G.K. KULULANGA and R. McCAFFER
The greatest challenge facing construction executives is how to manage their intellectual capital. The business environment has now entered a knowledge era, where knowledge has…
Abstract
The greatest challenge facing construction executives is how to manage their intellectual capital. The business environment has now entered a knowledge era, where knowledge has become power and learning rapidly and competently has become a pre‐eminent strategy for success. Thus, knowledge is rapidly becoming more important to organizations than financial resources, market positions, technology and other tangible assets. However, the management of intellectual capital is still an under‐charted territory within construction organizations. Managing know‐how, know‐what, know‐why is unlike managing finances or construction plant, yet intellectual
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Rajendram Thanurjan and L.D. Indunil P. Seneviratne
A disaster is a serious disruption for the operation of a society, causing extensive life and property losses. Since construction activities are highly knowledge‐intensive…
Abstract
Purpose
A disaster is a serious disruption for the operation of a society, causing extensive life and property losses. Since construction activities are highly knowledge‐intensive, knowledge management (KM) practices will encourage continuous improvement, distribute best practices, quick response to beneficiaries, share valuable tacit knowledge, reduce rework, improve competitiveness and innovations, and reduce complexities in post‐disaster housing reconstruction. Therefore, this research aims to study and explore the degree to which KM is involved in post‐disaster housing reconstruction and the effect that KM has on post‐disaster housing reconstruction in the Sri Lankan context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted by systematically reviewing the literature in Knowledge and KM to highlight the basic principles. Data collection mode for the study was close‐end questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews. Data were collected from donor and consultancy organisations which are involved in post‐disaster housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka.
Findings
The results show that most of the donors and consultancy organisations carry out permanent disaster housing reconstruction for tsunami devastation. Further, the study reveals that organisations use competences and repositories as the main sources of knowledge internal and external to the organisation. Project reviews, task teams, face‐to‐face interactions, and electronic mail systems were greatly used to support KM. Even though the performance of the work was improved through KM, lack of compiling and synthesizing the accumulated data, information and knowledge, storing and organizing would be the main challenge faced by these organisations.
Practical implications
It is evident that a more concerted and formal approach will improve disaster housing reconstruction. Since knowledge gatekeepers have extensive tacit and explicit knowledge, the organisations have to use it as a significant source. Even though the majority of the donors and consulting organisations used competencies and repositories as main sources of K, the identification and exploitation of a variety of appropriate sources are of central importance. Further, organisations have to focus more on a variety of IT tools in order to store Knowledge for future use. Since there were challenges for KM, the organisations have to identify proper solutions in order to move towards and achieve the benefits of KM. Finally, the organisations have to provide an appropriate rewards system to encourage their employees in participating in KM.
Originality value
The disaster housing reconstruction will not end on a certain point and it will be a continuous process. Formal KM systems will help to improve the present state and further provide proper Knowledge in the future. There should be a standardised practice in order to improve the performance and give good value for beneficiaries. The study makes it quite evident that proper KM will improve the status of post‐disaster housing reconstruction.
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Morteza Shokri-Ghasabeh and Nicholas Chileshe
A research study has been undertaken at the University of South Australia to introduce application of lessons learned process in construction contractors ' bidding process…
Abstract
Purpose
A research study has been undertaken at the University of South Australia to introduce application of lessons learned process in construction contractors ' bidding process in the context of knowledge management. The study aims to identify barriers to effectively capture lessons learned in Australian construction industry and how knowledge management can benefit from lessons learned application.
Design/methodology/approach
The research study has been undertaken through conducting a “methodological triangulation” and “interdisciplinary triangulation”. This involved an extensive literature review of knowledge management, organisation learning, lessons learned and associated processes and administration of a questionnaire to a sample of construction contractors operating in Australia to elicit opinions on the main barriers to capturing lessons learned, practices such as existence and retention of documentation procedures. A total of 81 useable responses were received from 450 organisations. Response data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics with correlation analysis to examine the strength of relationship among the barriers.
