class learning organization

8/8/2019 Class Learning Organization

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Mrs.Saylee Joshi

LEARNING ORGANIZATION LEARNING ORGANIZATION


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"Without learn i ng, th e w is e bec om e

f oo l ish; by learn i ng, th e f oo l ish bec om e w is e. "

" Learn a s i f y ou c ou ld never h ave en ou g h o f learn i ng,

a s i f y ou mi g ht miss som e thi ng. "


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Wh a t we w i ll learnWh a t we w i ll learn

Learning Organization Definitions

Key functions and tasks of learning

organization.

Characteristics of Learning organization.

Need for Learning organization.

Some case studies


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B ackground

The importance of learning was first putforward by a Chinese philosopher, Confucius(551 - 479 BC). He believed that everyoneshould benefit from learning.


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What is learning?Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values,

preferences or understanding, and may involve combiningdifferent types of information.The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some

machines

What is organization?A group of people who work together with a common goal


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"A Learning Organization is one in which people at all levels,individuals and collectively, are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about."

D efinitionAn organization that learns and encourages learning

among its people.It promotes exchange of information between

employees for creating a more knowledgeableworkforce.

This produces a very flexible organization where people

will accept and adapt to new ideas and changesthrough a shared vision.


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E ffect of Globalization

Because of Global Economy: Goods,services, financial capital, people, skills,and ideas are moving freely across

geographic bordersGlobalization is the increasing financialinterdependence among countriesGlobalization Expands and complicates

competitive environmentIt creates Interesting opportunities andchallenges


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E ffect of Globalization

Increased performance standards in Quality, cost, productivity, product

introduction time, operationalefficiency

As a result it requires continuousimprovement from firm andemployees

Companies need to improvecapabilities and employees need tosharpen skills

At the end of the dayOnly firms meeting or exceeding global

standards earn strategic competitiveness


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E ffect of RobustTechnology

There is Continuous innovationgoing on in technologyAs a result product life-cycle has

become Shorter Products become indistinguishabledue to rapid technologicalcirculationCompetitors can anytime imitate or can overcome by alliances,acquisitions, internalR&D


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Information Age

Information is easily available to large populationAbility to effectively and efficiently use

information is a source of competitiveadvantageKnowledge (information, intelligence,expertise) is the basis of technology andits applicationAccumulated knowledge of employeesis a corporate asset


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W hy?The Need of LearningOrganization.

TQM (Total Quality Management) and BPR (Business ProcessReengineering) may be inadequate at one point of time.

There is a need to cope with rapid and unexpected changes where existing'programmed' responses are inadequate

Need to Provide flexibility to cope with dynamically changing situations

Need to Allow front-line staff to respond with initiative based oncustomer needs


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Learn i ng Organ iz a tio n isLearn i ng Organ iz a tio n is

The one that has developed the capacity to adopt and change

The one that uses new information which challenges acceptedorganizational norms and practices..

..to re-examine the way in which the organization performs itsfunctions, and thus helps the organization unlearn its previouslyused dysfunctional patterns

The one in which people at all levels, individually and collectively, arecontinually increasing their capacity to produce results they really careabout .


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Through learning, we:

Re-create ourselvesBecome able to do things we never were able to do

beforeRe-perceive the world and our relationship to itExtend our capacity to create, to be part of thegenerative process of life


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H istory In the 1980's, companies discovered time as a new source of

competitive advantageThis lead to `capabilities-based competition' which included the

capability of learning. If the changeover to a Learning Organization happens overnight, the

environment around the workers will be complex and dynamic.

There will be agitations and confusion which means learning maynot take place because of the chaos caused.So it can only be introduced into a company that is

prepared to reach a balance between change and stability,i.e. a balance between the old and the new.Organizations must interact with the environment

around them, so the environment must be suitable for that interaction


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# workforce was simply blindly following orders

# Teams were arguing constantly and were lacking real productivity

# Lack of communication between each other

# E mployees attitude to be always the last to hear about and

resolving problems

To overcome above listed problems there was need of learning organizations


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So now.How to implement a learning organization?

Before a Learning Organizations can be implemented,a solid foundation can be made by taking into accountthe following :

1. # Awareness2. # Environment3. # Leadership

4. # Empowerment5. # Learning


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1. Aw areness:Organizations must be aware that learning is

necessary before they can develop into aLearning Organization.Learning must take place at all levels; not

just the Management level.Once the company has excepted the need

for change, it is then responsible for creatingthe appropriate environment for this changeto occur in.


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3 .L eadership:Leaders should foster the Systems Thinking

concept and encourage learning to help boththe individual and organisation in learning.

It is the leader's responsibility to help

restructure the individual views of teammembers. For example, they need to help theteams understand that competition is a formof learning; not a aggressive act.


