Learning organizations

Definition
organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new & expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, & where people are continually learning how to learn together. - Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline

Definition
A learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, interpreting, transferring, & retaining knowledge, & at purposely modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge & insights. - David Garvin, Learning in Action

The Learning Organization

An organization in which everyone is
engaged in identifying & solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, capability. improve, & increase its

Learning Organizations
The core idea behind learning organization is that organizations of all kinds will not survive, let alone thrive, if they do not acquire an ability to adapt continuously to an increasingly unpredictable future.

Senges Model
Personal Mastery Learning Organization Systems Thinking Team Learning Senge defines these 5 elements as disciplines. They represent a body of theory & method to be learned & put into practice by individuals within an organization. Systems thinking, the fifth discipline, unites all. Shared Values Mental Models

The Learning Manager: Five Disciplines to Develop

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Systems thinking: the big picture Shared vision: common purpose Challenging mental models: question current thinking that prevent change Team learning: help group succeed, rather than pursuing individual goals Personal mastery: know job, people, processes at very deep level; intimate with work.

Systems Thinking
A framework for understanding the structures, patterns & relationships that mold organizational behavior A discipline for seeing wholes Permits identification of ways to change Acknowledges the power of internal processes (not individuals, not outside forces) in shaping work

Personal Mastery
Commitment, with proficiency, by the individual to own lifelong learning A discipline in which the individual constantly clarifies what is important & sees reality clearly Grounded in competence & skills Generates a sense of purpose, power, self-worth, & a personal vision

Mental Models
Deeply held internal images of how the world works A discipline for shaping these personal pictures of the world & understanding how they affect individual action Can be consciously examined and shaped

Shared Vision
Ability to maintain a collective picture of a future that is sought Reflects a desire to be connected & becomes part of pursuing a larger purpose that is embodied in the organizations services Commitment is by choice, not compliance Scenario planning: tool to build shared vision

Team Learning
Begins with skilled discussion, dialogue Skilled discussion: conversation guided by a repertoire of techniques that help members fit together the pieces of their situation Dialogue: the free, creative expression & exploration of ideas A group discipline leading to alignment of members thoughts & achievement of desired results

Core Competencies for Learning Organization

Analytical skills, problem solving, decision making Communication skills Creativity, innovation Expertise & technical knowledge Flexibility, adaptability Interpersonal, group skills Leadership Organizational understanding & global thinking Ownership, accountability, dependability Planning & organizational skills Resource management ability Service attitude

Evolution of the Learning Organization

Employees

Power to Influence Strategic Direction

1. Traditional Organization
Top managers maintain central control of actions and strategy

Top Managers

Power to Influence Work Flow Decisions & Actions

Employees

Evolution of the Learning Organization

Employees

Power to Influence Strategic Direction 1. Traditional Organization Top managers maintain central control of actions and strategy Top Managers

2. Horizontal/Network Organization Teams with empowered employees responsible for quality

Power to Influence Work Flow Decisions & Actions

Employees

Evolution of the Learning Organization

Employees 3. Learning Organization Employees see big picture & have all information. Formulate emergent strategy & responsible for customer satisfaction 2. Horizontal/Network Organization Teams with empowered employees responsible for quality

Power to Influence Strategic Direction 1. Traditional Organization Top managers maintain central control of actions and strategy Top Managers

Power to Influence Work Flow Decisions & Actions

Employees

Web of Interacting elements in the Learning Organization

Leadership Shared Information Emergent Strategy

Learning Organization

Empowered Employees Strong Culture

Horizontal Structure

Characteristics of a Learning Organization

Learning Culture - an organizational climate that nurtures learning. Processes - processes that encourage interaction across boundaries. These are infrastructure, development & management processes, as opposed to business operational processes (the typical focus of many BPR initiatives). Tools & Techniques - methods that aid individual & group learning, such as creativity & problem solving techniques. Skills and Motivation - to learn and adapt.

Learning Culture
Future, external orientation these organizations develop understanding of their environment; senior teams take time out to think about the future. Widespread use of external sources & advisors e.g. customers on planning teams. Free exchange & flow of information - systems are in place to ensure that expertise is available where it is needed; individuals network extensively, crossing organizational boundaries to develop their knowledge & expertise. Commitment to learning, personal development - support from top management; people at all levels encouraged to learn regularly; learning is rewarded. Time to think & learn (understanding, exploring, reflecting, developing) Valuing people - ideas, creativity & "imaginative capabilities" are stimulated, made use of & developed. Diversity is recognized as a strength. Views can be challenged. Climate of openness and trust - individuals are encouraged to develop ideas, to speak out, to challenge actions. Learning from experience - learning from mistakes is often more powerful than learning from success. Failure is tolerated, provided lessons are learnt

Key Management Processes

Strategic & Scenario Planning - approaches to planning that go beyond the numbers, encourage challenging assumptions, thinking 'outside of the box'. They also allocate a proportion of resources for experimentation. Competitor Analysis - as part of a process of continuous monitoring & analysis of all key factor in the external environment, including technology & political factors. A coherent competitor analysis process that gathers information from multiple sources, sifts, analyses, refines, adds value & redistributes is evidence that the appropriate mechanisms are in place. Information and Knowledge Management - using techniques to identify, audit, value (cost/benefit), develop & exploit information as a resource; use of collaboration processes and groupware to categorize & share expertise.

Key Management Processes.

Capability Planning - profiling both qualitatively & quantitatively the competencies of the organization. Team & Organization development - the use of facilitators to help groups with work, job & organization design & team development reinforcing values, developing vision, cohesiveness & a climate of stretching goals, sharing & support Performance Measurement - finding appropriate measures and indicators of performance; ones that provide a 'balanced scorecard' & encourage investment in learning Reward & Recognition Systems - processes & systems that recognize acquisition of new skills, team-work as well as individual effort, celebrate successes & accomplishments, & encourages continuous personal development.

Tools & Techniques

Include a wide range of learning & creativity skills in the following groups: Inquiry - interviewing, seeking information Creativity - brainstorming, associating ideas Making sense of situations - organizing information & thoughts Making choices - deciding courses of action Observing outcomes - recording, observation Reframing knowledge - embedding new knowledge into mental models, memorizing

Tools & Techniques.

Collective (i.e. team & organizational) learning require skills for sharing information & knowledge, particularly implicit knowledge, assumptions & beliefs that are traditionally "beneath the surface". Key skills here are: Communication, especially across organizational boundaries Listening & observing Mentoring & supporting colleagues Taking a holistic perspective - seeing the team & organization as a whole Coping with challenge & uncertainty

Inhibitors to becoming a Learning Organization

Some of the most common obstacles to becoming a learning organization: Operational/fire fighting preoccupation - not creating time to sit back and think strategically Too focused on systems and process (e.g. ISO9000) to exclusion of other factors (bureaucratic vs. thinking) Reluctance to train (or invest in training), other than for obvious immediate needs Too top-down driven, over tight supervision, lack of real empowerment

Challenges in developing Learning Organization