Organization Learning And Learning Organization Part 4

By Dr. Henry T. Yeh

4.3 What’s the relationship between Strategy and Organizational Learning?

Or, as Mintzberg (1987) says: the key is not getting the right strategy but fostering strategic thinking. Or as Shell has leveraged the concept of Learning Organization in its credo “planning as learning” (de Geus 1988). Faced with dramatic changes and unpredictability in the world oil markets, Shell’s planners realized a shift of their basic task: “We no longer saw our task as producing a documented view of the future business environment five or ten years ahead. Our real target was the microcosm (the ‘mental model’) of our decision makers.” They re-conceptualized their basic task as fostering learning rather than devising plans and engaged the managers in ferreting out the implications of possible scenarios. This conditioned the managers to be mentally prepared for the uncertainties in the task environment. Thus, they institutionalized the learning process at Shell.

The key ingredient of the Learning Organization is in how organizations process their managerial experiences. Learning Organizations/Managers learn from their experiences rather than being bound by their past experiences. In Generative Learning Organizations, the ability of an organization/manager is not measured by what it knows (that is the product of learning), bur rather by how it learns — the process of learning. Management practices encourage, recognize, and reward: openness, systemic thinking, creativity, a sense of efficacy, and empathy.

He adds to this recognition that people are agents, able to act upon the structures and systems of which they are a part. All the disciplines are, in this way, concerned with a shift of mind from seeing parts to seeing wholes, from seeing people as helpless reactors to seeing them as active participants in shaping their reality, from reacting to the present to creating the future (Senge 1990: 69). It is to the disciplines that we will now turn.

The basic rationale for such organizations is that in situations of rapid change only those that are flexible, adaptive and productive will excel. For this to happen, it is argued, organizations need to discover how to tap peoples commitment and capacity to learn at all levels.

While all people have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they have to function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. Furthermore, people may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face. Organizations that are continually expanding their capacity to create their future require a fundamental shift of mind among their members.

When you ask people about what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. It become quite clear that, for many, their experiences as part of truly great teams stand out as singular periods of life lived to the fullest. Some spend the rest of their lives looking for ways to recapture that spirit. (Senge 1990: 13)

For Peter Senge, real learning gets to the heart of what it is to be human. We become able to re-create ourselves. This applies to both individuals and organizations. Thus, for a learning organization it is not enough to survive. Survival learning or what is more often termed adaptive learning is important indeed it is necessary. But for a learning organization, adaptive learning must be joined by generative learning, learning that enhances our capacity to create (Senge 1990:14).

4.4 Is there an ideal organization?

Are there any examples of Learning Organizations? Yes, but the Learning Organization is an ideal, a vision. Various organizations or parts of organizations achieve this in varying degree. Combining with the situations mentioned above, I figure out an ideal LO as the followings. The leader of this organization should possess the following characteristics. First, he/she would believe in their employees in achieving the goals of the organization. Secondly, he/she should be tolerant and forgiving mind in order to listen to the various opinions and voices from their employees, including the bad ones. Whats more, he/she should also possess the ability of introspection to reflect whether their leadership is too dictatorial so that the employees are restricted to have their own job done instead of devoting their heart also to the prosperity of the organization. He/she should be able to save time for their employees

Overall, the members of this “ideal” faculty would be personable, yet, professional in their conduct. They would be knowledgeable in their areas of expertise. They would interact with the outside world as public servants. These faculty members would value and practice the ability to listen objectively. They would be solution-oriented thinkers.

Teachers would have the opportunity to learn throughout the year through staff development workshops. They could be encouraged to develop areas in which they feel they need to strengthen. The workshops would be offered during school hours and after school hours so that the teachers could choose the sessions that would work best with their schedule. In turn, the teachers would offer their services, as speakers, to the organizations wanting to know more about the activities taking place on the school campus.

Quite where we go from here is a matter for some debate. It could be that the notion of the learning organization has had its fifteen minutes of fame. However, there does seem to be life in the notion yet. It offers an alternative to a more technicist framework, and holds within it a number of important possibilities for organizations seeking to sustain themselves and to grow.

A Leader for Learning does the following:

Creates learning discussions in meetings

Uses leadership tools as part of his work

Teaches others about doctrine and how they create organizational learning

Measures hard and soft results of activities

Communicates strategic, operational, and technical learning to other leaders

Ensures learning gets into the Learning Network web system

Aligns all elements of culture – hard and soft Ss – with the Corps ideal future

Ensures transparency of information and integration of knowledge

Creates interactivity – openness, engagement, and cooperation across boundaries

Leaders transform culture. They understand that the new context of the Corps and strategic logic require this transformation. They instill this understanding in the minds of all members of the organization. Leaders see themselves as teachers. Shared values are measures of success of projects, initiatives, and the Corps as a whole. The Corps measures employees by these values. Leaders get promoted because they personify these Corps values. Major leadership meetings and forums center around the learning priorities of the Corps, and the parts become aligned based on this learning. Leaders sensitive to these strategic issues make this happen. Good leaders also motivate employees to learn and to dedicate their best into their work.

The idea of cross training program in an organization also helps to create an ideal LO. Department heads, assistants and employees can cross-train in different departments or within the department itself. With background support, employees can have a few days of training in the role of department head (“King for the Day”). When a General Manager is away, department heads can take roles replacing him, which is a form of cross training.

However, Sending people to work in another department at a moment’s notice is not what cross training is about. This has to be an effective planned process. Employees must “buy” into the idea, be encouraged to give feedback and make suggestions for improvement. They become “partners”. Departmental communications meetings can be used to share lessons learned. When employees think “the grass is greener on the other side of the lawn” they soon realize their mistake after exposure to other departments. They return to their job with a better attitude.

Cross training can also be used to “shake up” supervisors or employees who have lapsed into poor performance. Upon being moved to a different position or department, albeit temporarily, they hear “warning bells”, shape up and usually return to their positions as exemplary performers.

Depending on the budget at hand and the objectives to be achieved, the time for cross training can vary from one day to a week or more. Details must be coordinated with the “receiving” department head. The trainee is incorporated within the department’s activities for the duration of the cross training (briefings, meetings, or obligations).

Through this kind of training, Employees enjoy the rewards of added know-how, skills, career opportunities and future security due to business success.

As for the employees, I also figure out what its like working in an ideal LO.

A learning college supports its members as learners. However, learners do not learn only as several hundred individuals separate and isolated from one another.

5. Conclusion

A learning organization requires that we look at all parts, all entities, and all people as an interrelated system. To achieve this interrelatedness, the organization must be away from its previous cultural view of organizational life. Colleges must be seen as several parts, but these parts are always seen in their inter-relatedness and connections. We owe systems thinking to many theorists, but Fritlof Capra, in his book entitled The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture, stands out as having had a major influence on organizational thinking at Maricopa. Capra writes:

The new vision of reality we have been talking about is based on awareness of the essential interrelatedness and inter-dependence of all phenomena — physical, biological, psychological, social, and cultural. It transcends current disciplinary and conceptual boundaries and will be pursued within new institutions. At present there is no well-established framework, either conceptual or institutional, that would accommodate the formulation of the new paradigm, but the outlines of such a framework are already being shaped by many individuals, communities, and networks that are developing new ways of thinking and organizing themselves according to new principles.

About the Author: Dr. Henry T. Yeh received his Ph.D. in business, MBA degrees from Baruch College, CUNY in the 90s and MS degree in Operations research from Columbia University. He has taught at CUNY and St. Johns University and worked at TWA. He is teaching at enjoys

Southwest International University USA. Source: isnare.com

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