Learning Organization

12 Key excerpts on "Learning Organization"

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  Educational Leadership

  Personal Growth for Professional Development

  • Harry Tomlinson(Author)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  18 The Learning Organization and Knowledge Management THE Learning Organization A Learning Organization is one which facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transforms itself. Some organizations have explored what strategies they need to survive or more positively to influence the direction of change through their capacity to learn. They have learned to scan the environment attentively, to adapt and change quickly and intelligently and to generate new ideas which ques-tion established values and icons. They have a capacity to learn and to unlearn. Poor performance often results from persisting with failing strategies despite evi-dence of the failure of these polices. Individuals learn by a process of experience and reflection; groups learn by a process of sharing of individual experiences; organizations learn by a process of sharing individual and group experiences Schools like other organizations differ profoundly in their capacity to learn, change and improve. Educational leaders need to identify the current everyday routines, structures and system barriers to organizational learning. Effective strategic human resource management ensures that internally – through struc-tures and processes aligned to current strategies – and externally – with strategies adapted to the environment, the strategic ‘fit’ ensures organizational learning. Organizational learning is about learning, responsiveness, flexibility, commitment and quality. The external pressures for change that require learning are the cul-tural dimension – at the level of public ideas and values, and policy, that is, the received wisdom; and the institutional dimension – when these ideas have become embodied in sets of institutionalised practices, such as Investors in People and the business excellence model.

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  Managing Human Resource Development Programs

  Current Issues and Evolving Trends

  • Claretha Hughes, Marilyn Byrd(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  In this chapter, the Learning Organization is illustrated as a learning system. An important feature of this chapter is making the distinction between “Learning Organization” and “organizational learning,” which are often used interchangeably. Criteria for building Learning Organizations will be discussed using a systems thinking approach along with the various subsystems that make up the system. Skills deficiencies as identified by employers are highlighted along with ways that organizations are responding with their own internal learning programs. The chapter concludes with a discussion of communities of practice as another way to capture learning in organizations.

  What Is a Learning Organization?

  The Learning Organization is one that utilizes the knowledge, skills, and talent of its people to continually transform itself and perform as a powerful, collective system (Marquardt 1996). The Learning Organization “focuses on learning as a tool, a lever, and a philosophy for sustainable change and renovation in organizations in a fast-changing world” (Bui and Baruch 2010, 208).

  Learning Organizations recognize how the development of human resources enhances and increases the organization’s performance. Through the knowledge, skills, and competencies of its people, Learning Organizations are those where learning is a powerful and continual process of transformation to better gather, manage, and apply learning for organizational success (Watkins and Marsick 1992, 1993). The literature abounds with definitions of the Learning Organization. Table 4.1

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  Human Resource Development

  From Theory into Practice

  • Eugene Sadler-Smith(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  David Garvin and his colleagues from Harvard Business School writing in the early 2000s acknowledged that the concept of the Learning Organization is not a new one, but in the face of intensifying competition, advances in technology and shifts in customer preferences, it’s as relevant as ever because ‘each company must become a Learning Organization’.35 More recently still, Forbes magazine argued that companies should embrace the idea of becoming a Learning Organization because it enables continuous improvement, increased collaboration and business sustainability and longevity.36 The idea is also endorsed by management and HR professional bodies. In the UK, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) promoted the idea of the ‘new Learning Organization’ in which a culture of learning is established where learning is not only a ‘daily habit’ but also a ‘strategic pillar’.37 In the US, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) endorses the creation of a ‘learning culture’ in which people not only want to learn and apply what they’ve learned but also feel ‘compelled to share their knowledge with others’.38 In their own words 14.3 Bob Garratt and Peter Senge on the Learning Organization One of the earliest discussions of ‘the Learning Organization’ was in the 1987 book The Learning Organization by the UK management consultant Bob Garratt. Garrett described how some people argued against it at the time on the grounds that it was ‘like playing with fire’

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  Knowledge Management

  Historical and Cross-Disciplinary Themes

  • Danny P. Wallace(Author)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Libraries Unlimited

    (Publisher)

