Philosophy of a learning organization - Essay Example

What is Learning Organization The Learning Organization is seen as a response to an increasingly unpredictable and dynamic business environment. According to M.Pedler, J. Burgoyne & Tom Boydell, 1991 "A Learning Company is an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself" Peter Senge, 1990 defined that "Organizations where people continually 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 are continually learning to learn together" What are the characteristics of a learning organizationAccording to Peter M.

Senge, "Learning" organizations are characterized by carrying out the five disciplines:Making explicit the mental models that people hold -- the deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action. Ensuring a shared vision -- shared goals, values, and mission.Commitment of individuals in the organization to Personal mastery (lifelong learning). Continually clarifying and deepening their personal vision, focusing their energies, developing patience, and seeing reality objectively.

Commitment to team learning. Suspending assumptions, discovering insights not attainable individually, recognizing patterns of interaction that undermine learning.Systems thinking: Recognizing that businesses are bound by invisible fabrics of interrelated actions, which often take years to fully play out their effects on each other.. Literature review supporting the philosophy1. According to the Shaw & Perkins, 1991, the role of leaders in organizations is to set the necessary conditions for the organization to develop an effective learning capability.

That is, managers need to take strategic action and make specific interventions to ensure that learning can occur2. According to Nicolas Rolland, Unrelated knowledge networks management: new challenges for the CKO takes up the challenge of analyzing how firms manage their knowledge networks to leverage the management positively and the creation of organizational knowledge; and to find out what are the new challenges for the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) in this new context. Based on a qualitative research method, the empirical study stresses that the CKO's new roles are based on the management of knowledge networks and especially on increasing unrelated knowledge networks.

This implies that there are problems in constellation of knowledge networks management. Firms that have successfully maximized knowledge organizationally are those where the CKO's actions fit with their main new roles: the identification of knowledge networks; the identification of mediators in each networks and their connection; the connection of each mediator in a communities of practiceAssessment method to document Learning in organization: Strategic Architecture of a Learning OrganizationBuilding a learning organization requires an organization to focus on and implement the strategic building blocks and to ensure that the supporting foundations are aligned to facilitate learning.

This will requires a shift in the cognitive and behavioral skills of managers and employees. Deliberate interventions in the organization design and an appropriate training and skill development program should also be implemented to reinforce employee learning and knowledge acquisition. In order to move in the direction of this new organizational archetype, a measurement process has to be implemented to diagnose the current learning capability of the organization against these five yardsticks, Garvin .D. 1993.

Nick Willard of ASLIB's IRM Network has developed a model highlighting the five key activities for their effective IRM management:Identification What information is there How is it identified and codedOwnership Who is responsible for different information entities and co-ordinationCost and Value A basic model for making judgments on purchase and useDevelopment Increasing its value or stimulating demand.Exploitation Proactive maximization of value for money How do you know that the organization is effectiveThe general qualities that exist within a learning culture can also be termed as the "best practices".

The organization can be said as effective learning organization when it practices the under four main categories: Communication and openness; Inquiry and feedback; Adequate time; and Mutual respect and support. References: Senge, P. (1990). The leader's new work: Building learning organizations. SloanManagement Review, Fall, 7-23.Shaw, R. & Perkins, D. (1991). Teaching organizations to learn. OrganizationDevelopment Journal, Winter, 1-12.Stata, R. (1989). Organizational learning - The key to management innovation.

SloanManagement Review, Spring, 63-74.Garvin, D. (1993) Building learning organizations . Harvard Business Review, July-August, 78-91;McGill, M., Slocum,Jr, J. & Lei, D. (1993). Management practices in learningorganizations. Organizational Dynamics, Autumn, 67-79.Nicolas Rolland, Unrelated knowledge networks management: new challenges for the CKO: International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital 2004 - Vol. 1, No.4 pp. 393 - 404Additional Information: David Garvin (1994), suggests that it is time to move away from high aspirations and mystical advice to managers and move on to clearer guidelines for practice and operational advice.

The following five blocks can give the outline on the assessment of the learning organization. 1. Mission and Vision - Clarity and employee support of the mission, strategy and espoused values of the organization2. Leadership - Leadership that is perceived as empowering employees, encouraging an experimenting culture and showing strong commitment to the organization.3. Experimentation - A strong culture of experimentation that is rewarded and supported at all levels in the organization.4. Transfer of Knowledge - The ability of an organization to transfer knowledge within and from outside the organization and to learn from failures.5. Teamwork and Co-operation - An emphasis on teamwork and group problem solving as the mode of operation and for developing innovative ideas.

The information audit, and information mapping brings the following benefits to the organization:Identifies gaps and duplication of information Clarifies roles and responsibilities of owners and users of information Provide costs saving in the procurement and handling of information Identifies cost/benefits of different information resources Actively supports management decision processes with quality information Process of Assessment: 1. Understand the role of Information. Information can add value to the products and services.

Improved information flows can improve the quality of decision making and internal operations. 2. Assign Responsibility for Leading the IRM Initiative. Developing value from information resources is often a responsibility that falls between the cracks of several departments - the user departments in different business units, and corporate planning, MIS units or librarians..3. Develop Clear Policies on Information Resources Policies for ascertaining information needs, acquiring and managing information throughout its life cycle.

Pay particular attention to ownership, information integrity and sharing. Make the policies consistent with the organizational culture.4. Conduct an Information Audit (Knowledge Inventory). Identify current knowledge and information resources (or entities), their users, usage and importance. Identify sources, cost and value. Classify information and knowledge by its key attributes. Develop knowledge maps. As knowledge management gains prominence, this is sometimes called a knowledge inventory "knowing what you know".5. Link to Management Processes.

Make sure that key decision and business process are supported with high leverage information. Assess each process for its information needs.6. Systematic scanning. Systematically scan the business environment. This includes the wider environment - legal and regulatory, political, social, economic and technological - as well as the inner environment of the industry, markets, customers and competitors. Provide selective and tailored dissemination of vital signs to key executives. This goes beyond the daily abstracting service provided by many suppliers.7. Mix hard/soft, internal/external.

True patterns and insights emerge when internal and external data is juxtaposed, when hard data is evaluated against qualitative analysis. 7. Optimize the information purchases. You don't have to control purchasing, but most organisations do not know how much they are really spending on external information. By treating consultancy, market research, library expenses, report and databases as separate categories, many organisations are confusing media with content.8. Introduce mining and refining processes.

Good information management involves 'data mining', 'information refining' and 'knowledge editing'. The classifying, synthesising and refining of information combines the crafts of the information scientist, librarian, business analyst and market researcher/analyst. Yet many organisations do not integrate these disciplines.9. Develop Appropriate Technological Systems Continual advances in technology increase the opportunities available for competitive advantage through effective information management. 10. Exploit technology convergence.

Telecommunications, office systems, publishing, documentation are converging. Exploit this convergence through open networking, using facilities such as the World Wide Web, not just for external information dissemination but for sharing information internally.11. Encourage a Sharing Culture Information acquires value when turned into intelligence.