A study of the Learning Organization Carried out Using an Analytical Framework - Report Example

A study of the Learning Organization carried out using an Analytical Framework Name: Tutor: Course: Institution: Date: Introduction The following report was made after conducting a study on an organization in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry. The main objective of the study was to determine to what extent the organization is already a learning organization. To achieve this, a conceptual framework that was previously developed, based on the model devised by Cross and Israelit (2000) was used to analyze the organization’s performance with regard to being a learning organization. To begin with, a brief description of the organization will be provided. A brief outline of the framework will also be provided, and a justification of the chosen attributes provided. A thorough examination of the organizational philosophy towards organizational learning as well as various organizational policies and documents will then be compared to attributes of a learning organization as revealed in the conceptual framework. Relevant findings will also be provided, in addition to justified recommendations that address: to what extent the organization is already a learning organization; strategies that could improve the effectiveness of the learning organization; barriers to implementing these strategies; and how these barriers might be overcome. The Organization This study was carried out on a knowledge management organization that thrives on learning. In addition to being one of the leading organizations in the information search industry, the organization also has an information rich culture that is driven by knowledge and creativity. Since it was founded, the organization has grown to become one of the fastest growing organizations in the information industry. One of the major reasons the organization has excelled is because of its philosophy of helping and supporting its employees to share information and work together towards solving problems and meeting the needs of its consumers. This spirit of continually learning from new environments such as the increasingly developing technologies and adapting to these environments is what has kept the organization ahead of its competitors. This has also made it earn the description of a learning organization Outline of the Framework The framework used to examine the organization was the previously developed framework that presented the learning organization as made up of and dependent on the kinds of learning that takes place on three interrelated levels of activity within the organization: the individual level, the group level and the organizational level. Based on these levels, therefore, three learning attributes were used to examine if this organization is a learning organization, and relevant recommendations made on ways through which the organization can even become a better learning organization. The relevance of each of these attributes was a critical consideration when choosing them to examine this organization. As previously revealed each of the three learning levels; individual, group and learning levels has major learning attributes that can be used to define a learning organization. It was established that in the individual level, learning is achieved through personal study, practice, observance, cognition as well as personal experience. Another way this can be achieved is when someone develops effective mental structures in the mind. Personal initiative is therefore critical to achieve individual learning. It is mandatory for every individual at the organization, therefore, to ensure that they meet personal goals with regard to learning through initiatives such as personal study and personal experiences. The interaction of individuals using various media and instruments that lead to new knowledge being created is a critical step towards achieving group learning. This learning attribute is a very important initiative that adds to the pool of group level knowledge and ensures that the growth of groups and the organization is achieved as well as its learning capabilities. This can be achieved through individual contributions of what they have individually learnt or when a leader facilitates the interaction. This can also be referred to as team learning, a very important attribute that was chosen to explore how effective the organization is at learning at the group level (Marquardt, 2011). The overall culture of an organization is critical for an organization to qualify as a learning organization. Since organizational learning is both a social and a cognitive activity (Carr et al, 1996), organizational learning can only be achieved when groups (departments) engage in sharing their knowledge and acting in unison in a way that maximizes their combined ability to understand and take required action in reference to environment (Cross and Israelit, 2000). The learning attribute examined in this level was therefore ability of the organization to constantly acquire and interpret new information from and about the increasingly changing environment. Each of the learning attributes identified above was verified in reference to the organization so as to determine to what extent the organization is already a learning organization. Synopsis of findings To obtain data about the extent to which the organization is already a learning organization, a thorough study was carried out of various organizational policies and documents. Scholarly material from authoritative and relevant experts that have analyzed the organization in the recent past was also carefully reviewed in reference to the attributes explained above. The first attribute to be explored was individual initiative with regard to organization learning. In exploring this attribute, focus was given to personal mastery, which, according to Peter Senge, is how individuals learn. A number of individual initiatives undertaken by the organization’s staff, which constitutes personal mastery, were explored. Personal mastery refers to a continual learning process that involves individual deepening of one’s personal vision and seeking to see reality objectively (Smith, 2000 p. 7). Scholars agree that personal mastery goes beyond skills and competence, although these are necessary for one to have a high level of personal mastery. After researching about the organization’s employees from authoritative sources, it was revealed that the organization only seeks to hire people that have a high level of personal mastery level, actually the best in the industry. To proof if this is true, the employees’ learning experiences after getting hired were studied, and it was revealed that all staff are engaged in a continual learning mode from their first day at the organization