Workplace Learning: Work Environment and Learning by Trying - Coursework Example

Introduction Learning is assumed to be a positive and beneficial activity and has become essential in the turbulent business environment (Field & Ford, 1995). To be able to respond to the numerous challenges that the work place poses, learning the technique, learning to respond is the way forward. To remain competitive organizations have to be adaptable to change because only those that are flexible, adaptive and productive will excel (Smith, 2001). Businesses risk extinction if they do not learn to adapt to the challenges (Heifetz & Laurie, 2003). Learning however, has certain barriers and requires certain work conditions before it can be effective. Merely training a group of individuals cannot translate into learning. Learning also requires unlearning what has been previously learned. Learning does not take place merely through formal training but learning takes place through critical questioning, through interactions, through one’s own experiences, through participating in decision making and through dealing with crises. There are certain barriers to learning as well. The extent to which the individuals are willing to unlearn and learn, and to steer the organization would determine whether learning is beneficial. For a learning organization the benefits will far outweigh the costs provided learning is managed efficiently. Work environment Learning takes place in every organization regardless whether it is a learning organization or not but Field and Ford argue that learning is not always a beneficial activity. Without the right leadership or in a poor work environment, employees learn that cynicism is justified and commitment need not always be honoured. They may also not be prone to accepting mistakes and would keep away from risks for fear of being blamed. When the information exchange within an organization is transparent, employees learn about organizational realities. Once technology is introduced and the employees are encouraged to acquire new skills, such empowered employees, who now have the ability to better regulate their work, also develop the ability to undermine the management wishes. They can deliberately underutilize the technologies and facilities and they also learn to free themselves of work pressures. For instance, when email was introduced in an organization, the employees quickly learned to use this new communication medium for political manipulation resulting in strained relationships and undermining of management power. Hence unless learning is efficiently managed, it can be detrimental to the interests of the organization. Learning by trying When a firm invests in technology, the implementation and application of technology has to be achieved and the organization should be open to innovation. Introduction of technology requires training and this implementation is the organizational learning process because during this stage the organization struggles to get the system to function (Fleck, 1993). User-supplier relationships are very important during the implementation stage of nee technology because the suppliers may try to exploit the new user company as it lacks in confidence in its own capabilities. ‘Learning by trying’ or ‘learning by struggling to get it to work’ has been found to be an efficient method of implementing technology but this can happen only after the product has been used for some time. This is different from ‘learning by using’ or ‘learning by doing’ and it suggests that at each stage of learning some amount of changes or progressive modification take place. This is innovation and innovation is not linear. Learning must have a long-term perspective Learning by experience is the best method but according to Senge, we never directly experience the consequences of most of our decisions (Smith, 2001). This is because when changes become necessary, managers respond to the situation in ad hoc manner without any planning (Orlikowaski & Hofman, 1997). Smith further elaborates on Senge’s perception of how organization’s focus on short-term solutions. Short-term improvements can end with very significant long-term costs. For instance if a firm reduces its research and development expenditure, it can visibly find immediate savings and when it continues to do so it can damage the long-term viability of an organization. With a long-term perspective, managers would await a feedback after the cost reduction and much of learning takes place through such feedbacks. This is why delays and feedback loops become important. In the short-term these are ignored and considered inconsequential. Hence there should be a system map that show how the key elements of the system are connected. In a learning organization, therefore, adaptive learning (single-loop) must be supported by generative learning (double-loop) which enhances the capacity to create (Smith, 2001). Double-loop learning – creativity and innovation Learning in an organization can take place through double-loop learning (through critical questioning), learning how to learn and the key areas of organizational functioning such as employee relations, skills formation, information systems also support learning (Field & Ford). Employees have to be motivated to delve deeper into technology for creativity and innovation to take place. This requires the involvement of the top management as in the case of Sony Corporation. The employees have to shed the established beliefs and methods to generate new learning. Sony Corporation was trying to produce a small portable recorder for use by reporters for recoding interviews but the design had flaws and the unit could not record (Chaston, Badger & Sadler-Smith, 1999). The design engineers not finding any potential commercial value in the product, decided to discard the product. This was single-loop learning where the engineers where not willing to challenge the underlying assumptions and beliefs nor was critical thinking initiated. They focused on applying the past experience and knowledge and ended up finding no solution. Creativity came from the founder who suggested that since the product produced an excellent sound, it could be used a portable device for listening to music. This was double-loop or generative approach to learning which suggests that whenever a problem emerges, during the analysis new knowledge is sought which can be applied in the situation. Individual initiative and shared vision Senge contends that organizations learn only through individuals who learn but individual learning does not guarantee organizational learning (Smith, 2001). Learning to learn is vital because both managers and employees may be reluctant to learn (Field & Ford). Learning to learn involved reflection, critical thinking and learning from experience. People often develop certain mindsets and are reluctant to think beyond. It involves unlearning the previously held assumptions which is not always easy. Managers may have reluctance in fostering learning because it could mean losing control. It also means exposing their mistakes. Here the role of supervisor gains importance apart from employee relations, training courses are also important. Many organizations have problems accommodating change and they doubt their own capabilities (Heifetz & Laurie, 2003). Even when they are presented with a challenging opportunity, people are reluctant to share ideas, collaborate with others or discuss just to avoid conflicts. People are inclined to adhere to the favourite solution to a problem instead of challenging underlying assumptions. In such situations the involvement and the authority of the top management becomes essential to prioritize issues and to lead by example. Organization culture influences learning Organizational learning is not simply the sum of individual learning but it is a renewal process of changing behaviours that enables both change and growth (Murray & Chapman, 2003). Through