Determine the Level of Organizational Learning Capability in Teaching Hospitals in Bandar Abbas City—Iran

Abstract

Background: The hospital is a scientific organization that despite much progress, today, is also dependent on manpower. One of the main requirements for the proper functioning of manpower is that through learning, they be updated in terms of knowledge. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the level of Organizational Learning Capability in hospitals in Bandar Abbas City—Iran. Methods: In 2014, this descriptive-analytic study was conducted in hospitals in Bandar Abbas City. The data was collected through the Gomez questionnaire for organizational learning from 290 employees of hospitals. Data analysis was done using software SPSS V.20 and by the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Organizational Learning Capability in governmental, private and social security hospitals were 0.31 ± 53.06, 9.38 ± 47.38 and 0.27 ± 50.74, respectively. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the relationship between the variables of employment status (p = 0.034), occupational categories (p = 0.043), and type of ownership (p = 0.02), was significant with the organizational learning capability but such a significant relationship was not observed in terms of age, educational level and employment status. The results of the Mann- Whitney U-test indicated a significant association between marital status (p = 0.029) and type of hospital (p = 0.049) with the organizational learning capability. Conclusion: Need to up-to-dating of staff’s knowledge has made undeniable the role of organizational learning. According to the results, managers have to provide conditions for improving the status quo through promoting or-ganizational learning and extend the ability of the organization for growth and progress.