until retirement. This was a very important finding, because the most important consideration of individuals that take personal initiatives to learning to heart is how passionate they are involved in the process of personal mastery. The second initiative explored was the interaction of individuals, also known as the aspect of team learning. Team learning can be explained as ‘the process of aligning and developing the capacities of a team to create the results its members truly desire’ (Senge 1990: 236). Team learning was studied in the organization to establish if really various capacities of teams at the organization are efficiently developed to achieve its goals. One of the most important aspect of team learning is that it builds on shared vision. Building shared vision is top priority at the organization; it is through building shared vision that employees and other stakeholders at the organization seek to be innovatively involved in creating a successful future for them and for the organization. Beyond the organization’s vision statement, groups (employees, managers and other significant groups at the organization) have a genuine vision that galvanizes the organization. It was revealed that, for example, people work with an increased enthusiasm and commitment towards bringing the organization’s vision to fruition. Having a shared vision is what encourages dialogue among groups, in a process that facilitates genuine thought processes achieved together to solve problems. The culture of an organization was explored as well so as to determine the extent of the organization’s embrace to organizational learning. One of the elements examined with respect to the culture of the organization was the leadership elements and the role of leadership to achieve a learning organization. Leaders play a very important role in helping an organization achieve a learning organization. To establish if the leadership of the organization was up to the task of a learning organization, the management strategies implemented and the policies of the organization towards employees were studied. It was revealed that leadership practiced at the organization is based upon empowering employees and their personal visions. It was particularly noted that in the organization, leaders are designers and stewards of development, both individually and for the organization. For example, it is the responsibility of leaders to constantly build the capabilities of employees to clarify vision, understand complexity and develop shared visions. This means that they are responsible to steward learning, and their number one duty is to inspire the vision of a learning organization. Recommendations Based on the findings identified above, it can be said that the organization is already a learning organization. However, there is room for improvement, and the following strategies can help the organization improve its effectiveness as a learning organization. Foremost, it is recommended that the organization should develop and use relevant measures that support learning. The concern for measurement should be a top priority issue for the organization to become more effective in being a learning organization. Questions to consider include: are the measures used standard or custom-built, internally or externally focused? Measures, commonly referred to as metrics, are very important in organizational learning programs, and the organization should be very much interested in how the search for the best metrics, and the discourse about measurements, is a critical aspect of learning (Chawla & Renesch, 2006). The concern for measurement is the number one reason why the organization will be successful in its success as a learning organization. When an organization is concerned about measurement issues, it keeps on re-examining measurement issues. While this could incur costs, the returns are worth while. A re-examination of measurement issues helps an organization avoid having obsolete metrics and more importantly, helps propel the organization to a better level of learning. The second strategy recommended for the organization is that it should thoroughly review the methods that are used to analyze variances found between targeted outcomes and actual performance as a learning organization. This is very important because when feedback shows a performance gap, especially if it reveals failure, the organization can immediately adopt new skills and insights. Being aware of a performance gap is critical for the organization because it usually leads to management recognizing that something that had been previously known may not be working any more or that learning needs to occur. Even in cases whereby a department or group is not able to clearly articulate what the need might be being aware of ignorance is important because it can motivate learning (Chawla & Renesch, 2006). It is also recommended that the organization should more and more encourage a climate of openness. The organizational culture was established as encouraging openness between employees and employers. However, the level of openness was not efficient enough, which is why it is recommended that the organization should ensure that all its boundaries that surround information flow are permeable enough to enable all people to make their individual observations. It is worth noting that the majority of informal learning occurs daily, and involves unexpected interactions between people. It is also worth noting that meeting with other individuals and groups is an opportunity that significantly promotes learning. Freedom of expression is a very important element in the organization (Yeo, 2007). Openness also makes it easy for an organization to get used to publicly reporting abnormalities or important deviations with regard to its learning processes. When abnormalities are reported, for example, an organization can carry out a learning motivated research study or investigation to determine how to eliminate it, and thereafter distribute the knowledge throughout the company. The ability of an organization to function as if an abnormality in its learning process is an opportunity to learn is a major factor that can certainly help an organization achieve a lot as a learning organization (Chawla & Renesch, 2006). The leadership at the organization was established to play a very important role in ensuring that the organization achieves its goals as a learning organization. This is why it is recommended that the leadership should ensure that it is engaged in hands-on implementation of the organizational learning philosophy at every organizational level. To achieve this, the leadership is mandated to ensure that it is visible in the organization’s bowels, ensure that it eliminates management layers and most importantly, ensure that is becomes an active