EFFECT OF LEARNING ORGANIZATION ON PERFORMANCEOF LOGISTICS FIRMS IN MOMBASA COUNTY

Abstract

This research aimed at establishing the effect of Learning Organization on the performance of logistics firms in Mombasa County. The specific objectives of the study were: to establish the effect of individual level learning, team level learning and organization level learning on performance of logistics firms in Mombasa County. A descriptive survey design was adopted and stratified random sampling was used to select the subjects to be included in the study. A total of 171 employees were sampled from a population of 300 employees across 34 logistics firms in Mombasa County. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. To test the reliability and validity of the instrument a pilot test was conducted yielding a reliability of 0.912.Hypothesis were tested using Pearson correlation coefficient and the relationship between learning organization and organizational performance was determined using regression analysis. The results were presented descriptively using frequency tables, graphs and pie charts. The study concluded that there exists a positive but weak relationship between continuous learning and collaboration and team learning and organizational performance. There was a positive but average relationship between employee empowerment and organizational performance. Inquiry and dialogue, embedded systems, systems connection and strategic leadership had a positive and strong relationship with organizational performance respectively. The results of Pearson correlation revealed that individual learning, team learning and organization learning had a positive and statistical significant effect on organizational performance. The coefficient of determination indicated a strong positive association between learning organization and performance of logistics firms. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that learning organization significantly affects organizational performance. The results contribute to the understanding of the link between learning organization and organizational performance while at the same time confirms findings of previous studies on the same subject. Learning should be considered by organizations for their performance to be enhanced. The limitation of this study is that the variables have been measured at one point of time. Therefore, it is not clear how long a change in the learning culture can take before it can have an influence in the perceptions of employees and thereby influencing organizational performance. Future research is therefore required to measure the variables over a long period and establish how long it takes before changes in learning can lead to changes in performance.