  3 Organizational Learning and Learning Organizations organization, n. An organized body of people with a particular purpose, as a business, government department, charity, etc. 1793 D. RAMSAY Hist. Amer. Revolution (new ed.) I. p. vi (advt.) Some of these additions we have ourselves received, as in the case of the words “organize, and organization,” when applied to political bodies. IN THIS CHAPTER KEY CONCEPTS Origins of Organizational Learning and Learning Organizations Organizational Learning vs. Learning Organization Characteristics of the Learning Organization Origins of Failure in Continuous Improvement KEY PAPERS Vincent E. Cangelosi and William R. Dill, “Organizational Learning: Observations toward a Theory” C. West Churchman, The Systems Approach Chris Argyris and Donald A. Schön, Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization 67 68 Knowledge Management ORIGINS OF ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND Learning OrganizationS Although some authors trace the notion of organizational learning and the learn- ing organization to the late 1960s and early 1970s, Garratt expressed the belief “that all the necessary conditions to create both the intellectual and practical basis of a learn- ing organisation were in place by 1947.” 1 The expression “organizational learning” first appeared in 1950 as a subject heading in Psychological Abstracts. In 1955 Krulee referred to organizational learning in a very modern sense. 2 Simon is frequently credited with calling attention to organizational learning in his 1953 article in the Public Administra- tion Review. 3 Jones and Hendry suggested that the term “Learning Organization” was introduced simultaneously in 1988 by Hayes and by Pedler, but the term was actually used as early as 1976 by Gardner, who attributed the expression to Schön’s Beyond the Stable State (1970).

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  Continuing Professional Development

  A Guide for Therapists

  • Auldeen Alsop(Author)
  • 2008(Publication Date)
  • Wiley-Blackwell

    (Publisher)

  They encourage people at all levels to learn regularly and rigorously from their work. . They have systems in place for capturing the learning and for moving staff with skills to where they are needed in the organisation. . They value learning and use it to transform the organisation. The culture of the learning organisation thus seems to be one of striving for improvement and for quality in service provision by valuing learning, by devel-oping the skills of the workforce and by deploying skilled people where they can best serve the organisation's needs. It involves living in and managing a state of uncertainty where questioning and change are the norm (Dale, 1994). It means responding to learning by getting rid of outdated practice and replacing it with practice that has been shown to be more effective or relevant in today's climate. Ultimately this strategy is likely to benefit service users, the organisation and its Continuing Professional Development 82 employees, but organisational life is not just about meeting current needs, it is about evolving and growing to meet future needs. Senge (1990) viewed a learning organisation as one that is constantly expanding its capacity to create its future. By facilitating the learning of all its members the learning organisation continuously transforms itself (Dale, 1994). Transformation is a common theme in the literature about learning organisations as it is recognised that every organisation has to adapt to environmental changes and this has to occur through the efforts of its employees. According to Pearn et al . (1995) a learning organisation has a strong vision of its future and part of this vision recognises the importance of learning at all levels of organisational life ± at the level of the individual, at team level and in relation to the organisation's systems. It is thus important for learning and staff development to be supported at each of these levels.

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  Learning by Design

  Building Sustainable Organizations

  • A. B. (Rami) Shani, Peter Docherty(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • Wiley-Blackwell

    (Publisher)

  De Geus (1988) emphasized learning as an organization’s most viable means of com-petition. It is essential to meet changes in the organization’s environment and marketplace and to master the growing complexity and rate of change. “Learning includes all members in the organizations.” This is an essential ele-ment in Pedler’s (1991) basic definition of a Learning Organization. It complies with Bengtsson’s (1985) description of “human resource intensive” strategies in the OECD. The Japanese industrial leader, Matsuchita, maintained that it was the Japanese management’s commitment to utilizing the full capacity of their person-nel, including their intellectual creativity and decision-making ability, that gave their companies a distinctive advantage in the marketplace. Hamrefors (1999) observed that companies that engaged all their personnel in “environmental scanning” (so-called knowledge absorption) performed much better in this respect than those who delegated this task to a special staff department. This value is also coupled to the previous one and the learning requirements, for example, regarding the need for development, for multiskilling, and for problem-solving ability. “Working with learning entails true partnership between the social partners.” In Europe there is a growing tendency for unions to prioritize the skills development of their members to ensure their “employability,” i.e., to reduce members’ dependence on their current employer and increase their personal attractiveness on the labor market. This goal is pursued both within the union itself and, at the local and even regional levels, by collaboration with management and employ-ers’ organizations. This may lead to formal or informal agreement on the design of structures and processes for learning and on design principles for flexibility and demands on the individual.

