Organizational Characteristics that are Antecedents to Organizational Learning: A Case of Maseno University, Kenya

Abstract

This paper sought to establish the existing Organizational characteristics that are antecedent to organizational learning in public Universities, a case of Maseno University, Kenya. The study adopted a survey design. The population of study comprised 384 employees of the university. A sample of 70 respondents was selected using stratified sampling technique. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires and analyzed by descriptive statistics. The study findings revealed that organizational characteristics are indicated by leadership commitment, an incentive system and staff interaction and that the persisting organizational characteristics do not generally lend themselves to supporting organizational learning. Indeed, those that are typically antecedent to organizational learning are lacking. The study recommends that Universities needs to deliberately create and install characteristics that support organizational learning with a special emphasis on leadership commitment. These results will make a small contribution of information to support managerial decisions pertaining to the level of attention to pay to organizational learning activities, given its potential outcomes, and also, as general reference to academicians pursuing the subject of organizational learning.

Keywords: Organizational learning; Organizational characteristics; Maseno University.