learning organisation mba

8/18/2019 Learning Organisation Mba

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LEARNING ORGANISATION

A learning organization is the business term given to a company that facilitates the learning

of its members an continuously transforms itself!The concept "as coine through the "or#

an research of $eter Sense an his colleagues!

Learning organizations evelop as a result of the pressures facing moern organizations an

enables them to remain competitive in the business environment!

%haracteristics

There is a multitue of efinitions of a learning organization as "ell as their typologies!

$eter Senge state in an intervie" that a learning organization is a group of people "or#ing

together collectively to enhance their capacities to create results they really care about!&'(

Senge popularize the concept of the learning organization through his boo# The )ifth

*iscipline! In the boo#+ he propose the follo"ing five characteristics,

Systems thin#ing! The iea of the learning organization evelope from a boy of "or# calle

systems thin#ing!&-( This is a conceptual frame"or# that allo"s people to stuy businesses

as boune ob.ects!&/( Learning organizations use this metho of thin#ing "hen assessing

their company an have information systems that measure the performance of the

organization as a "hole an of its various components!&-( Systems thin#ing states that all the

characteristics must be apparent at once in an organization for it to be a learning

organization!&/( If some of these characteristics are missing then the organization "ill fall

short of its goal! 0o"ever+ O12eeffe&3( believes that the characteristics of a learning

organization are factors that are graually ac4uire+ rather than evelope simultaneously!

$ersonal mastery! The commitment by an iniviual to the process of learning is #no"n as

personal mastery!&/( There is a competitive avantage for an organization "hose "or#force

can learn more 4uic#ly than the "or#force of other organizations!&5( Iniviual learning is

ac4uire through staff training+ evelopment an continuous self6improvement7&8( ho"ever+

learning cannot be force upon an iniviual "ho is not receptive to learning!&/( Research

sho"s that most learning in the "or#place is inciental+ rather than the prouct of formal

training+&3( therefore it is important to evelop a culture "here personal mastery is practice

in aily life!&/( A learning organization has been escribe as the sum of iniviual learning+

but there must be mechanisms for iniviual learning to be transferre into organizational

learning!&5(

9ental moels! The assumptions hel by iniviuals an organizations are calle mental

moels!&/( To become a learning organization+ these moels must be challenge! Iniviuals

ten to espouse theories+ "hich are "hat they inten to follo"+ an theories6in6use+ "hich are

"hat they actually o!&/(&-( Similarly+ organizations ten to have :memories1 "hich preserve

certain behaviours+ norms an values!&;


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organizational theories of action!&-( =n"ante values nee to be iscare in a process

calle :unlearning1!&;ang an Ahme&5( refer to this as :triple loop learning!1

Share vision! The evelopment of a share vision is important in motivating the staff to

learn+ as it creates a common ientity that provies focus an energy for learning!&/( The

most successful visions buil on the iniviual visions of the employees at all levels of the

organization+&8( thus the creation of a share vision can be hinere by traitional structures

"here the company vision is impose from above!&3( Therefore+ learning organizations ten

to have flat+ ecentralize organizational structures!&-( The share vision is often to succee

against a competitor7&5( ho"ever+ Senge&/( states that these are transitory goals an

suggests that there shoul also be long6term goals that are intrinsic "ithin the company!

Team learning! The accumulation of iniviual learning constitutes Team learning!&3( The

benefit of team or share learning is that staff gro" more 4uic#ly&3( an the problem solving

capacity of the organization is improve through better access to #no"lege an e?pertise!

&8( Learning organizations have structures that facilitate team learning "ith features such as

bounary crossing an openness!&-( Team learning re4uires iniviuals to engage in

ialogue an iscussion7&3( therefore team members must evelop open communication+

share meaning+ an share unerstaning!&3( Learning organizations typically have

e?cellent #no"lege management structures+ allo"ing creation+ ac4uisition+ issemination+

an implementation of this #no"lege in the organization!&5(

This combination encourages organizations to shift to a more interconnecte "ay of thin#ing!

