Knowledge Management Practices in Oman Construction Sector

Abstract

Implementing the strategies of Knowledge Management (KM) in the construction industry in Oman can produce significant benefits, such as continuous improvement and the improved performance of construction projects. In addition, the need to understand the determinants of successful Knowledge Management cannot be underestimated in organisations in the Middle East; specifically, those which are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The accelerated development in recent years regarding the GCC countries, highlights the need for these nations and their organisations to empower themselves through Knowledge Management. Nevertheless, very little empirical research has been conducted to understand this phenomenon. This paper investigates the role of Knowledge Management in relation to reducing the Cost of Poor Quality in the construction industry in Oman. Data was collected via questionnaires and interviews with Omani construction engineers from public and private sector. The findings reveal that knowledge capture and knowledge sharing are paramount to the contributory factors to the Cost of Poor Quality in practice, which includes the cost of errors and omissions, cost of design changes and the cost of poor skills. Index Terms-Knowledge management, cost of poor quality, Oman, construction sector.

Business Strategy Development Model for Applying Knowledge Management in Construction

“…Capturing, storing, and sharing existing knowledge provide historical knowledge and lessons for future projects in organizations (Guribie & Tengan, 2019;Almarshoudi et al, 2018). The integration of different experiences and forms of expertise in a variety of disciplines in problem solving constitutes the most effective and efficient approach in decision-making processes (Ahmad et al, 2008).…”