Learning to change in the UK and USA

This paper studies a British and a US construction management organization, each of which is regarded as forward thinking and successful, to determine what has enabled these organizations to change the way they, and the industry around them, does business. These companies were specifically set up to do things in a different way. It is this ability to work successfully with change that has been defined by government and industry reports as the necessity for the improvement of the construction industry for the benefit of all parties. The research involved interviewing a number of senior managers in the organizations using a participatory approach exploring the concepts of the 'learning organization'. It was found that both organizations had clear visions based on strong values held by founding individuals that drew people to work for them who engaged with the world in similar ways. Further, the openness to thinking and learning – the organizational culture - was a key characteristic of these organizations that the individuals who were interviewed were able to relate with passion. The results challenge the notions of leadership and structure which abound in the strategic management literature and develop a more practical realization of the needs for 'organizational learning' in strategic change.