as well as an early participant of a learning initiative conducted in the organization. It is only by being directly involved in the organization and ensuring that there is a combination of elements of vision, coordination and integration will the leaders manage to obtain important data (Yeo, 2007). Direct involvement can be achieved by leaders in the organization through ways such as supporting seminars and workshops and ensuring that learning seminars are made the first items on the agenda at monthly meetings with all assistants and down line employees. Spending three days every week with employees or spending lunch breaks and other breaks with employees are activities that can also constitute involved leadership (Yeo, 2007). Barriers to achieving a learning organization In spite of the numerous benefits of the learning organization, it is worth noting that not every organization can be described as a learning organization. With regard to the strategies identified above, one of the most significant barriers to the organization being effective as a learning organization is unneeded bureaucracy and control policies against the philosophy of the learning organization. Bureaucracies and control policies stifle innovativeness and creativity and make it very difficult for departments in an organization to manage its own processes to achieve leaning goals. It is worth noting that although the ultimate objective of every department in the organization is to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives, the different departments of the organization have different functions. This calls for a high level of creativity and innovativeness so as to establish the most appropriate processes to adopt in each department. Bureaucracies and control policies also stifle freedoms needed for the learning and development of employees (Alasoini et al, 1997). Another barrier to achieving the strategies explained above is whereby individuals seek to develop defensive routines with the objective of protecting themselves from challenging situations. Defensive routines have been studied by scholars (Argyris and Schon, 1996) who have found that the routines impede the ability of individuals to discover appropriate ways with which to discover and solve problems. In other words, defensive routines prevent individuals from learning new ways of doing things differently. Organizational cultures are responsible for reinforcing the defensive routines of their members, and the resultant effect is that they hinder organizational learning (Tsang, 1997). Certainly, defensive routines are a significant barrier that can hinder the organization from effectively achieving a learning organization. In addition to defensive routines, another significant psychological barrier is anxiety. Anxiety plays a very important role in hindering organizational learning, as was established by Schein (1993). Schein asserted that organizations develop and maintain mechanisms that generate anxiety and act as powerful barriers to learning. This is particularly the case in organizations characterized by restrictive and controlling management policies that seek to punitively deal with employees that stray from the organizational norm of performing duties. In such a case, it is usually very difficult to persuade employees that they can engage in learning (Schein, 1993; 1995). While the organization studied has adopted and implemented a learning organization, it is worth noting that the organization engages with partnerships with numerous other organizations in different departments. This interaction provides numerous opportunities for earning to the organization, which means that the role of anxiety is very important, even though it may not directly be in the organization. Success and failure are very important factors that can also prevent the organization from fully utilizing its potential as a learning organization. The fact that the organization has achieved for a long period means that management needs to be concerned. This is because according to a study carried out on the subject of organizational learning as implemented in Germany, China and Israel, long periods of success were identified as barriers of organizational learning (Jacobi et al, 1998; Berthoin, 1999). The study also established that failure and crises are important triggers for organizational learning. Achieving success for a long period of time makes members to become complacent because they expect the success to continue. It is also important to note that success is a significant barrier because it causes overconfidence of managers in its ability to anticipate risks. Failure, on the other hand, has been found to be necessary to help shake an organization out of its “comfort zone” (Marquardt, 2011). Overcoming the barriers One of the most important ways through which the barriers above can be overcome is by developing a freedom to be creative and be innovative. Considering the high competitive nature of the ICT industry, organizations are in a cut-throat race to beat each other with new technology, making speed and the ability to develop new knowledge a key to success. Although it is the responsibility of the employers to set the overall boundaries of the organization and provide the needed control policies, they should not try over-managing since unnecessary bureaucracy and tight controls are a hindrance to flexibility and creativity needed in the industry. The freedom to be creative brings a unique excitement and energy to employees and most importantly, provides an appropriate background for the learning organization (Phips, 2004). In an environment where there is freedom of creativity and innovativeness, there are no clear boundaries between the organization’s departments, which means that majority of the work is done through team work that develops new knowledge and share existing knowledge. In addition, enhancing such an environment is bound to overcome bureaucratic policies that hinder achieving a learning organization. Another way the barriers above can be overcome is by understanding that the organization cannot do it all by itself. Partnerships are critical for the success of the organization as a learning organization (Phips, 2004). The organization’s Marketing Department, for example, can leverage partnerships with other organizations to help bring their services in a more marketable manner to the marketplace. The Sales Department as well can partner with computer hardware and software vendors and related companies that provide compatible products and related services. This will enable the organization bring the best and a wide range of products and services to its consumers. Most importantly, with regard to the organization as a learning organization, is the Education Services Department. This department can