM, can serve as a basis for the company’s strategic and sustainable growth, raising the already high standards of service quality and efficient work environment of an intelligent organization.

Knowledge revision

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Answers to True and False Questions