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4 .Empo w erment:

The locus of control shifts from managers toworkers.This is where the term Empowerment isintroduced.The workers become responsible for their actions; but

the managers do not lose their involvement. They stillneed to encourage, enthuse and co-ordinate theworkers.Equal participation must be allowed at all levels so that

members can learn from each other simultaneously.This is unlike traditionally learning that involves a

top-down structure (classroom-type example) which is timeconsuming


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5 . Learning:

Companies can learn to achieve these aims inLearning Labs.These are small-scale models of real-life settings

where management teams learn how to learntogether through simulation games.They need to find out what failure is like so thatthey can learn from their mistakes in the future.These managers are then responsible for setting

up an open, flexible atmosphere in their organizations to encourage their workers tofollow their learning example.


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W hy learning Organization work?.....benefits..

1. D evelopment of peopleA Learning Organization encourages its members to improvetheir personal skills and qualities, so that they can learn and

develop.They benefit from their own and other people's experience,

whether it be positive or negative .


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3 . The w orkforce is more flexiblePeople learn skills and acquire knowledge beyond their

specific job requirements.This enables them to appreciate or perform other roles and

tasks.Flexibility allows workers to move freely within the

organization, while at the same time it removes the barriersassociated with a rigidly structured company.It also ensures that any individual will be able to cope

rapidly with a changing environment, such as those that

exist in modern times


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4 . People become more creative

There are more opportunities to be creative in alearning organization.There is also room for trying out new ideas

without having to worry about mistakes.Employees' creative contribution is recognized

and new ideas are free to flourish.


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5 . Improved social interaction

Learning requires social interaction andinterpersonal communication skills

An organization based on learning will ensuremembers become better at these activities.Teams will work better as a result.


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6 . Teams and Groups Work Better

Learning Organizations provide the perfectenvironment for high performing teams tolearn, grow and develop.On the other hand these teams will performefficiently for the organization to produce

positive results.


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7 . The Company BenefitsAn active learning organization will have at its heart- the

concept of continuous learning.Therefore it will always be improving in its techniques,methods and technology.


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8 . Customer relationsA company's first priority is its customer's

needs.A Learning Organization cuts the excess

bureaucracy normally involved with customer relations allowing greater contact between thetwo.If the customers requirements change, learning

organizations can adapt faster and copemore efficiently with this change.


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9 . Information resources

Over time a company builds up a poolof learning, in the form of libraries, andhuman expertise.

New problems and challenges can bemet faster using this increased resource .


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10. Innovation and creativityAs more people in every level of a company

engage in continual learning a valid contributioncan come from any member of the company,and from any part of the company.Being innovative and creative is the

responsibility of the whole workforce andallows learning organizations to adapt tochanges in the state of the market, technologyand competition efficiently.Moreover, this creativity gives rise to an

increased synergy. The interaction between high performing teams produces a result which ishigher than was planned or expected of them.


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W e can say..Learning organizations are those that have in

place systems, mechanisms and processes, thatare used to continually enhance their capabilitiesand those who work with it or for it, to achievesustainable objectives

Organization with an inbuilt viewpoint for anticipating, reacting and responding to change,complexity and uncertainty


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Are adaptive to their external environmentContinually enhance their capability to change/adapt

Develop collective as well as individual learningUse the results of learning to achieve better results

As a result

The rate at which organizations learn will help to becomea sustainable source of competitive advantage


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AbilitiesLearning Organization

Ability to capture intelligenceAbility to transform information into usableknowledgeAbility to sustain and gain competitive advantage


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Case study .. YPF

YPF, the largest company in Argentina, is today afocused, highly productive oil and gas companyinvolved in the exploration and production of oiland natural gas.

It also refines, markets and distributes oil and petroleum productsIn 1989, the company employed 52 000 permanentand temporary staff, and included holdings infields as far away from its main business ashospitals and cinemas


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Challenge:

The challenge facing the company was totransform itself from an inefficient state-ownedritual centre into an efficient private companythat could attract international investment.

In order to facilitate this change, the companywent about re-designing its organizationalstructure and culture . They turned to theAmerican management consultant firm, Arthur

D Little.


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M ethodsFrom the outset, the Arthur D Little team

worked with the YPF management in re-organising their business.It was felt important that this re-design be onlythe first step in a long term aim of becoming adynamic and modern organisation.The concept of the Learning Organisation was

introduced.


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The establishment of a measurement systemwas perhaps the biggest step -- this enabled the

employees to evaluate and review what wasgoing on in the company. Thus learning aboutcurrent processes and seeing what worked well.The introduction of working groups also

benefited the business, as ideas could bediscussed, and perceptions aired.Everyone in the business became more aware

of the company's purpose and the collectiveeffort reaped dramatic results.


