Organizational Silence : An Obstacle to Organizational Learning

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to study Organizational Silence (OS) as one of the biggest barriers to Organizational Learning (OL) at the Telecommunications sector in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach: To assess OS, refer to (OS questionnaire, Schechtman, 2008; Brinsfield, 2009), and OL (OL questionnaire American Society for Training and Development, 2002). Out of the 290 questionnaires that were distributed to employees, 235 usable questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 81%. Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) was used to confirm the research hypotheses. Findings: The research has found that there is a significant relationship between OS and OL. Also, the research has found that OS directly affects OL. In other words, OS is one of the biggest barriers to OL at the Telecommunications sector in Egypt. Practical implications: This research contributes to stimulate scientific research, particularly in terms of testing the model content, as well as studying the research variables and the factors affecting them. In addition, this research pointed to the need for organizations to adopt a culture which encourages and urges employees to speak in the labor issues and the non-silence in order for the administration to be able to realize these issues and try to solve them first hand in order to prevent their aggravation. Originality/value: Although the phenomenon of silence is expected in organizations, there is little empirical evidence in the literature aimed at defining, analyzing, and coping with it. Silence climate has an impact on the ability of organizations to detect errors and learn. Therefore, organizational effectiveness is negatively affected. This research aims to measure the effect of OS on OL. Based on the findings of this research, some important implications are discussed