leverage partnerships with several major partner companies to provide training to boost the level of knowledge within the organization. Partnerships between the organization’s various groups with other groups in the industry are a very important opportunity that will allow the organization to advance its learning processes to new heights. The organizations must treat each other with absolute integrity to ensure that the partnership is successful. This is very important as it maintains the trust needed when sharing important information and knowledge. Developing integrity through partnerships will provide an environment of trust that is critical in a learning organization. It is worth asserting that learning occurs best in an atmosphere where there is openness and trust (Goodyear et al, 2006). An additional way to overcome these barriers will be through introducing new management mechanisms that are focused on facilitating resource and processes. Managers, irrespective of their level in the organization, are supposed to be resource facilitators, as opposed to being “experts.” This is the reason it is common in the present day business environments to see young people managing older and more experienced individuals. Implementing this ideology will go a long way in overcoming the management and leadership barriers that could be experienced as aforementioned above. It is worth noting that in most instances, managers are promoted because of their ability to manage resources, which can be people, technology or money, rather than the fact that they are the most knowledgeable about a certain discipline (Bhatt, 2000). Managers that are resource facilitators are very important for a learning organization because they form a management structure that is more flexible and democratic, as opposed to the case of top-down mechanistic bureaucracies. The fact that the manager does not have to be the most knowledgeable or the “expert”, the best talents of the team can shine without a conflict in power. This structure also makes it possible for the managers to be open to learning and help set an expectation that can facilitate team learning in the organization. As a result, the team is empowered, together with manager, to learn together (Goodyear et al, 2006). The barriers identified above will therefore be overcome with such a management style since the structure is able to send a strong message to the team that learning is a top priority. Indeed, there is no employee that would want to work with a “know it all” manager. This is why a manager that is a resource and process facilitator will be less intimidating, and most importantly, will inspire trust and confidence in his or her employees. This also provides a conducive environment for learning as it provides an environment where failures are accepted as learning opportunities and risk taking is encouraged (Dierker at al, 2003). Conclusion The ICT industry is a highly competitive and knowledge intensive industry, which makes learning a critical element to the success of every organization in this industry. This report has discussed a study carried out on an organization in this industry, relative to attributes of a learning organization in the individual, group and organization levels of a learning organization. In each of these attributes, the organization was found to meet the standards of a learning organization. While the organization was established to be already a learning organization, several recommendations were provided to help improve the effectiveness of a learning organization. It is worth noting that there are several significant barriers that could hinder the implementation of these strategies, key amongst these being bureaucratic and tight control systems, defensive routines; and success and failure. The organization should strive to overcome each of these barriers, particularly the barrier of complacency because of success, and implement the recommendations provided. This way, not only will the organization learn new technology innovations, business processes and management strategies that can help them remain profitable, but also meet the needs of its human resources in a conducive learning environment. References Alasoini, T., Kyllonen, M., and Kasvio, A. (1997). Workplace Innovations. Helsinki: Ministry of Labour. Argyris, C. and Schon (1996). Organizational learning: A Theory of Action Perspective., Reading Mass: Addison Wesley. Berthoin, A. (1999). Organizational institutions and cultural dimension, Jahrbuch, Berlin, p. 31- 52. Bhatt, G. D. (2000). “Information Dynamics, Learning and Knowledge Creation in Organizations.” The Learning Organization, 7(2), 89-98. Carr, D. K., Hard, K. J. and Trahant, W. (1996) Managing the Change process. New York: McGraw-Hill. Chawla, S. & Renesch, J. (2006). Learning organizations: Developing Cultures for tomorrow’s workplace, Productivity Press: New York. Cross, R. L., & Israelit, S. B. (Eds.). (2000). Strategic learning in a knowledge economy: Individual, collective and organizational learning process. Boston, MA: Butterworth- Heinemann Dierkes, M., Antal, A., Child, J. and Nonaka, I. (2003) Handbook of organizational learning and knowledge. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Goodyear, M., Ames, K. & Russel, K. (2006). Organizational strategies for fostering a culture of learning. Kansas: University of Kansas. Jacobi, O., Keller, B., and Muller, W. (1998) Germany: Facing New Challenges. In Changing industrial relations in Europe, Ferner, A. and Hyman, R. eds. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, p.190-238. Marquardt, M. J. (2011) Building the Learning Organization: Achieving Strategic Advantage Through a Commitment to Learning, New York: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Phipps, S. E. (2004) “The system design approach to organizational development: the university of Arizona model,” Library Trends, vol 53, p. 68-72. Schein, E.H. (1993). “How Can Organizations Learn Faster ? The Challenge of Entering the Green Room.” Sloan Management Review. Winter (pp. 85-92). Schein, E.H. (1995) Kurt Lewin`s Change Theory in the Field and in the Classroom: Notes Toward a Model of Managed Learning 1. Working Paper 3821. Cambridge, MA.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization, New York: Doubleday Currency. Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization, New York: Doubleday Currency. Smith, K. (2001). “Peter Senge and the learning organization”, the encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved on October 24, 2011 from Tsang, E. (1997). Organizational learning and the Learning organization. Human Relations, p. 73- 89. Yeo, R. K. (2007). Change In(ter)ventions to Organizational Learning: Bravo to Leaders as Unifying Agents. The Learning Organization, 14(6), 524-552. Read More

