Becoming a Learning Organization Paper
Executive Summary
A learning organization alters the way a company thinks about learning and decision making (Solomon, 1994). It involves everyone within the organization, and provides a framework for “where people 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 continually are learning how to learn together" (Solomon, 1994). According to Senge, there are five disciplines of a learning organization—Personal Mastery, Shared Vision, Metal Models, Team Learning, and Systems Thinking (Galagan, 1991). Also, each learning organizations possess five key attributes-- communication, reward the process, building a collaborative environment, formal company/job orientation, and capturing knowledge (Connarton, 2004). Using systems thinking and shared vision disciplines will enable the Organization to give its employees the big picture and show them how they fit into organization and how the alignment of the Performance Management Program will align their efforts the agencies goals and objectives. Human Resources will facilitate this change by implementing systems, mechanisms, and processes that enhance organizational capabilities. Life-long learning is a requirement to sustain competitive advantage. “The difference between companies that lead and those that follow is the degree to which management invests in building a learning organization" (Meister, 2005).
Introduction
Learning is the process of gaining knowledge or skills through experience or study. An organization is a group of persons in which individuals cooperate systematically for a purpose. A Learning Organization is one in which people freely and continually, individually and collectively, exchange information and creates processes that will expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire.It stresses that organizations exist through collaboration, and that by working together people can accomplish things that they cannot do individually. A learning organization builds collaborative relationships in order to draw strength from the diverse knowledge, experience, capabilities, and ways of doing things that people and communities have and use.
Jeanne Meister (2004) reports that “learning organizations whose performance correlated with excellent business results show mastery in seven key areas":
1. Executives are known as much for following as they are for their leadership.
2. They enthusiastically invite and willingly take the good advice they seek from others.
3. They are defined by openness to employee climate surveys, suggestion systems and work clusters that empower subordinates to contribute meaningful solutions.
4. They understand that innovation thrives wherever new ideas, diverse views, and vigorous debate are encouraged.
5. They gather information from outside the four walls of their business.
6. They go to great lengths to solicit help and wisdom from vendors and suppliers, learning from their understanding of market trends, technological directions and current competitive landscape.
7. They understand that moving from commodity to experience begins and ends with the awareness of the customer view.
Learning organizations “have a lot to contribute towards long-term survival and profitability" (Ng, 2004). This paper will assess how learning organization concepts could be applied in the organizational Performance Management Program (PMP) change management process.
Five Disciplines of a Learning Organization
The author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, sites the five disciplines of a learning organization as Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Shared Vision, and Team Learning (cited in Galagan, 1991).
Systems Thinking
Systems’ thinking involves looking at problems and goals as a part of a whole. “It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than, things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static ‘snap-shops’" (cited in Galagan, 1991).
Personal Mastery
Articulating the goals and objectives an individual wants to achieve is personal mastery. Senge defines personal mastery as “the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively" (cited in Galagan, 1991).
Shared Vision
A shared vision is a mutual purpose among a group of people with common interests. “It binds people together around a common identity and a sense of destiny" (cited in Galagan, 1991). It builds a sense of commitment and facilitates open communication.
Mental Models
Senge describes mental models as “deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action" (cited in Galagan, 1991). It is a tool for reflection and inquiry, to develop awareness of attitudes and perceptions and define the current reality of the organization.
Team Learning
Team learning is facilitated through dialog and discussion within small groups. Collective thinking is used to achieve a common objective. Members of a team learn and grow together to develop intelligence and competence and leverage the knowledge of the whole together as one.
Elements of a Learning Organization
Laura and Joel Connarton (2004) identify five elements key to creating and maintaining a successful learning environment—communication, reward the process, building a collaborative environment, formal company/job orientation, and capturing knowledge.
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Communication
“The role of communication is truly the central focus in creating and maintaining a learning organization" (Connarton, 2004). Learning organizations typically have a free exchange and flow of information. Systems are established to all individuals to network across organizational boundaries, broaden knowledge base, and develop expertise.
Reward the Process
Processes that encourage cross-organizational interaction should be rewarded. Implementing programs that recognize and reward the acquisition of new skills, team-work as well as individual effort will help fuel creativity and provide employees with motivation. Celebration of the successes and accomplishments of employees also encourages continuous personal development which broadens the companies “Knowledge IQ". “The end results are what you are striving for – the gold at the end of the rainbow" (Connarton, 2004).
Building a Collaborative Environment
To build a collaborative environment support must flow from the top management downward. An environment of openness and trust encourages individuals to develop ideas, speak out, and to challenge actions. “Collaboration requires both formal and informal spaces to meet to generate and exchange ideas" (Connarton, 2004). Collaboration can be encouraged by having designated spaces for developing and exploiting information—such as conference rooms, bulletin boards, and groupware to share knowledge.
Formal Company / Job Orientation
“Providing a company orientation for new and existing employees that covers why the company is in business, what the objectives of the company are, and how each department, or job, moves the company closer to its goals will bring an enormous return on the time and effort invested" (Connarton, 2004). This tool develop employees understanding of their environment, reinforces company values, vision and provides management an opportunity to instill early on the environment of cohesiveness and information sharing.