Findings
The top-3 barriers to the effective capturing of lessons learned were “lack of employee time”, “lack of resources” and “lack of clear guidelines”, whereas, “lack of management support” was the least ranked barrier. The study established that despite the majority of the ACCs having formal procedures for recording the tenders submitted and their outcomes, only a minority actually retained the lessons learned documentation for each project. The larger contractors were found to be more aware of the importance of lessons learned documentation. A comparative analysis with previous studies also found a disparity in the ranking of the barriers.
Research limitations/implications
The majority of the participants were small construction contractors in Australia. The reason is that the researchers were not aware of the contractors ' size prior to inviting them for participation in the research study. Second the findings may not generalize to other industries or to organisations operating in other countries.
Originality/value
The findings of this survey help ACCs to understand the importance of lessons learned documentation as part of lessons learned implementation and identify the barriers to effectively document their lessons learned. The study provides insights on the barriers and proposes advocated solutions in form of drivers and enablers (critical success factors) of organisational learning capturing among the Australian construction contractors. By reviewing the current literature, “post-project reviews” and “lessons learned” as important elements of organisation learning knowledge transfer, are addressed. Finally, contribution of this study to knowledge and practice has been discussed in this paper.
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Eddie W.L. Cheng, Heng Li, Peter Love and Zahir Irani
This paper highlights the importance of creating a learning culture for strategic partnering in construction. Theories of organizational learning and strategic partnering are…
Abstract
This paper highlights the importance of creating a learning culture for strategic partnering in construction. Theories of organizational learning and strategic partnering are interpolated to identify the related attributes that help to relate and intertwine the two concepts. With the emergence of a learning culture, organizations are able to undergo the transition from no organizational learning to integrated organizational learning, which in turn reinforces the embedded culture. Since learning from experience, continuous improvement and a learning climate are pre‐conditions for a learning culture, three models are presented respectively in dealing with issues relating to these conditions. These models help to attain strategic partnering.
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The purpose of this paper is to report a study that explores the means through which cognitive power under team learning is exploited for generative learning in order to remain…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report a study that explores the means through which cognitive power under team learning is exploited for generative learning in order to remain competitive in the challenging business environment and to examine the extent to which various types of teams are used for purposes of generative learning by construction contractors.
Design/methodology/approach
To ascertain the significance of cognitive power through various types of teams, a study was undertaken in Malawi, one of the countries in the Sub‐Saharan region. A questionnaire survey was employed to elicit data on the constructs of cognitive power from various types of business teams that were employed by construction contractors.
Findings
Using cognitive power under team application as an analytical lens, the research shows that construction contractors displayed low cognitive, social and physical competences in the various types of teams as critical determinants for generative learning. Innovative behaviour of construction contractors correlated positively to the overall physical, social and cognitive competences.
Research limitations/implications
A comparative study of the three preconditions for team generative learning in other developing and developed construction business environments is recommended whose results could further enrich the industry with tools for enhancing innovative behaviour of construction contractors.
Practical implications
The primary implication of the research findings is that construction executives have an additional role of harnessing and managing cognitive power where mission‐pertinent learning and knowledge activities should be nurtured. In practice, it means that the objectives of utilizing various business teams need to be re‐conceptualized.
Originality/value
The article should be valuable to the leader of any construction organisation that is attempting to sustain superior competitive performance in the knowledge economy through effective engagement and utilization of business teams.
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Peter E.D. Love, Jimmy C. Huang, David J. Edwards and Zahir Irani
The construction industry resides in a period of intense introspection as it seeks to improve its performance and productivity. Yet, yielding such improvements requires each…
Abstract
The construction industry resides in a period of intense introspection as it seeks to improve its performance and productivity. Yet, yielding such improvements requires each individual organization to adopt a customer value strategy that enables organizational learning to become an integral part of an organization’s fabric. This paper reviews the elements of a learning organization within the context of the construction environment. A conceptual framework that can provide managers with a better understanding of how a learning organization in construction can be nurtured is presented. Embodied within this framework are factors such as strategic shift, organization transformation, customer orientation and quality centered learning. The paper concludes by suggesting that the key success factor for each individual organization may no longer be a matter of size or the number of assets, but the amount and quality of experience it can apply and manage.