Organizations shoul become more li#e communities that employees can feel a commitment

to!&;;(

*evelopment

Organizations o not organically evelop into learning organizations7 there are factors

prompting their change! As organizations gro"+ they lose their capacity to learn as company

structures an iniviual thin#ing becomes rigi!&;( >hen problems arise+ the propose

solutions often turn out to be only short6term @single loop learning an re6emerge in the

future!&/( To remain competitive+ many organizations have restructure+ "ith fe"er people in

the company!&;( This means those "ho remain nee to "or# more effectively!&3( To create a

competitive avantage+ companies nee to learn faster than their competitors an to evelopa customer responsive culture!&3(&;B( Argyris&-( ientifie that organizations nee to

maintain #no"lege about ne" proucts an processes+ unerstan "hat is happening in the

outsie environment an prouce creative solutions using the #no"lege an s#ills of all

"ithin the organization! This re4uires co6operation bet"een iniviuals an groups+ free an

reliable communication+ an a culture of trust!&-(

Cenefits

The main benefits are7

9aintaining levels of innovation an remaining competitive&8(


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Ceing better place to respon to e?ternal pressures&8(

0aving the #no"lege to better lin# resources to customer nees&;(

Improving 4uality of outputs at all levels&;(

Improving %orporate image by becoming more people oriente&;(

Increasing the pace of change "ithin the organization&;(

Carriers

Even "ithin or "ithout learning organization+ problems can stall the process of learning or

cause it to regress! 9ost of them arise from an organization not fully embracing all the

necessary facets! Once these problems can be ientifie+ "or# can begin on improving them!

Some organizations fin it har to embrace personal mastery because as a concept it isintangible an the benefits cannot be 4uantifie7+&/( personal mastery can even be seen as a

threat to the organization! This threat can be real+ as Senge&/( points out+ that Dto empo"er

people in an unaligne organization can be counterprouctive! In other "ors+ if

iniviuals o not engage "ith a share vision+ personal mastery coul be use to avance

their o"n personal visions! In some organizations a lac# of a learning culture can be a

barrier to learning! An environment must be create "here iniviuals can share learning

"ithout it being evalue an ignore+ so more people can benefit from their #no"lege an

the iniviuals becomes empo"ere!&3( A learning organization nees to fully accept the

removal of traitional hierarchical structures!&3(

Resistance to learning can occur "ithin a learning organization if there is not sufficient buy6

in at an iniviual level! This is often encountere "ith people "ho feel threatene by change

or believe that they have the most to lose!&3( They are li#ely to have close min sets+ an

are not "illing to engage "ith mental moels!&3( =nless implemente coherently across the

organization+ learning can be vie"e as elitist an restricte to senior levels! In that case+

learning "ill not be vie"e as a share vision!&8( If training an evelopment is compulsory+

it can be vie"e as a form of control+ rather than as personal evelopment!&8( Learning an

the pursuit of personal mastery nees to be an iniviual choice+ therefore enforce ta#e6up

"ill not "or#!&/(

In aition+ organizational size may become the barrier to internal #no"lege sharing! >hen

the number of employees e?cees ;F


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re4uires of managers @an "hether many in practice are up to it7 an 4uestions regaring

his treatment of organizational politics! It is certainly ifficult to fin real6life e?amples of

learning organizations @2er#a ;88F! There has also been a lac# of critical analysis of the

theoretical frame"or#!

Case on their stuy of attempts to reform the S"iss $ostal Service+ 9atthias )inger an

Silvia CHrgin Cran @;888 provie a useful listing of more important shortcomings of the

learning organization concept! They conclue that it is not possible to transform a

bureaucratic organization by learning initiatives alone! They believe that by referring to the

notion of the learning organization it "as possible to ma#e change less threatening an more

acceptable to participants! :0o"ever+ iniviual an collective learning+ "hich has

unoubtely ta#en place+ has not really been connecte to organizational change an

transformation1! $art of the issue+ they suggest+ has to o "ith the concept of the learning

organization itself! They argue that the concept of the learning organization,

)ocuses mainly on the cultural imension an oes not ae4uately ta#e into account the

other imensions of an organization! To transform an organization+ it is necessary to atten

to structures an the organization of "or# as "ell as the culture an processes! :)ocussing

e?clusively on training activities in orer to foster learning favours this purely cultural

bias1!