Capturing Knowledge
“Institutionalizing organizational learning requires systems that facilitate the retention of knowledge and learning that individuals hold within the organization" (Connarton, 2004). Developing a system whereby information lesson learned are recorded and retained for future use, aids the company continually moving forward, instead of treading water.
Disciplines that the Organization can Apply to Support Large-scale Change
For the implementation of the Performance Management Program the Organization can apply the Shared Vision and Systems Thinking disciplines to support large-scale change. The PMP is being reengineered to focus the program on achieving results that support organizational objectives through measurable, observable, and/or verifiable standards. By using the shared vision discipline the agency can create a “shared picture of the future to be created" (Ng, 2004). (Lindley, and Wheeler, 2000) “An organization with no degree of shared vision […] can have no effective existence", however, giving employees (Ng, 2004) a genuine vision, galvanizes employees to action, not because they have to but because they want to. (Galaghan, 2001) “Systems thinking teaches how to see things as a whole", (Ng, 2004) it is not the sum of its parts, but the product of the interaction of the parts.
Using systems thinking and shared vision will enable the organizations to give its employees the big picture and show them how they fit into the part of the whole. The primary objective of the Performance Management Program is to align the agency’s objectives with that of the management’s objective’s.
Double-loop Learning
“Double loop learning – a phenomenon that refers to an individual’s capability and propensity for challenging accepted rules and parameters that decisions or actions face" (Back and Seaker, 2004). It “occurs when errors are corrected by changing the governing values and then the actions" (Argyris, 2002). This method is effective in helping individuals and organizations to gain insight their competencies and detecting and correcting problems. Double-loop learning is based on the premise that the processes are continuously evaluated and adjusted to meet the needs of the project based on the feedback and outcomes of previous processes and/or decisions.
The Organization can utilize double-loop learning in execution of its PMP by periodically obtaining feedback on what is and is not working for the program. Feedback can also be taken and implemented based on the previous program, as the new PMP is going in a performance-based arena. This process will especially critical in developing performance initiatives and evaluating which initiatives are effective at garnering the results desired by the agency.
Use of Internal and External Resources to Introduce Learning Organization Disciplines
In leveraging resources to introduce learning organization disciplines the agency should work from within and take a holistic approach. In addition to the Human Resources Department, the organizations can utilizae its Information Systems Department to aide in introducing the learning organization disciplines. Skill sets available include:
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· Logical thinking in systems development
· Multi-tasking
· Intranet
· Learning enabling technologies
· Knowledge of systems integration
Information Systems professionals play a key part in the management of information and knowledge resources by providing key systems to manage the flow of information which is a crucial aspect of the learning organization.
Role of HR in Implementing a Learning Organization
As a key influence on the organizational culture, Human Resources role in implementing a learning organization is key because the according to Senge, “the essence of a learning organization is that people are changing, people are developing ways of thinking and ways of interacting" (cited in Solomon, 1994). The core function of HR is to manage the company’s people, so that human capital effectively contributes to the company’s goals and objectives.
Human resources often are in the unique role of knowing who the innovators are in an organization. They may know some of the natural associations between people and some of the barriers to good ideas spreading.
Furthermore, one of the most important aspects of learning is how to transfer it. HR professionals can help diagnose why learning doesn’t spread or what’s needed to encourage local innovators to embrace the ideas. (Solomon, 1994)
Strategic human resources management requires systems thinking, emphasizing interrelationships of the HR and the company’s strategy. HR’s role in implementing a learning organization involves investing in its people, cultivating working relationships, monitoring metrics, people are a company’s most important asset, and HR is the strategic asset for effecting change and managing human capital.
References
Argyris, C. (1980, May/Jun). Making the undiscussable and its undiscussability discussable. Public Administration Review (40)3, p205, 9p Retrieved February 12, 2005 from the University of Phoenix Library (EBSCOhost Database) on the World Wide Web: http://ecampus.phoenix.edu
Connarton, L. and J. (2004, April) Five elements of the learning organization. Insights. Retrieved February 12, 2005 on the World Wide Web: http://www.elementsconsulting.com/insight/articles/learning_org/default.asp
Galaghan, P.A. (1991, October). The learning organization made plain. Training and Development. Retrieved February 12, 2005 from the University of Phoenix Library (EBSCOhost Database) on the World Wide Web: http://ecampus.phoenix.edu
Lindley, E. and Wheeler, F. P. (2000). The learning square: Four domains that impact on strategy. British Journal of Management (11) 357-364. Retrieved February 12, 2005 from the University of Phoenix Library (EBSCOhost Database) on the World Wide Web: http://ecampus.phoenix.edu
Ng, P. T. (2004). The learning organisation and the innovative organisation. Human Systems Management (23)2, p93, 8p Retrieved February 12, 2005 from the University of Phoenix Library (EBSCOhost Database) on the World Wide Web: http://ecampus.phoenix.edu
Solomon, C. M. (1994, November). HR facilitates the learning organization concept. Personnel Journal (73)11, p56, 9p, Retrieved February 12, 2005 from the University of Phoenix Library (EBSCOhost Database) on the World Wide Web: http://ecampus.phoenix.edu |
