136 Coakes, Bradburn, and Blake
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CONCLUSIONS
Over the period we have been studying Taylor Woodrow, the organization has
become more aware of the value KM has been able to add to the organization. Increas-
ingly, project staff and management have seen the benefits of communicating their
innovations to others in the organization and lessons learnt are being captured in an
increasingly systematic way. Taylor Woodrow is able to demonstrate conclusively to its
clients that it is a learning organization. KM has a very high significance for the board,
which provides specific funding for its development and dissemination.
DISCUSSION
Construction projects embody risk. The larger the project the higher the potential
cost penalties. How can risk of this nature be mitigated? Obviously, insuring against risk
is one course, but this generates additional costs, as a third party — an insurance
company — requires compensation for assuming the construction company’s risk.
Another way of insuring against risk by reducing the probability of mischance is to
leverage knowledge assets within the business.
How then to capture what individuals know and then to distribute this knowledge
so that it can be shared throughout an organization? The willingness of individuals to
articulate knowledge gained through involvement in work processes may depend on the
organization’s prevailing cultural paradigm. Some organizational cultures may be resis-
tant to knowledge sharing — others may facilitate it. Sometimes knowledge transfer can
be encouraged by incentivising staff in some way. Taylor Woodrow’s approach seems
to be driven primarily by the self-esteem generated from peer recognition. The company’s
culture seems to be receptive to KM and has enabled it to become embedded in the
organizational fabric.
The importance of ICTs needs to be recognised, but these technologies are only
enablers. They are not the key drivers. The critical driver in this instance may be seen
as social capital, which comprises sets of relationships and networks underpinning
knowledge sharing. Out of knowledge sharing comes learning, and learning at an
organizational level delivers a range of business benefits in addition to ensuring that
potentially costly errors are not repeated. Some of the Tayweb links signify the
importance of these relationships in partnering and collaborations of various kinds not
only through the intranet, but also through the various project-specific extranets.
REFERENCES
Bradburn, A., Coakes, E., & Sugden, G. (2002). Searching for linkages between knowledge
management, learning organization and organizational culture within large service
enterprises in the United Kingdom: What KM practitioners say. In M. Khosrow-
Pour (Ed.), Issues and trends of information technology management in contem-
porary organizations, IRMA 2002, Seattle, May, vol. 2 (pp. 928-930). Hershey, PA:
Idea Group Publishing.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). (2002). Construction statistics annual 2002
edition. London: The Stationery Office.