)avours iniviual an collective learning processes at all levels of the organization+ but

oes not connect them properly to the organization1s strategic ob.ectives! $opular moels of

organizational learning @such as *i?on ;88' assume such a lin#! It is+ therefore+ imperative

:that the lin# bet"een iniviual an collective learning an the organization1s strategicob.ectives is mae1! This shortcoming+ )inger an Cran argue+ ma#es a case for some form

of measurement of organizational learning J so that it is possible to assess the e?tent to

"hich such learning contributes or not to"ars strategic ob.ectives!

%hallenges in the transformation to a learning organization

The boo# The *ance of %hange&;'( states there are many reasons "hy an organization may

have trouble in transforming itself into a learning organization! The first is that an

organization oes not have enough time!&;F( Employees an management may have other

issues that ta#e priority over trying to change the culture of their organization! The team maynot be able to commit the time an institution oes not have the appropriate help or training!

)or an organization to be able to change+ it nees to #no" the steps necessary to solve the

problems it faces! As a solution+ a mentor or coach "ho is "ell verse in the learning

organization concept may be necessary!

Also+ the change may not be relevant to the organizations nees! Time shoul be spent on the

actual issues of the organization an its aily issues! To combat this challenge+ a strategy

must be built! The organization shoul etermine "hat its problems are before entering into

the transformation! Training shoul remain lin#e to business results so that it is easier for

employees to connect the training "ith everyay issues!


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$roblems organizational learning aresses

Some of the issues that Learning Organizations "ante to aress "ithin Institutions is

fragmentation+ competition an reactiveness!&;;( )ragmentation is escribe as brea#ing a

problem into pieces! )or e?ample+ each organization has an accounting epartment+ finance+

operations+ IT an mar#eting! %ompetition occurs "hen employees are trying to o better or

KbeatK others in an assignment instea of collaborating! Reactiveness occurs "hen an

organization changes only in reaction to outsie forces! Only oing an assignment because it

is assigne an not continually creating! These are eeply roote in many of toays

organizations as a prouct of capitalism an the rive to generate more profit!

The change becoming a community an a learning organization is calle a KGalilean ShiftK!

&;/( The organization is compare&by "hom( to the Galileo Galilei heliocentric revolution

that change the vie" that earth "as the center of the universe!

*evelopment of learning organizations

Learning organizations are organizations that actively "or# to optimize learning! Learning

organizations use the active process of #no"lege management to esign organizational

processes an systems that concretely facilitate #no"lege creation+ transfer+ an retention!

Organizational metacognition is use to refer to the processes by "hich the organization

#no"s "hat it #no"s! The stuy of organizational learning an other fiels of research such

as organizational evelopment+ System theory+ an cognitive science provie the theoretical

basis for specifically prescribing these interventions!&5'( An e?ample of an organizational

process implemente to increase organizational learning is the =!S! Armys use of a formally

structure e6brief process calle an after6action revie" @AAR to analyze "hat happene+

"hy it happene+ an ho" it coul be improve immeiately after a mission! Learning

laboratories are a type or learning organization eicate to #no"lege creation+ collection+

an control!&5F(

Learning organizations also aress organizational climate by creating a supportive learning

environment an practicing leaership that reinforces learning!&5/( %reating a supportive

learning environment an reinforcing learning epens on the leaership of the organization

an the culture it promotes! Leaers can create learning opportunities by facilitating

environments that inclue learning activities+ establishing a culture of learning via norms+behaviors+ an rules+ an lea processes of iscourse by listening+ as#ing 4uestions+ an

proviing feebac#! Leaers must practice the iniviual learning they avocate for by

remaining open to ne" perspectives+ being a"are of personal biases+ see#ing e?posure to

unfiltere an contraictory sources of information+ an eveloping a sense of humility!&5-(