As previously revealed each of the three learning levels; individual, group and learning levels has major learning attributes that can be used to define a learning organization. It was established that in the individual level, learning is achieved through personal study, practice, observance, cognition as well as personal experience. Another way this can be achieved is when someone develops effective mental structures in the mind. Personal initiative is therefore critical to achieve individual learning.

It is mandatory for every individual at the organization, therefore, to ensure that they meet personal goals with regard to learning through initiatives such as personal study and personal experiences. The interaction of individuals using various media and instruments that lead to new knowledge being created is a critical step towards achieving group learning. This learning attribute is a very important initiative that adds to the pool of group level knowledge and ensures that the growth of groups and the organization is achieved as well as its learning capabilities.

This can be achieved through individual contributions of what they have individually learnt or when a leader facilitates the interaction. This can also be referred to as team learning, a very important attribute that was chosen to explore how effective the organization is at learning at the group level (Marquardt, 2011). The overall culture of an organization is critical for an organization to qualify as a learning organization. Since organizational learning is both a social and a cognitive activity (Carr et al, 1996), organizational learning can only be achieved when groups (departments) engage in sharing their knowledge and acting in unison in a way that maximizes their combined ability to understand and take required action in reference to environment (Cross and Israelit, 2000).

The learning attribute examined in this level was therefore ability of the organization to constantly acquire and interpret new information from and about the increasingly changing environment. Each of the learning attributes identified above was verified in reference to the organization so as to determine to what extent the organization is already a learning organization. Synopsis of findings To obtain data about the extent to which the organization is already a learning organization, a thorough study was carried out of various organizational policies and documents.

Scholarly material from authoritative and relevant experts that have analyzed the organization in the recent past was also carefully reviewed in reference to the attributes explained above. The first attribute to be explored was individual initiative with regard to organization learning. In exploring this attribute, focus was given to personal mastery, which, according to Peter Senge, is how individuals learn. A number of individual initiatives undertaken by the organization’s staff, which constitutes personal mastery, were explored.

Personal mastery refers to a continual learning process that involves individual deepening of one’s personal vision and seeking to see reality objectively (Smith, 2000 p. 7). Scholars agree that personal mastery goes beyond skills and competence, although these are necessary for one to have a high level of personal mastery. After researching about the organization’s employees from authoritative sources, it was revealed that the organization only seeks to hire people that have a high level of personal mastery level, actually the best in the industry.

To proof if this is true, the employees’ learning experiences after getting hired were studied, and it was revealed that all staff are engaged in a continual learning mode from their first day at the organization until retirement. This was a very important finding, because the most important consideration of individuals that take personal initiatives to learning to heart is how passionate they are involved in the process of personal mastery.

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