Building the learning construction organization: An exploration of barriers.

摘要

In learning organization research and literature, there exists a general consensus that the rate at which an organization learns may be its only source for enduring competitive advantage in a dynamic global market. Construction companies are no exception to this assertion, particularly when considering the extreme fragmentation of the market. In order for construction companies to maximize their potential for future success, they should focus on improving learning capabilities and functioning as learning organizations.; The transformation into a learning organization, however, requires significant organizational change and the construction industry has a tendency to resist change. According to Nevis (1987), targets of change are more receptive to change if they are first made more aware of their resistance to it. In this spirit, this research explores the barriers that three construction companies have encountered in their pursuit of the learning organization. Based on interviews with employees at multiple levels in each company, a set of barriers that construction companies face as they progress as learning organizations is developed. The ways in which these barriers have impeded the development of specific learning organization characteristics in each of the companies studied are also identified and used to develop a barrier profile for each of the companies included in the study. In addition to identifying barriers, the study also explores the ways in which the companies have either avoided or overcome barriers to achieving the learning organization. The study culminates in the development of a learning organization barrier hierarchy. The findings of this study will provide guidance to other construction companies as they begin or continue their transformations into learning organizations.