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  Information Technology and Organizational Learning

  Managing Behavioral Change in the Digital Age

  • Arthur M. Langer(Author)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  Although Aldrich (2001) notes that organizational learning has not been tied to performance and success, I believe it will be the technology revolution that establishes the catalyst that can tie organizational learning to performance. The following sections of this chapter expand on the core concept that the success of ROD is dependent on the uses of organizational learning techniques. In each section, I correlate this concept to many of the organizational learning theories and show how they can be tailored and used to provide important outcomes that assist the promotion of both technological innovation and organizational learning. Learning Organizations Business strategists have realized that the ability of an organization to learn faster, or “better,” than its competitors may indeed be the key to long-term business success (Collis, 1994 ; Dodgson, 1993 ; Grant, 1996 ; Jones, 1975). A Learning Organization is defined as a form of organization that enables, in an active sense, the learning of its members in such a way that it creates positive outcomes, such as innovation, efficiency, improved alignment with the environment, and competitive advantage. As such, a Learning Organization is one that acquires knowledge from within. Its evolution, then, is primarily driven by itself without the need for interference from outside forces. In this sense, it is a self-perpetuating and self-evolving system of individual and organizational transformations integrated into the daily processes of the organization. It should be, in effect, a part of normal organizational behavior. The focus of organizational learning is not so much on the process of learning but more on the conditions that allow successful outcomes to flourish. Learning Organization literature draws from organizational learning theory, particularly as it relates to interventions based on outcomes

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  Developing Capacity for Innovation in Complex Systems

  Strategy, Organisation and Leadership

  • Christer Vindeløv-Lidzélius(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  In this book, we follow the definition by Ambrose et al., who define learning as “a process that leads to change, which occurs as a result of experience and increases the potential for improved performance and future learning” (Ambrose et al., 2010). Furthermore, we will focus on human learning and will not differentiate between groups, organisations, and inter-organisations in terms of knowledge creation and learning.

  There is a substantial body of work on the subject of organisational learning (OL). Chris Argyris and Donald Schön (1978) defined organisational learning as “the detection and correction of error,” where an error is an incongruity of intentions and what really happens. On the same note of “bettering” or “enhancing,” Fiol and Lyles see learning as “the process of improving actions through better knowledge and understanding” (1985). Huber (1991) emphasises that learning occurs in organisations if the range of the potential behaviour of the organisation is changed by processing information. In his review on OL literature, Dodgson (1993) suggests that it is a complex topic that requires a multi-disciplinary approach to obtain a fuller understanding. He (ibid.) views OL as “the way firms build, supplement, and organise knowledge and routines around their activities and within their cultures and adapt and develop organisational efficiency by improving the use of the broad skills of their workforces.”

  The idea of the learning organisation (LO) was coined by Peter Senge. In basic terms, it can be said that an LO continuously transforms itself and facilitates the learning of its members. Put differently, a “learning organisation is an organisation that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future by joining adaptive learning with generative learning, seeking out and mastering change” (Senge, 1990). Dodgson (1993) states that a LO “is a firm that purposefully constructs structures and strategies, to enhance and maximise Organisational Learning.”

  Connecting learning and innovation is important because we have seen in previous chapters that knowledge about innovation and obtaining new skills, as well as forming new procedures and approaches, is of utmost importance. But as an organisation, and also as individuals in the organisation, how we learn is also a matter for innovation as there may be advantageous reasons for organisations to ascertain how they learn best.

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  Building the Learning Organization

  Mastering the Five Elements for Corporate Learning

  • Michael J. Marquardt(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Nicholas Brealey International

    (Publisher)

  Team learning is vital because teams, like families in a community, are the basic learning units in Learning Organizations. Use a variety of ways to develop team learning, such as new job assignments, team projects, in-house activities, and group assessment of learning efforts. Intentionally moving people in and out of the various functions and businesses of an organization so they can learn across boundaries and levels is an important key to developing a Learning Organization, thus becoming a means to as well as an end for corporate-wide learning (Yeo & Nation, 2010).

  Organization-level learning is most conducive to systems thinking and learning. Leveraging of knowledge is greater at this level because the connections among learning, resources, and organizational power are clearer. Learning Organizations realize that sound learning cannot continue unless they are aware of their environments, and they maintain their interest in external happenings and the nature of surrounding circumstances. They persevere in gathering information about conditions and practices outside their own industries or geographic areas.

  STUDY OTHER Learning OrganizationS

  Understandably, gathering information about Learning Organizations will help companies focus on learning. There are many ways to approach this task.

  Every year the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) selects the top Learning Organizations around the world. A special T+D issue describes the stories of these organizations—how they developed one or more of the five learning subsystems described in this book.

  Locate and read the growing literature about Learning Organizations. Attend conferences and workshops on the subject. Invite the leader of a Learning Organization or a consultant or researcher in organizational learning theory and practice to speak on the topic. Arrange in-house workshops and discussions with a panel of people who work in or are leaders of recognized Learning Organizations.

  Create or become part of a consortium of firms that are seeking to become Learning Organizations. Identify successful Learning Organizations from your industry and geographic region as well as from other industries and other parts of the world. Talk to people in these organizations and listen to their ideas. Benchmark their learning skills and systems. Consider joining the ASTD Benchmarking Forum, which provides the opportunity to network and learn from some seventy to eighty of the top Learning Organizations in the world.

