Managing the Learning Organization - Term Paper Example

Running Head: MANAGING THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION Managing the learning organization Name Course Institution Date: The learning organization This paper proposes that investing in individuals, or human resources, supersedes technical investments when achieving a learning organization. This ideology is derived from the ‘learning organization’ model outlined by Cross and Israelit (2000). This framework presents 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. These levels are the individual level, the group level and the organizational level. The framework outlines some of the key learning attributes that are essential at each of these levels. They are: in the individual level, the organization should ensure that all individuals are engaged in the learning processes. In the group level, a learning organization should facilitate innovation and creativity to help each of the individuals participate in ensuring that all other individuals learn about their knowledge elements. In the organizational level, the organization should endeavor to develop a culture based on learning that should ensure all groups are involved in achieving new core competencies. Conceptual Framework To understand what a learning organization is, it is fundamental to firstly understand what the term organizational learning means. This term refers to individual learning which can occur within an organization or the case whereby the whole organisation seeks to engage in learning as a collective union. Therefore, a learning organisation is an organisation which facilitates learning as individual learning within itself or the further extreme of the entire organisation engaging in learning. In between these extremes (individual and organisational) lies group learning, which can be achieved either as in small or large groups. There are numerous definitions of a learning organization; the following definition was given by the renown Peter Senge, an authoritative intellectual in the management of learning organizations. Senge defines a learning organization as an organisation whereby "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 how to learn together" (p. 3, 1990). This view is supported by Cross and Israelit (2000), who use a model consisting of three levels, namely: the organizational level, group level and the individual level. The authors assert that each of these learning levels have key learning attributes that best define learning organisation. Learning in an organization occurs in all of its levels (departments), irrespective of how knowledgeable the people are. Cross and Israelit argue that an organisation can truly achieve knowledge if only it works “with the subjective nature of learning and the idiosyncrasies of all those people we find in organizations—a task requiring greater attention to individual and social processes of learning in organizational settings.” (Cross and Israelit, 2000) There are numerous purposes of organisational learning; in support of the views raised by Cross and Israelit (2000), Burton-Jones (2003) argues that organisational learning is fundamental because it provides new opportunities with which to increase business performance by encouraging and managing within organizations. This is critical because organizations that develop a culture founded upon learning will bring up new knowledge and creativity that are bound to lead to improved or new key competencies for the workers involved. Organisational learning, through experiential learning, makes the workers embrace mistakes and errors made. This has important lessons to be learnt and most importantly, such knowledge can improve the wealth as well as the performance of the entire organisation. Organizational learning involves various processes. In the individual level, learning can be achieved through personal study, practice, observance, cognition, personal experience. This can also be achieved when someone develops effective mental structures in the mind. In the group level, learning is achieved when these individuals meet and learn either being led by a leader or by contributing individually. It is when these groups learn methods of interaction that organizational learning is achieved. It is worth noting that organizational learning is both a social and a cognitive activity. Organizational learning can therefore not be achieved without the participation of groups that engage in sharing their knowledge and acting in unison in a way that maximizes their combined ability to understand and take required action (Cross and Israelit, 2000). Just like organizational learning involves various processes, several aspects of an organisation impact or influence learning. One of these is the human resources of the organization. Cross and Israelit succinctly interrelate organizational learning with an organization's human resources. The two assert that the present day worker, who is the human resource of the organization, is valued based on how good he or she is able to contribute unique and needed skills and knowledge. This, they argue, is central to what many organizations call knowledge management (Cross and Israelit, 2000). For organisational learning to be effective, there has to be sharing of objectives, language, meaning and standards. This can be very different from individual learning. As an organization learns, it will generate a social synergy thereby creating a local knowledge and adding value to the knowledge workers of the organization as well as its overall performance. Such ability should be inculcated within the culture of the organization, making the organization to have what scholars have called "core competencies." The culture of an organization is therefore a significant aspect of the organization that impacts learning. Understanding the learning organization requires appreciating the fact that there are no concrete processes of a learning organization. This was clearly presented by Senge (2000) who wrote that the learning organization is neither a model nor is it a "summary of practices" (p. 277). These identifiers can be organized to construct a conceptual framework that accurately represents a learning organization by understanding the fact that the reason the majority of companies do not succeed is because of focusing excessively on technical problems as opposed to focusing on human resources (Cross and Israelit, 2000). It is critical to remember that the workplace climate is key to achieving a learning organization. A workplace learning climate is only constructive when the employers and leaders involved take specific steps to ensuring that their workers are involved in learning processes. The above mentioned identifiers can therefore be organized using the assumption provided by Cross and Israelit, that indeed, a learning organization cannot be achieved if individuals are not put as first priority in the development process. It is the interaction of individuals using various media and instruments that lead to new knowledge being created. This is bound to add to the pool of organizational knowledge that will ensure the growth of the organization is achieved as well as its learning capabilities. This view was put forward by Yahya and Goh (2002) and is a laconic explanation of what a learning organization is. Another assumption that can enable the organization of these identifiers is by having a learning process that has specific stages. It is worth noting that while many authors of a learning organization have differing terminologies to describe what a learning organization is, each of the processes defined about the learning process is similar. An analysis of the various authors reveals the following different phases: knowledge acquisition, distribution, interpretation and organizational memory. This framework can be used to make judgments about the capacities and performance of a learning organization by use of these phases. A thorough review of each of the phases can help reveal where an organization went wrong in its learning processes. The knowledge acquisition phase involves internal development or external sources. The second phase, distribution, is whereby knowledge is spread among each and all of the organization’s members. The third process, interpretation, involves the sharing and incorporating various aspects of the knowledge by individuals. This should be carried out to ensure that each of the individuals involved share knowledge aspects that are not common to them with the objective of helping them achieve a shared understanding and coordination in decision making. The last but certainly not least phase is certainly organizational memory which attempts to store knowledge learnt for future use. This can be achieved by using organizational systems uniquely designed for this processes or by use of regulations, formulae and related systems. This paper has explored the management of a learning organization in detail by firstly describing what a learning organization is and coming up with a conceptual framework that can enable one to examine and support an understanding of a ‘learning organisation’. The work particularly provides identifying attributes that best define a learning organisation and how these identifiers can be organised to construct a conceptual framework that accurately represents a learning organisation. In addition, useful ways have been described in how this framework can be used to make judgements about the capacities and performance of a learning organisation. References Burton-Jones, A. (2003). Knowledge capitalism: The new learning economy. Policy Futures in Education, 1(1), 143-159. Cross, R. L., & Israelit, S. B. (Eds.). (2000). Strategic learning in a knowledge economy: Individual, collective and organizational learning process. Boston, MA: Butterworth- Heinemann Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday. Senge, P. M. (2000). The academy as learning community: Contradiction in terms or realizable future? In A. F. Lucas (Ed.), Leading Academic Change: Essential Roles for Department Chairs (1st ed., pp. 275-300). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read More