The Best Practice to Implement in the Field at Electrocom Ltd - Term Paper Example

?Learning Organisation: A Report on a Research to Identify the Best Practice to Implement in the Field at Electrocom Ltd A host of pundits argue thatfor an organisation to sustain its competitive advantage there is a need for learning that is faster than that of its competitors to be implemented. In order to reach at this sustainable advantage, the organisation in question has to transform itself to a learning organisation (Armstrong, 2012). This paper describes the steps to be taken by Electrocom Ltd in the hunt to transform from a personal development organisation into a learning organisation. The paper defines the concept of organisational learning and its applicability to Electrocom Ltd. Three areas have been explored and they include a review of the use of strategy by an organisation as a process of learning, the structure and systems in use at Electrocom Ltd, and teamwork and leadership roles are discussed in relation to organisational learning. According to Senge (1992), a learning organisation is “...a place where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn” (p. 1). Furthermore, he developed an organisational learning framework based on five disciplines namely personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. These disciplines, which served as a representation of the long term learning practice for both the individual and the organisation, are discussed below (Senge, 1992): Personal Mastery – this is where individual employees develop their own capabilities in delivery of desired results. In addition, employees create a society in which all colleagues are encouraged to improve themselves in accordance with the organisational goals and objectives. Mental Models – through reflection, individuals continually clarify, rectify, and improve their personal view of the world as well as see how they model decisions and individual actions. Shared Vision – individuals establish workgroups within which they build a committed spirit to develop a shared image of universal desires and guiding principles and practices which will support the vision. Team Learning – this is where relevant thinking skills of different groups of people enable them develop intelligence and an ability greater than the talent of each individual member put together. Systems Thinking – this is the language used to understand and describe the relationships and forces that shape the system’s behaviour. This discipline helps employees and managers at the same level to develop a way to effectively change the systems and act in accordance with economic and natural processes of the world. Organisational learning is the ideal concept of coping with change in an organisation as it engages the minds and hearts of all participating staff in a continuous and harmonious change that is productive and designed to achieve genuine results wanted by the stakeholders of the organisation (Covey, 1992). This process enables individuals to be creative and learn collectively to develop and encourage innovation and ability to respond to global competition rapidly. In short, organisational learning encompasses constant smartness as the learning process is planned, systematic and in accordance with the strategic goals of the organisation. Electrocom Ltd is working towards establishing competencies that are consistent with attributes of organisational learning. During this period of transformation, Electrocom Ltd is expected to undergo organisational change that is directed towards flexibility of the organisation in terms of responding to the competitive market changes. Emphasis has been placed on cross-functional teaming and establishment of programs to enable people to contribute greatly to the development of the organisation. Electrocom Ltd is an electronics company based in North West, employing around 700 employees. It produces high-specification office equipment and provides various telecoms and installation services. It is regarded as a major employer in the area. Strategy as a Process of Learning at Electrocom Ltd Most companies are operating in a competitive environment that is rapidly changing and Electrocom Ltd is no exception. For Electrocom to develop a competitive edge, it has to put in place mechanisms that will rapidly deal with these changes in an effective way than its competitors. In the modern management world, managers no longer take upon the whole responsibility of implementing change in the organisation with the changing environment. The responsibility should rest upon the hands of every employee that is being affected by the change within their individual units of work. In addition, information and knowledge sharing should be a common phenomenon in the company so as emphasise the spirit of teams and teamwork. According to Senge (1992), Electrocom Ltd is a company that is expanding its capacity continually to shape its future as its current status is not enough to ensure its survival in the industry. Strategy as a learning process forms a building block to organisational learning as it stresses the importance of developing present and future core competencies for the organisation. Furthermore, it directs the organisational learning process in accordance with the desired future position of the organisation. The best strategy to use in this case of Electrocom Ltd is self-design change strategy where the focus of the company will not be on a single aspect of organisational change, rather it will develop a process that is dynamic and repetitive in nature i.e. the process will provide the organisation with an in-built capacity of constantly redesigning and changing itself in alignment with the changing competitive environment. To inflict this change, there has to be a change in the structure of the organisation, technology and practices of human resource department meaning that all employees of the organisation at all levels will be involved in the change process. The vision of any organisation is central to its development. According to Senge (1996), it articulates organisational core competencies. Similarly, the business strategies of Electrocom Ltd should be highly dependent on the organisation’s vision and mission. The significance of these statements should always be emphasised in team meetings and other related communications. Formulation of the mission and vision of the organisation should be done after extensive consultation of the whole group of employees. To get a better mission and vision, the top management can initiate a competition within the organisation to identify the best statements that will help drive the organisation forward. In order to effectively use strategy as a learning process, the organisation should consider the following initiatives (Armstrong, 2012): Encourage Employees to Participate in Building a Shared Mission and Vision This can be done via a several ways: organising a competition to identify the best mission to support the vision, extensive staff consultation via