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  The Ever-Evolving Enterprise

  Guidelines for Creating Your Company's Future

  • Stephen C. Harper(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  Yet we gasp for the knowledge needed to enhance our firm’s performance. One of the challenges of a Learning Organization is to be able to differentiate information and knowledge. Knowledge can be defined as information that can make a difference. Learning is far from a given in most firms. Many firms get stuck in habitual ruts that prevent them from reaching their true potential. This causes considerable frustration for executives all the way down to first- line employees. Some firms make the same mistakes over and over, sometimes without even realizing it. Countless firms have missed oppor- tunities for competitive success because they were unprepared for them or—worse—were simply unaware of them. Someone once stated, “The firm with the smartest people wins.” The observation is only true if the team is smartest in the areas that will give it a competitive advantage and if it applies what it knows. Being the smartest is of little value if you cannot apply what you know. Brain matter is nice, but if it is not converted into perceptive, value-added action, then learning is of little practical value. It is like having a fast car that does not leave your garage. Learning Organizations recognize that true learning is evident when behavior changes. The chapter on anticipatory management profiled how inquiries may lead to insights which may then lead to initiatives. Inquiries and insights are important, but they are the means to the desired end; they are only of value if they foster initiatives that enhance performance. Peter Senge, who wrote The Fifth Discipline, defined learning organ- izations as, “Organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expan- sive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn together.” 1 Many executives resist the term “Learning Organization” despite the popularity of Senge’s work.

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  Managing People in Education

  • Tony Bush, David Middlewood, Tony Bush, David Middlewood(Authors)
  • 1997(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  There is an emphasis on all stafflearning individually and together, focusing on the central objective of the institution (students' learning) and with a strong role for the leader in creating the right culture and climate. It also makes clear that, unlike business in general, educational institutions are learning organisations in a double sense. They have as their central purpose the promotion of learning, and they must create a learning organisation where all those involved, not just students, must learn individually and collectively to provide a model of lifelong learning which, in itself, is focused on the learning of students. Southworth (ibid.) states that creating a learning school is 'neither simple nor straightforward'. The implications in practical terms will be explored in the following section. CREATING THE LEARNING ORGANISATION: CREATING LEARNING One of the common features of learning organisations, identified in the preceding section, is a challenging of assumptions about learning, and the The learning organisation 35 requirement to harness learning which is different in nature and scale from that which has previously been the norm. Senge (1993, p. 13) defines how 'learning' has come to be understood: The problem with talking about 'Learning Organizations' is that the 'learning' has lost its central meaning in contemporary usage. Most people's eyes glaze over if you talk to them about 'Learning Organizations'. Little wonder -for, in everyday use, learning has come to be synonymous with 'taking in information'. 'Yes, I learned all about that at the course yesterday.' Yet, taking in information is only distantly related to real learning. A number of writers (Argyris, 1991; Schein, 1993; West, 1994) challenge the notion that managing people's learning is straightforward.

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  Essential Readings in Management Learning

  • Christopher Grey, Elena Antonacopoulou, Christopher Grey, Elena Antonacopoulou(Authors)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  Organizational Learning (Re)defined Although we view the diversity of issues covered in the literature as valuable, we propose that the multiplicity of definitions of what ‘organizational learning’ is contributes to confusion for practitioners and limits the useful-ness of scholars’ contributions. Thus, we propose a new definition, synthe-sized from the literature, followed by a brief discussion of its merits. We define organizational learning as a process in which an organization’s members actively use data to guide behavior in such a way as to promote the ongoing adaptation of the organization. To use data is to seek and attend to task-relevant information, in particular for assessing collective performance and progress against goals. Guiding behavior involves choosing actions based on data-driven observations, including actions designed to test inferences. Adaptation is change by an organization in response to external changes – both problems and opportunities. Ongoing adaptation suggests sustained attention to relevant data, especially regarding results of new actions. Such an iterative cycle of action and reflection has been described by Sch¨ on (1983) as integral to the practice of highly effective individual professionals. This definition views organizational learning as a process – one that requires individual cognition and supports organizational adaptiveness. It is a process of acting, assessing, and acting again – an ongoing cycle of reflection and action that cannot be taken for granted in organizations, noted for their adherence to routine. However, as thus defined, organizational learning is a process that can be initiated, developed, and practiced. Where does this definition fit in to the literature? We note that inter-vention may be needed for individuals to engage in this learning process in support of their organization’s ongoing effectiveness. This framing places us in the accountability category.

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