Graphic Details CaseGraphic Details CaseDebbie Martinez is the President and CEO of Graphic Details, an Atlanta based software development company that successfully created a suite of tools for the production of web-based graphics. Her company has 150 employees, roughly 100 in the Atlanta headquarters, 30 in the Boston office, and 20 in the recently opened Silicon Valley office. Even though the company initially saw reduced sales after the technology spending slump, sales have recovered, and the company is again growing. You ran into Debbie at the career fair, where she was scouting for new employees. The two of you started talking, and the discussion turned to some of the issues that Debbie is facing in her company. The software that Debbie is selling is quite complex, and requires both training and customization at the client sites. About sixty percent of the Graphic Details workforce is either a consultant or trainer, and this means that sixty percent of the workforce is on the road most of the time. Because they are on the road so much, it is hard for Debbie to provide them with information about the latest tools and techniques, and it is very difficult to get the consultants to communicate what they learn on the road (with the customers) back to the development people. She also noticed that the consultants don’t do a lot of sharing of their experiences, and she thinks that this is why some problems keep re-occurring. She complains that the wheel gets reinvented over and over again, but understands that her consultants and trainers are far too busy to spend a lot of time sharing their ideas with each other. Debbie made it clear that even though the company is doing pretty well, she and her management team can’t afford to invest in major initiatives unless there is a clear payoff, so they need to get a clear picture of expected benefits of any knowledge management initiatives. You tell Debbie that you have heard about similar problems in the class on knowledge management that you are taking, and Debbie, happy to find somebody who understands her problems, tells you about other issues. Another concern that Debbie has is the office in Silicon Valley that was opened last January. The office was opened because an increasing number of customers are on the West Coast, and because Graphic Detail is participating in several partnerships with other software companies. Out of the 20 people in the office in Silicon Valley, only 4 (all management) came from headquarters. The other 16 were hired locally. Debbie was quite shocked to find how little the 16 people know about Graphic Details’ suite of software tools, and how different the way of working in the office in Silicon Valley is from headquarters and the office in Boston.Because Graphic Details grew quite rapidly Debbie is not able to pay as much attention to her employees as she would like, and she is running into a problem that is very common in the software industry: there is quite a bit of turn-over in her company. Some people leave after 6 months, some after 2 years, and some have been with her since she founded Graphic Details five years ago. She feels that with every person that leaves the company important customer and product knowledge walks out of the door. If she can’t keep the people then she would at least like to keep their knowledge. 1Debbie is impressed with your understanding of her problems, and is very excited that you may know paths towards solutions. She asks you if you help in terms of what Graphic Details might do from a perspective of knowledge management.