The Learning Organization (Part 2/2)

Sources of Learning

• Past/ History
• Best practices from other organizations
• Systematic problem solving
• Experimenting with new approaches
• Transferring the learning quickly and improving continuously

Classification of Knowledge

Explicit or Codified Knowledge

Knowledge that can be readily recorded, articulated, transmitted, codified, accessed and verbalized.(Can be stored)

It can be seen in drawings, manuals, books, databases, encyclopedias etc.

Implicit or Tacit Knowledge

Knowledge that is gained through incidental activities, or without awareness that learning is occurring.

Kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalizing it.

It is difficult to share, individual oriented.

Example: Judgement, feelings. Intuition etc.

Steps for Building a Learning Organization

• Encouraging employees to share knowledge
• Building knowledge sharing culture
• Building knowledge mapping
• Capturing tacit knowledge(Social interactions and informal meetings)
• Effective leadership

Building a Learning Organizations

The body of work relating to definitions, characteristics and models for creating a learning organization seem to fall naturally into three categories:

• The application of the academic theory of systemic learning to business;
• The presentation of definitions followed by prescriptive, practical solutions;
• The work of practitioners who decry a prescriptive approach but offer guidelines and practical hints as to how organizations can develop a bespoke approach.

Academic theory of systemic learning – the Senge model

Peter Senge and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pioneered efforts to apply academic theory of the learning organization to business. Businesses should pay more attention to the conditions that motivate people to do great things for themselves and for their companies.

This involves a commitment to lifelong learning and Senge’s (2006) work has led to the development of the five disciplines, which he describes as artistic rather than traditional management disciplines, aimed at enhancing an organization’s creative capability.

• Personal Mastery
• Mental Models
• Building a Shared Vision
• Team Learning
• System Thinking

Definitions and prescriptive, practical approaches

The Garvin (1993) model attempts to address this shortfall. Garvin’s five component model is designed to create an organization, ‘that is skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behaviour to reflect new knowledge and insights.’

• Systematic Problem-solving
• Experimentation
• Learning from Past Experience
• Learning from Others
• Transferring Knowledge

Guidelines and Practical Hints

Pearn et al. suggest that learning is a process not a state and that the possession of a number of characteristics does not necessarily entitle an organization to be called the learning organization. Pedler et al., prefer to use the term ‘company’ rather than organization, insisting that the latter is a mechanical word sounding abstract and lifeless, and suggest that the learning company is a vision of what might be possible and have developed a list of eleven features of that vision:

The learning approach to strategy

The formation of policy, implementation, evaluation and improvement are structured as learning processes, with conscious experiments and feedback loops.

Participative policy making

This encourages debate and fosters the airing of differences as a way of reaching business decisions that all members are likely to support.

Informating

This is the state of affairs in which information technology is used to inform and empower people rather than just measuring performance.

Formative accounting and control

These ensure that the systems of accounting, budgeting and reporting are structured to assist learning.

Internal exchange

This involves all departments recognizing themselves as customers and suppliers with the aim of ‘delighting the customer’. This encourages constant dialogue regarding expectations and feedback on performance. It fosters the spirit of collaboration, a systemic view and an overall optimization of performance.

Reward flexibility

This relates to the examination of the reward system, understanding the values and assumptions about the basis of pay and ensuring they are consistent with the characteristics of a learning company, where, perhaps, there has been a redistribution of power from the ‘top pyramid’ to the wider company.

Enabling structures

Flexible departmental boundaries that can adapt in response to change and loosely structured roles to meet the needs of internal customers and suppliers and which also encourage personal development.

Boundary workers as environmental scanners

This is the external version of informating, and although there may be specialized departments it is the accepted role of all members of the organization.

Intercompany learning

This would be demonstrated by joint training, shared investment in research and development, job exchanges and benchmarking.

A learning climate

Managers see their primary task as facilitating experimentation and learning from experience. Mistakes are allowed and there is no such thing as a failed experiment. Senior managers lead by example and openly question their own ideas, attitudes and behaviours.

Self-development opportunities for all

A range of resources and facilities are available to all members who are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and self development.

Reference

McCalman, J., Paton, R., & Siebert, S. (2016). Change management: a guide to effective implementation. (4 ed.) SAGE Publications Inc.