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R esults

Losses of almost $579 million in 1990 were transformedinto profits of $256 million in 1992 and $706 million in 1993

The number of staff was reduced from 52000 to around6000

In July 1993, 44% of YPF was offered on the New York and Beunos Aires stock exchanges, raising $3 billion for theArgentine government. $1 billion has since been raised withthe sale of further 13 %


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T his entire restructuring was completed in just two years, leaving the company with a strong

framework of learning organizations and tools for continuous learning and improvement


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Learn i ng Organ iz a tio nLearn i ng Organ iz a tio nDef i n itio nDef i n itio n : Pe t er Senge: Pe t er Senge

F rom The F ifth DisciplineThe F ifth Discipline , 1990:Organizations where

people continually expand their capacity to create the results theytruly desire, where new and

expansive patterns of thinking arenurtured, where collective ambitionis set free, and where people arecontinually learning to learntogether.


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P eter Senge(1947 - )


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Learn i ng Organ iz a tio nLearn i ng Organ iz a tio nDef i n itio nDef i n itio n : Dav i d Garv i n: Dav i d Garv i n

F rom Learning in ActionLearning in Action, 2000 : A learning organization is an

organization skilled at creating,acquiring, interpreting, transferring,

and retaining knowledge, and atpurposely modifying its behavior toreflect new knowledge and insights.


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K ey F u nc tio n s Of Learn i ng Organ iz a tio nK ey F u nc tio n s Of Learn i ng Organ iz a tio nInformation gathering and problem solving.

Experimentation.

Learning from the past.

Learning best practices.

Transferring knowledge.


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F ou r Ta sks Of a Learn i ng Organ iz a tio nF ou r Ta sks Of a Learn i ng Organ iz a tio n

Designing learning settings.

Promoting a culture of learning.

Leading a learning process.

Demonstrating personal investment inlearning.


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Learning OrganizationsLifelong learning: Learning organizations value lifelonglearningNever arrive in a state of perfection

Always in a state of practicingBecoming better and worseSenge says that organizations are always in a state of practicingwith being a learning organization. Sometimes doing quite well

and sometimes needing to improve. Organizations never fullyarrive at being a learning organization.


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Two Typ es of Thinkers

Two Types of ThinkersSystem Thinkers

vs.Linear Thinkers


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System thinking:Systems thinking is the process of understanding how

things influence one another within a whole. In nature,systems thinking examples include environment in whichvarious elements such as air, water, movement, plants, andanimals work together to survive or perish.In organizations, systems consist of people, structures, and

processes that work together to make an organizationhealthy or unhealthy.


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Linear Thinking:

A process of thought following step-by-step progressionwhere a response to a step must be brought out beforeanother step is taken

Linear thinking is a step by step approach to solving a problem or completing a task V/S going about it in a roundabout way in order to come to the same conclusion.


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The Pr obl em: The S ix

Learn ing D isa bilitiesI Am My PositionThe Enemy Is Out ThereIllusion Of Taking ChargeFixation On EventsDelusion Of Learning From Experience

Myth Of The Management Team


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Six Learn ing D isa bilitiesI Am My Position

Responsibilities :

Most people confuse their jobs with their identities("I'm an accountant"). W hile they understand their daily tasks, people don't understand the purpose of the activity they take part in.

Instead, they see themselves in a system in whichthey have little power and no need to takeresponsibility for poor results.


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The EnemyIs Out ThereBlame Someone Else:

Some organizations and people find an externalagent to blame when problems arise

Focused on our positions, we can't see how our actions have an effect beyond their boundaries.Focusing on an external enemy is almost always amistake-usually "out there" and "in here" are partof the same system.


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Illusion Of Taking ChargeShoot & Aim:

Proactive managers are encouraged and admiredwhen they tackle problems fast.

But is taking action against an enemy on the"outside" really proactive? This brand of "proactiveness" is disguised reactivates.

Being truly proactive means seeing how wecontribute to our own problems and solving thosefirst.


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Fixation On EventsEverything Is Cause & Effect:

W e're dominated by events: last month's sales, the new budget cuts, who got fired, product introductions, and soon.

Events distract us from seeing long-term patterns of changethat lie behind them, and that, of course, hold back us fromunderstanding these patterns.

Slow, gradual processes like environmental perish, theattrition of the education system, or a decline in productquality are more destructive than sudden events.


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Delusion Of LearningFrom ExperienceExperience Is The Best Teacher:

W e may learn best from experiences, but people often never

experience the consequences of many of their mostimportant decisions directly.

It may take years, for instance, to see the consequences of R&D decisions


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Myth Of Management TeamManagement W ill Save Us:

In most organizations, a valiant, experienced, and savvy

management team stands ready to battle with problems anddilemmas. Nevertheless, teams in the business world tend to fight for

turf and avoid anything that will make them look bad. Tokeep up the appearance of a cohesive team, they hidedisagreement and come up with watered-down decisionsthat everyone can live with.


