Kululanga, G K and Kuotcha, W S (2008) Measuring organisational learning through project reviews. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 15(6), pp. 580-595. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose - Some of the vital lessons that could have been learned from project reviews are lost by contractors because of lack of a structured framework for undertaking them. Even though the construction business environment has moved toward modernising some of its business processes, unnecessary loss of lessons still characterise the industry. This paper aims to report a study that explores the development of a structured tool for measuring the constructs of the project review process in order to ensure organisational learning. Design/methodology/approach - To ascertain the significance of the project review process, a study was undertaken in Malawi. A questionnaire survey was employed to elicit data on the constructs of the project review process that was distributed to Malawian registered construction contractors. Of the 84 sampled construction contractors, 60 completed questionnaires were received. Findings - The results suggest that size and experience play a significant role in the way that construction contractors appropriate lessons from the various constructs of project reviews. Furthermore, the enablers of project review were significantly correlated to lessons learned, shared and planned for implementation at p <0.01 for a correlation coefficient of 0.875. However, implementation plans and application of total quality management tools in conducting project reviews had by far the least mean scores. Research limitations/implications - The study forms the basis for further research; replication of this study to other parts of world could yield rich lessons for construction industry. Originality/value - The constructs of project review process employed in this study can be used to design intervention frameworks for capturing lessons learned.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; knowledge management; Malawi; measurement; project evaluation |
| Index terms: | construction industry, implementation, project evaluation, Malawi, lessons learned, construction contractor, knowledge management, methodology, questionnaire, survey, total quality management, organizational learning |
| Subjects: | research methods, Geography, professional development, industry analysis, data collection methods, practitioner, value management, contractual arrangements, evaluation methods |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Procurement, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Information Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here