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David J Lowe and Martin Skitmore
The focus of this paper is on the influence of the learning climate in organisations on practitioner competence. Practitioners in the context of the paper are Chartered Quantity…
Abstract
The focus of this paper is on the influence of the learning climate in organisations on practitioner competence. Practitioners in the context of the paper are Chartered Quantity Surveyors, while competency is measured in terms of the accuracy of construction contract price forecasts. The results indicate that: The learning climate within quantity surveying practices is perceived to be supportive in terms of human support and to a lesser extent working practices, but less supportive in terms of staff development systems (specifically, the use of appraisal systems and the provision of resources and development facilities). The degree of accuracy of the subjects’ forecasts was found to improve as their perception of the overall learning climate, working practices, staff development systems and specifically items relating to the opportunity to introduce new skills, discussion of prob‐lems, working practices, provision of resources and the identification of needs increased. It is recommended that surveying organisations assess their ability to provide an ef‐fective learning environment and to address any deficiencies, especially in the provision of staff development systems, to improve individual forecasting performance. Further, they should consider introducing effective feedback mechanisms that require both the individual to critically reflect on their own performance and the organisation to provide effective constructive feedback on an individual’s performance.
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Grant Keeble Kululanga and Witness Shaibu Kuotcha
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…
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.
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The need for capacity building of construction industries in developing countries cannot be over‐emphasised in order to ensure quality of services and products as well as the…
Abstract
Purpose
The need for capacity building of construction industries in developing countries cannot be over‐emphasised in order to ensure quality of services and products as well as the application of innovative ways for delivering construction services. Accordingly, using systems institutional paradigm approach as a conceptual premise, this paper aims to make the case for a fundamental turnaround for construction developmental approach in developing countries, that identify levels which should be considered as instrumental for capacity building of the construction industry in the Sub‐Saharan region, for example Malawi.
Design/methodology/approach
To ascertain a quad‐level framework which should be considered essential for capacity building of the construction industry, a questionnaire survey was employed. Data were elicited from prominent heads of sections from five stakeholders of the construction industry that operated in Malawi on the constructs for capacity building of a construction industry. Sixty completed questionnaires were received with a response rate of 90 per cent to the designed sample size.
Findings
The quad‐level framework for capacity development of a construction industry for developing countries was validated by an overall level of 77 per cent of agreement from key and prominent heads of sections of the five stakeholders of the construction industry. The rankings of the variables for capacity building for each level of the framework have provided the key foci and orientations of the industry for one of the Southern African countries of the Sub‐Saharan region.
Research limitations/implications
The study forms the basis for further research; future research could be directed towards other developing countries to further enrich the industry on the dynamics of capacity building of construction industries in developing countries.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to critically examine the antecedents and invoke a quad‐level framework for capacity development of construction industries.
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This study was motivated by a belief that existing knowledge on management of a contractual claim in international contracting practice is different from a standardised local…
Abstract
Purpose
This study was motivated by a belief that existing knowledge on management of a contractual claim in international contracting practice is different from a standardised local practice. The paper is aimed at building competence for managing contractual claims in a standardised practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Comparative studies of British and Finnish contracting practices were used to determine the reason why claims are not pronounced in a standardised practice. Empirical study via direct interviews and questionnaires of a Finnish‐based contractor operating in the Russian markets was used. The players are three‐dimensional in nature where the client, consultants, and contractor come from different countries/practices and two of the projects studied were joint ventures.
Findings
The findings show the effects of: legal system, procurement methods, standardised practice and size of the market on the management of contractual claims. The remedial measures suggested include: operational management, i.e. learning through personal contacts, and management competence development of employees by learning through proper communication and education programmes in a form of continuing professional development.
Originality/value
Management of claims in the construction industry is vital to a successful implementation of the project. It brings about a fair dealing between the project owner and the contractor, improves contractor's cashflow and discourages abandonment of project and disputes. Lack of knowledge in managing claims constitutes a threat to successful implementation of project. The engagement of an expert and knowledge transfer through joint ventures/partnerships are suggested as solutions.