2no"lege management systems

>hile learning processes epen on the conte?t for optimizing #no"lege transfer+ the

implementation of #no"lege management systems incorporates technology into these

processes! 2no"lege management systems are technologies that serve as a repository+

communication+ or collaboration tool for transferring an retaining #no"lege!&'(


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Embeing #no"lege in technology can prevent organizational forgetting&55( an allo"

#no"lege to transfer across barriers such as istance+ organizational unit+ an

specialization! 2no"lege management systems alone are not necessarily successful+ but as a

communication tool they tangibly reinforce iniviuals ability to sprea an reinforce their

#no"lege!&'(

*iffusion of innovation

Organizational learning is important to consier in relation to innovation+ entrepreneurship+

technological change+ an economic gro"th+ specifically "ithin the conte?ts of #no"lege

sharing an inter organizational learning! As one of the #ey ynamics behin the #no"lege

economy+ organizational learning informs our unerstaning of #no"lege transfer bet"een

organizations! 0eterogeneous e?perience yiels better learning outcomes than homogenous

e?perience+ an #no"lege iffusion spreas heterogeneous e?perience across organizations!

&/;(&58( *iffusion of innovations theory e?plores ho" an "hy people aopt ne" ieas+

practices an proucts! It may be seen as a subset of the anthropological concept of iffusion

an can help to e?plain ho" ieas are sprea by iniviuals+ social net"or#s+ an

organizations! Innovation policy+ economic evelopment initiatives+ eucational program

eneavors+ an entrepreneurial incubation an acceleration coul all be informe by

organizational learning practices!

=niversity of 9anagement an Technology @$a#istan

Learning Organization 6 Organizational Learning, >hat is ifference

>hat is the ifference bet"een ;! Learning Organization7 an B! Organizational Learning

A Learning Organization @as coine by $eter Senge in his boo# KThe )ifth *isciplineK is a

term for an organization that continually evelops an facilitates the learning an

evelopment of its members! To a certain e?tent+ learning organizations are action oriente+

an are geare to"ars using specific iagnostic an evaluative methoological tools "hich

can help to ientify+ promote an evaluate the 4uality of learning processes insie

organizations @Easterby6Smith an Arau.o+ ;8887 Tsang+ ;88-! As companies naturally

gro"+ their line of thin#ing becomes rigi+ an there is a nee to evelop these organizations

into Learning Organizations so as to continue their evelopment+ maintain ne" #no"lege

about proucts or services outsie their o"n that may compete "ith theirs+ comprehen the

internal an e?ternal environment of the organization+ an prouce creative an innovative

solutions through an "ith the help of its members!

On the other han+ Organizational Learning @as coine by Argrys an Schon is uner

Organizational Theory "hich focuses an stuies on the manners an "ays organizations

aapt an learns! This is a facet of Organizational *evelopment because Organizational

Learning is the interaction that ta#es place "ithin the iniviual members of the company!

)inger an Cran @;888 stipulates that Organizational Learning is the activity an process

by "hich the organization eventually reaches the ieal Learning Organization! Mou can vie"


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ho" an organization learns cognitively as a "hole+ or community base "ithin specific

net"or#s "ithin the system!

Organizational learning is the process of creating+ retaining+ an transferring #no"lege

"ithin an organization! An organization improves over time as it gains e?perience! )rom this

e?perience+ it is able to create #no"lege! This #no"lege is broa+ covering any topic that

coul better an organization! E?amples may inclue "ays to increase prouction efficiency

or to evelop beneficial investor relations! 2no"lege is create at four ifferent units,

iniviual+ group+ organizational+ an inter organizational!

The most common "ay to measure organizational learning is a learning curve! Learning

curves are a relationship sho"ing ho" as an organization prouces more of a prouct or

service+ it increases its prouctivity+ efficiency+ reliability anor 4uality of prouction "ith

iminishing returns! Learning curves vary ue to organizational learning rates!