learning individuals learn to test and challenge the previous assumptions. Organizational cultures, for instance become deeply embedded in the learning systems and this influences the members through histories, norms, through cognitive systems and memories. Organizations soon become prisoners of this system and the rules and this can oppress learning. Hence the ability of an organization to adapt to learning and to its environment would depend on the cultural forces. The organization must recognize that conflicts allow people to learn from different perspectives. To become a learning organization the work environment has to be conducive. With low morale and a pessimistic attitude, learning is difficult. Hence, an organization would have to first identify the problem areas and recognize the changes in behaviour that may be necessary (Heifetz & Laurie, 2003). It is also important to first unlearn the habits, and then learn to meet the challenges and then develop the capacity to explore and understand the competing values of stake. Unlearning prerequisite to learning Traditionally when technology was introduced in a company a certain amount of unlearning was considered necessary. It was a three-stage process involving unfreezing, change and refreezing. In today’s turbulent environments an organization must respond to the situation immediately (Orlikowaski & Hofman, 1997) but nevertheless, Akgün, Byrne, Lynn & Keskin (2007) argue that organizations have widely accepted beliefs and values that become barriers to acceptance of new technology. These established beliefs create rules and competency traps that adversely affect the operations of the organization. People do not like conflicts with their established beliefs. Analysis A review of the available literature suggests that learning cannot take place just because an organization has decided to become a learning organization. Individuals make an organization and for a learning organization the individuals must be keen to learn. However, there are several forces that act as barriers to learning. The work environment has to be conducive to learning. This means that employee morale should be high; they should have an interest to learn and not try to learn just because they have been told to learn. There should be encouragement and motivation from the top management which would stimulate the employees to take the initiative to learn. It has also been found that people tend to misuse technology or any learning once they have been empowered. This can be against the interests of the company and in fact be costlier for the company than the situation before the learning. Any learning in an organization should take the organization towards growth and development and hence if technology is under utilized or mis-utilized, the investment is a wasted expenditure. Moreover, technology is to be used for the benefit of the company and not for personal gains. When technology is implemented in an organization, at every step there has to be innovation and creativity. Changes take place as people learn something new and as the situation changes, there should be some innovation introduced and encouraged. However, many organizations remain stuck with their established beliefs and methods and refuse to accept any change. This stubborn attitude may be due to two reasons – lack of confidence and fear of job loss and second could be fear of loss of power. This suggests that managers should be well informed about the benefits from the new learning and they should be able to convince the employees of the entire process, the benefits in the work process and to the organization. Informed implementation could reduce the level of resistance among the employees. Learning in an organization has to be adopted with a long-term perspective because after each stage, there has to be time for reflection and critical questioning. Much can be learned through reflection because this is the period when one learns from one’s own experiences. Even failures are learning experiences and failures could even open the door to new discoveries. This is double-loop learning as in the case of Sony Corporation, which went beyond the established mindset and found its way to a new discovery. Long-term perspective even allows the people and the organization to make changes in the learning process if necessary. It is only when individual initiative to learn is prevalent in an individual, he can give his best and apply the learning in his work. Employee relation in an organization is essential to effective learning. Managers must be able to encourage the employees; managers must be able to share vision with the employees to make it a truly learning organization. Even though unlearning has been considered undesirable in today’s turbulent environment, in certain situations it may be necessary because many employees would not be able to conceive something new unless they are forced to give up the old established rules. Organizational culture too becomes a barrier to effective learning. Hence, even if an organization invests in technology, training and learning the effects cannot be felt when such barriers are present. This may actually be costlier for the organization if the entire process of learning is not managed efficiently. Conclusion Organizational learning is essential to keep pace with the changes that take place in the global business environment. In fact every organization is a learning organization but the learning has to be implemented in the right manner. Learning should not be used for personal gains but for the benefit of the organization. The entire process of learning should be well-planned so that the organization is able to overcome the likely barriers at every stage. Learning takes place through different ways such as formal training, learning through experience, through interactions, through critical thinking and through discussions and observations. The role of the manager or the supervisor is enhanced because they teach a lot through their example. To derive the benefits from the investment in learning, the mindset of the managers and the employees have to change. First of all, the purpose of learning has to be well communicated at all levels. Secondly, there should be someone who can communicate the benefits from the new learning. This would help to overcome the resistance and the mental block that most managers and employees have against new learning or new technology. They should be convinced that this would not cost them their job. Learning should be with a long-term perspective and it should encourage innovation and creativity. If the learning process is thus managed, learning in any organization would outweigh the costs of learning. Reference: Akgün, AE Byrne, JC Lynn, GS & Keskin, H 2007, Organizational unlearning as changes in beliefs and routines in organizations, Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 794-812 Chaston, I Badger, B & Sadler-Smith, E 1999, The Organizational learning system within UK small firms, International Journal of Training and Development, vol. 3, no. 4. Field & Ford, 1995, Organisational learning: basic concepts, Fleck, J 1993, Learning by trying: the implementation of configurational technology, Research Policy, vol. 23, pp. 637-652 Heifetz, RA & Laurie, DL 2003, The leader as teacher: creating the learning orgnaization, Ivey Business Journal Online, London: Jan/Feb 2003 Murray, P & Chapman, R 2003, From continuous improvement to organisational learning: developmental theory, The Learning Organization, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 272-282 Orlikowaski, WJ & Hofman, JD 1997, An Improvisational Model of Change Management: The Case of Groupware Technologies, retrieved online 25 July, 2009 from http://ftp.ida.liu.se/~TDEI30/CCSWP191.html Smith, KM 2001, peter senge and the learning organization, retrieved online 25 July, 2009 from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm Read More