team meetings and feedback process, recognition and awarding most outstanding employees in terms achieving the vision, mission and organisational values. Encouragement and Development of Teamwork The organisational structure to be developed should support teamwork using a system for managing performance that assesses the performance of each individual team member. Team members should complete an annual questionnaire regarding the performance of each individual member in their respective groups. In addition, Electrocom’s HR department should launch an extensive training program that will ensure all employees step up their teamwork skills (Torringtion, Hall, Taylor and Atkinson, 2011). Flat Organisational Structure A flat organisational structure has very few levels of the hierarchical tree which allows employees to contribute to strategic development of the business. Electrocom Ltd should flatten the organisational structure and allow both bottom-up and top-down contributions to the whole change process. With this, functional individual teams can develop suitable strategies which can be synthesised to form an integral part of the senior manager’s strategies (HSBC, 2012). The strength of the self-design change strategy is its focus on many organisational aspects such as structure, HR practices and Information Technology rather than focusing only on one aspect of change in the organisation (Torringtion, Hall, Taylor and Atkinson, 2011). Learning Systems and Structures at Electrocom Ltd According to Torringtion, Hall, Taylor, and Atkinson (2011), these are very vital in ensuring a learning organisation is established. It is almost impossible to change either without altering the functionality of the other for they are usually linked. Electrocom Ltd should move from an organisational structure that is formal, mechanistic with a centralised decision making process to a structure that is organic for it to be able to establish a communication flow that is open and effective to each party i.e. the management, employee, customer and the competitor so as to develop organisational learning. A learning organisation needs both a vertical and horizontal flow of information so as to encourage openness and sharing of information. According to Building (2012), there are five ways in which trust can be built in Electrocom Ltd and they include: open and honest communication with employees, treating employees with and without skills as skilful and competent as well as believing in their abilities, listening to employee opinions and finding value in it, fulfilling commitments and promises, and working hand-in-hand with staff members to find ways that help each other. Previous research shows that most managers do not tolerate failure (Schein, 2009). However, failure is an integral part of every learning process especially if an evaluation is made after its occurrence to identify ways to deal with the same issue in future or avoid its repeated occurrence. In addition, Torringtion, Hall, Taylor and Atkinson (2011) assert that experimentation and innovation form part of organisational learning since they encourage the development of a learning process with constant improvements rather than wait for a problem to come by. Organisational learning ensures that the structure of the organisations remains flatter where the managers coach rather than direct employees as well as ensuring that workers at all organisational levels feel part of the structure and not isolated (Marshak, 2009). Electrocom Ltd should put in place a communication system that will ensure all team members of each team have access to their desired information for their jobs. In addition, the organisation should install a suitable and comprehensive learning program to ensure all employees are well familiarised with the functionalities of the new information system. Leadership, Teamwork and the Process of Learning in Electrocom Ltd Two differences have been identified between traditional leadership view and leadership in a learning organisation. Traditionally, Marshak (2009) asserts that a leader had to be compelling with specific traits that enable them to be followed. In addition, a leader makes his/her own decision based on his/her own experience of learning which he/she uses to authorise the rest of the members in order to attain organisational goals. A Leader as a Coach/Mentor: The case in a learning organisation is totally different as leaders are seen to facilitate learning by becoming examples to their followers, and providing encouragement and motivation to team members to learn on their own. Furthermore, learning organisation leaders have to take part in team activities as a coach or a mentor as opposed to the traditional leader’s role of controlling and planning. According to Organisational Learning (2012), leadership should be viewed as a community and not an individual’s responsibility. Electrocom Ltd should develop a community of leaders within the organisation which according to Senge (1997) comprises of: i. Local line leaders. These are managers at the lowest level with relevant bottom-line responsibilities of introducing and implementing ideas. ii. Executive top-level leaders/mentors. These are the leaders who act as mentors to bottom-line managers as well as influence the change of organisational culture. They do so by changing their personal behaviour and that of their fellow top managers i.e. leading by example. iii. Internal networkers. This is a group with no formal authority established by the organisation to foster commitment to new practices and ideas around the organisation. Electrocom Ltd lacks this kind of leadership model and as a result, a leadership model based on the Principle-Centred Leadership (PCL) model of Covey is to be adopted by the company. In Covey’s leadership approach, each and every individual understands and performs their duties in accordance to predefined set of principles which directs the organisation in a sensible way (Covey, 1992). Below is an illustration of the levels of Covey’s model of Principle-Centred Leadership. (Source: Covey, 1992) The PCL Model According to Covey (1992), leaders at Electrocom Ltd are supposed to: i. Create an organisational vision that is exciting ii. Develop and maintain a balance between personal life and professional life iii. Unify and empower their followers around a vision that is shared iv. Develop and promote teamwork and harmony in the organisation v. Turn the mission of the organisation into one personal constitution vi. Maintain a stable environment while at the same time encouraging continuous improvements through change vii. Advocate for trustworthiness by example for trust is vital in maintaining healthy business relationships. Teams are vital in completion of large tasks. According to Thompson (2008), a team is a collection of individuals who are interdependent in their tasks, who share responsibility for outcomes, who see themselves and who are seen by others as an intact social entity embedded in one or more larger social systems … and who manage their relationships across organisational boundaries. Electrocom Ltd should formulate teams i.e. teams based on production site, cross-functional teams for business management and teams for managing projects especially in line with development of new products (Marshak, 2009). The composition of the first two teams may be stable but the last is dynamic and only converges when a project is in place. Furthermore, creation of teams that are self-directed accompanied by setting up of production shifts for rotation is also essential to ease pressure on production teams. Each team should have a reporting leader who is answerable to the production manager so as to eliminate a given managerial layer as well as empowering the operators (Pfeffer and Sutton, 2006). Within teams there are individual persons who work together to accomplish team tasks. It is usually reported within teams that some members are dormant. To discourage this trend, team leaders should perform regular follow ups of individuals to ensure their participation. In addition, division of tasks in teams enables an individual to develop personally. This approach, self-development, creates competency within the group hence bringing out the best out of the teams. The organisation also should hire an external consultant to help with the implementation of the teams of production as well as teaching the employees of the organisation on how teams work. It is not possible for all operators in the organisation to quietly accept the new change to team structures hence it is essential that counselling sessions for both individuals and groups be arranged to aid these rigid employees embrace and understand teamwork. Furthermore, appointment of training mentors within each team to help team leaders with training in work safety and healthy practices, work process and quality systems. Innovation is an integral part of organisational learning as seen earlier thus; individual teams and members should be recognised and awarded for such contributions towards the mission and vision of Electrocom Ltd. Managers’ roles in a learning organisation that is team-based have changed as they now coach and facilitate rather than control (Pfeffer and Sutton, 2006). Senior and middle managers act as mentors and coaches to individual employees as well as facilitating the tasks carried out by cross-functional teams. To support the learning process of the team, Electrocom Ltd can implement the following practices: i. Generate or create a shared awareness with a universal understanding of the key opportunities and problems as well as discuss openly the available options of action ii. Production of action plans that are in accordance with organisational goals iii. Reviewing of previous work jointly so as to form a common basis on which to base when addressing future issues iv. Reflecting collectively on past and current events and look for means with which to improve the learning process. Recommendations E-Learning – Among the trends that are changing in learning include e-learning, which is a force that brings about the personal and organizational competitive edge needed for them to keep pace with the global economy that is changing rapidly. Suitable design and delivery of e-learning can make it virtually perform everything for the organization. Together with e-learning comes the internet, which is the home of virtually everything, including organizational ideas and solutions to stubborn problems. Implementing e-learning at Electrocom Ltd will improve the competitive edge of the organization due to the wide range of online resources available. In addition, introduction of e-learning can open doors for e-marketing and finally result in the firm transacting online thus saving the organization’s transportation expenses. Competency-Based Learning/Training – Competency based training is an ideal structure of learning to be employed at Electrocom Ltd. A competency refers to a given set of skills, knowledge, characteristics, traits, attitudes, and/or behaviours that separate two individuals or groups. Each field has its competencies. For instance, technical knowledge/skills are associated with functional competencies, like programming principles; whereas handling of experts’ relationships and facilitation of personal development and learning are associated with personal competencies like communication. The ability to view situations from a business point of view is related to business competencies e.g. critical thinking. The implementation of competency based training will ensure that the development of employees at Electrocom Ltd is tied directly to job performance. Here, there is a core differentiation of what one feels they ‘need to know’ and what s/he feels ‘nice about knowing’. This approach also helps the organization identify each work function at all performance levels in line with the required competencies thus helping employees set their own development goals. Motivation Many organizations that are successful are believed to employ several ways to motivate their employees’ performance. Among the strategies used is recognition of good performers with rewards like, increased job allowances and in some cases, job promotions. Similarly, organizational learning at Electrocom Ltd can be motivated by rewarding those who graduate after learning a new skill by job promotions, increased pay and job allowances etc. This rewards help inspire employees to learn and develop more skills which helps in the overall development of the organization as the earned skills are implemented in the organization’s activities. Conclusion In conclusion, my advice to Electrocom Ltd would be to ensure that all their organizational activities, personal or group, are geared towards creating a non stop learning process that will help develop the skills of all the employees as a person and as a group through team learning. Emphasis on personal development should not be eased as it is the foundation to organizational development. Consequently, the organization will benefit from improved individual, team and general organizational competence resulting to increased production that is efficient to ensure the continued sustainability of the organization. References Armstrong, M. (2012) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice, London, Kogan Page. Armstrong, M. (2012) Components of learning and development, London, Kogan page. Building a Learning Organisation. (n.d). [ONLINE] Retrieved 14 October 12 from, . Covey, S.R. (1992) Principle centered leadership, Fireside Press, New York. Doubleday/Currency, New York. HSBC The world’s local bank. (2012) Retrieved October 2012 from . Marshak, R.J. (2009) Organisational change: views from the edge, Bethel, ME, The Lewin Center. Organisational Learning: A Literature Review. (2011) [ONLINE] Retrieved 15 October 2012 from . Pfeffer, J. & Sutton, R.I. (2006) Hard facts,dangerous half-truths & total nonsense, Boston, Harvard Business School Press. Schein, E.H. 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