Organizational learning rates are affecte by iniviual proficiency+ improvements in an

organizations technology+ an improvements in the structures+ routines an methos of

coorination!&;(

Relevance

Organizational learning happens as a function of e?perience "ithin an organization an

allo"s the organization to stay competitive in an ever6changing environment! Organizational

learning is a process improvement that can increase efficiency+ accuracy+ an profits! A real

"orl e?ample of organizational learning is ho" a ne" pizza store "ill reuce the cost per

pizza as the cumulative prouction of pizzas increases!&;( As the staff creates more pizza7

they begin to ma#e pizzas faster+ the staff learns ho" to "or# together+ an the e4uipment is

place in the most efficient location leaing to cheaper costs of creation!

Organizational learning is an aspect of organizations an a subfiel of organizational

stuies! As an aspect of an organization+ organizational learning is the process of creating+

retaining+ an transferring #no"lege! 2no"lege creation+ #no"lege retention+ an

#no"lege transfer can be seen as aaptive processes that are functions of e?perience!&B(

E?perience is the #no"lege that contributes to the proceural unerstaning of a sub.ect

through involvement or e?posure! Research "ithin organizational learning specifically

applies to the attributes an behavior of this #no"lege an ho" it can prouce changes inthe cognition+ routines+ an behaviors of an organization an its iniviuals!&3(

Iniviuals are preominantly seen as the functional mechanisms for organizational learning

by creating #no"lege through e?perience!&'( 0o"ever+ iniviuals #no"lege only

facilitates learning "ithin the organization as a "hole if it is transferre! Iniviuals may

"ithhol their #no"lege or e?it the organization! 2no"lege that is embee into the

organization+ in aition to its iniviuals+ can be retaine!&F( Organizations can retain

#no"lege in other "ays than .ust retaining iniviuals+ incluing using #no"lege

repositories such as communication tools+ processes+ routines+ net"or#s+ an transactive

memory systems!&/(&-(


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As a subfiel+ organizational learning is the stuy of e?perience+ #no"lege+ an the effects

of #no"lege "ithin an organizational conte?t!&5( The stuy of organizational learning

irectly contributes to the applie science of #no"lege management @29 an the concept

of the learning organization! Organizational learning is relate to the stuies of

organizational theory+ organizational communication+ organizational behavior+organizational psychology+ an organizational evelopment! Organizational learning has

receive contributions from the fiels of eucational psychology+ sociology+ economics+

anthropology+ political science+ an management science!&8(

=nits of learning

Organizations gain #no"lege in one of the four organizational units of Learning, iniviual+

team+ organizational+ an inter6organizational! Organizational learning Kinvolves the process

through "hich organizational units @e!g! groups+ epartments+ ivisions change as a result of

e?perience!K An e?ample of organizational learning is a hospital surgical team learning to

use ne" technology that "ill increase efficiency!&;or#ing together in a team also allo"e members to share their #no"lege "ith others an learn from other members!

Organizational learning is the "ay in "hich an organization creates an organizes

#no"lege relating to their functions an culture! Organizational learning happens in all of

the organization1s activities+ an it happens in ifferent spees! The goal of organizational

learning is to successfully aapt to changing environments+ to a.ust uner uncertain

conitions+ an to increase efficiency!&;/( Accoring to Argote @;883+ managers in

manufacturing plants sa" organization learning occur "hen they foun "ays to ma#e

iniviual "or#ers more proficient+ improve the organization1s Ktechnology+ tooling+ an

layout+K improve the organization1s structure+ an etermine the organization1s strengths!&'(


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Interorganizational learning is the "ay in "hich ifferent organizations in an alliance

collaborate+ share #no"lege+ an learn from one another! An organization is able to

improve its Kprocesses an proucts by integrating ne" insights an #no"legeK from

another organization!&;-( Cy learning from another organization+ an organization is able to

cut time costs+ ecrease the ris#s associate "ith problem solving+ an learn faster! Learning from another organization can mean either applying the same ieas use by that

organization or moifying these ieas+ thereby creating innovation!&;-( Inter6organizational

learning occurs fre4uently in fi?e business moels+ such as franchising! The franchisee

loo#ing to use the franchisor1s bran has to learn ho" to use the organization1s business

moel before starting a franchise!&;5(

learning organisation mba

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