Learning Organization
LEARNING ORGANIZATION According to Peter Senge (1990: 3) Learning organization are: “…organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together”. Senge argues that organizations should have the sort of culture which allows them to shape there own future to a far greater degree as been the case in the past.
Organization must be constantly improving their performance and in order to do this both management and employees must be actively seeking ways in which they can improve performance. Pedler et al (1998). defines a learning organization as one that “facilitates learning of all its members and continuously transforms itself”. ORGANIZATION CULTURE Edgar Schein defines, “Culture is the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously and define in a basic ‘taken for granted’ fashion an organization’s view of its self and its environment. Organizational culture “is frequently described as a set of shared meanings that influence or determine behavior” (University of Sunderland Study Manual, HRM 325, pg. 446). We shall now discuss the value to organizations in creating a learning organizational culture. One of the most influential strategic models of a learning organization is the blueprint provided by Pedlar et al. (1991). Demonstrated in figure 6. 3, pg. 319, University of Sunderland Study Manual, HRM 325. This model is reproduced in figure 1 below. CONCLUSION
The knowledge and service mode of learning empowers an organization to improve their effectiveness systematically by making better products and providing better services. Learning is one of the essential keys to productivity in knowledge work. If we are not continuously and systematically learning, others are, and they will reach the goals we are aspiring to reach before we do. Systematic organizational learning requires leaders to focus on all elements of the Corps culture. Strategic learning occurs when top executive leaders create a dialogue about alues and goals with customers, stakeholders, and partners and ask “How can USACE best help you succeed? ” They then align organizational strategy with this new learning “Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values. ” — Geert Hofstede Hofstede (1997) has devised a composite-measure technique to measure cultural differences among different societies: ?
Power distance index: The index measures the degree of inequality that exists in a society. ? Uncertainty avoidance index: The index measures the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain or ambiguous situations. ? Individualism index: The index measure the extent to which a society is individualistic. Individualism refers to a loosely knit social framework in a society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and their immediate families only.
The other end of the spectrum would be collectivism that occurs when there is a tight social framework in which people distinguish between in-groups and out-groups; they expect their in-groups (relatives, clans, organizations) to look after them in exchange for absolute loyalty. ? Masculinity index (Achievement vs. Relationship): The index measures the extent to which the dominant values are assertiveness, money and things (achievement), not caring for others or for quality of life. The other end of the spectrum would be femininity (relationship). Learning Organization Defined
The learning organization is “an organization which facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transforms itself. “8 Leveraging the Power of Knowledge Learning is the key competency required by any organization that wants to survive and thrive in the new knowledge economy. Market champions keep asking learning questions, keep learning how to do things better, and keep spreading that knowledge throughout their organization. Learning provides the catalyst and the intellectual resource to create a sustainable competitive advantage.
Knowledge organizations obtain competitive advantage from continuous learning, both individual and collective. In organizations with a well established knowledge management system, learning by the people within an organization becomes learning by the organization itself. The changes in people’s attitudes are reflected in changes in the formal and informal rules that govern the organization’s behavior. Knowledge communities organized around the principles of entrepreneurship have the best chance at success.
Case in Point Microsoft Sharing Knowledge Bill Gates is clear that high individual knowledge is not enough in today’s dynamic markets. A company also needs a high corporate IQ – intelligence, knowledge, and expertise of the company – which hinges on the facility to share information widely and enable staff members “to build on each other’s ideas”. This is partly a matter of storing the past, partly of exchanging current knowledge. “We read, ask questions, explore, go to lectures, compare notes and findings… onsult experts, daydream, brainstorm, formulate and test hypotheses, build models and simulations, communicate what we’re learning, and practice new skills,” says Gates… More Case in Point GE “Keep learning. Don’t be arrogant by assuming that you know it all, that you have a monopoly on the truth,” says Jack Welch to senior managers. “Always assume that you can learn something from someone else. Or from another GE business. Or even from a competitor. Especially from a competitor. ” At General Electric (GE) the sum is greater than its parts as both business and people diversity is utilized in a most effective way.
A major American enterprise with a diverse group of huge businesses, GE is steeped in a learning culture and it is this fact that makes GE a unique company. As Jack Welch puts it: “What sets GE apart is a culture that uses diversity as a limitless source of learning opportunities, a storehouse of ideas whose breadth and richness is unmatched in world business. At the heart of this culture is an understanding that an organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive business advantage. “
Developing Human Resources Competency in the New Knowledge-driven Economy Excellent companies recognize that human resources are their #1 asset. With the Internet increasingly relied on as a source of knowledge and with rapid changes in science and technology, the amount of knowledge is doubling every 7 to 10 years. 10 This also hastens the obsolescence of skills and knowledge. The shelf life of academic degrees has been estimated to be only one year for computer science, two years for electrical engineering, and four years for business studies.
Training and skills development must therefore be a continuous process. On average, the training budget of an organization is about 1% of payroll. Excellent companies, on the other hand, spend about 4-5% and devote an average of 40-50 training hours per employee per year. Creating Your Future Knowledge is most productive when it is shared by all. A learning organization is “an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future”. 1 It is continuously learning new ways of doing things and also (necessarily) involved in a continuous process of forgetting old ways of doing things.
Learning Environment A constructivist learning environment is a place where people can draw upon resources to make sense out of things and construct meaningful solutions to problems. It emphasizes the importance of meaningful, authentic activities that help the learner to construct understandings and develop skills relevant to solving problems. The Toyota Way: 14 Principles ? Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement (Kaizen Mindset)… More JIT-Style Learning and Training
The best kind of quality oriented learning (and training) is just-in-time-style learning, that is, learning that happens on the job, knowledge which is applied immediately as needed, and learning by doing. The sooner you can apply the material you learned, the better you will understand it and the longer it will be retained. Innovative e-learning services create new opportunities for such on the job JIT-style learning and training. In particular, the first-ever Ten3 Business e-Coach provides most effective JIT-style e-learning opportunity which is available