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The S olu tion: F ive D isc iplines

Systems ThinkingPersonal MasteryMental ModelsShared VisionTeam Learning


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T he Five Disciplines

LOSystemsThinking

Mentalmodels

P ersonal

Mastery TeamLearning

SharedVision

Characteristics of a Learning OrganizationCharacteristics of a Learning Organization


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The Laws of the Fifth DisciplineTodays problems come from yesterdays solutionsThe harder you push, the harder the system pushes back Behavior grows better before it grows worseThe easy way out usually leads back in

The cure can be worse than the diseaseFaster is slower Cause & effect are not closely related in time and spaceSmall changes can produce big results but the areas of

highest leverage are often the least obviousYou can have your cake and eat it too but not at onceDividing an elephant in half does not produce two smallelephantsThere is no blame


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Sy st e m T hi n ki ng:Sy st e m T hi n ki ng:Organizations are made up of interrelatedelements that functions as a whole (i.e., asystem)Changes in one element or part of the systemcan cause changes in other elements.Depending upon the effect of the change,overall organizational performance can beeither greatly enhanced or diminished.Therefore managers are required to view thestructural aspects of organizationalperformance rather than individualperformance.


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Sy st e m T hi n ki ng Sy st e m T hi n ki ng ::F ramework for focusing onpatterns and interrelationships.Involves the ability to seeinterconnections between

issues, events and informationas a whole or as patterns,rather than as a series of unconnected parts.Involves adopting a holisticapproach to problem solving.

Widens peoples perspectives.


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Per so nal Ma st ery:Per so nal Ma st ery:

Br i ef Def i n itio n:Br i ef Def i n itio n:Learning to expand ones personal capacity to

create the future and results one most desires.


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Per so nal Ma st ery:Per so nal Ma st ery:It is the basic human need to learn , grow,and achieve personal mastery that fuels andprovides substance to all learningorganizations.

No organization can truly be a learningorganization without its individual membersbegin free to learn.

Employee must be taught, encouraged, andgranted permission to become creative

architects of their own work lives.

Organizations need to encourage their employees to continually learn and improvetheir skills and abilities.


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Men t al M o del s :Men t al M o del s :Br i ef Def i n itio n:Br i ef Def i n itio n:

Surfacing, clarifying, testing, and improvingones internal representation of the world andunderstanding how these representations, along withtheir accompanying implicit assumptions, shape onesdecisions and actions.


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Men t al M o del s :Men t al M o del s :M ental models are images, assumptions, andbeliefs that everyone carries around in their heads.They include strongly held beliefs about self,family members, employing organizations,and the world at large which exist in thesubconscious.M ental models can influence employees

behavior in organizations substantially.M ental models can serve as powerfulconstraints in an organizations ability togain new insight and innovations.


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S h ared V isio n:S h ared V isio n:

Br i ef Def i n itio n:Br i ef Def i n itio n:B uilding a common sense of purpose and

commitment by developing shared images of the future

that we seek to create.


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S h ared v isio n:S h ared v isio n:It is a critical component toorganizational success.

Learning organization and highperforming teams can not excel or evenexist without shared vision.

In a learning organization all workers,regardless of their position, are invitedand provided with opportunities tocreate, test, communicate. and promotethe organizations mission.


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S h ared v isio n:S h ared v isio n:

Employees are asked to play a strategic part insetting the goals and quality standards thatwill turn their organizations shared vision intoreality.

Workers are also encouraged and givenassistance in setting and aligning their ownpersonal visions and goals with those of organization.

In this way, learning organizations have adefinite advantage over their competitors.


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Tea m Learn i ng:Tea m Learn i ng:Br i ef Def i n itio n:Br i ef Def i n itio n:

R eflecting on action as a team and transformingcollective thinking skills so that the team can develop

intelligence and ability greater than the sum of individualmembers talents .


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Tea m Learn i ng:Tea m Learn i ng:Team learning is the building block for organizational learning.

Working and sharing information amongteam members is a vital element of thelearning organization.

Team members can learn and think of more things collectively than they can

individually.

It is the ability of a group of individuals tosuspend personal assumptions abouteach other and engage in dialogue rather than discussion.


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T ime for case study


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APP LE JA P AN

Until 1989, Apple Japan, the Japanese arm of the multinational

Apple Computing corporation, held only 1 percent of thecountry's personal computer market. The appointment of anew company president marked the beginning of an era -- hestarted the drive to increase Apple's presence in the market andaccelerated change. The company was to achieve annual salesof $1 billion by the end of 1995.


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To meet this challenge the corporation approached themanagement consultant firm, Arthur D. Little, who had builtup a wealth of experience in information technology andcompany restructuring.Apple Japan requested a sweeping plan to break through themarket and increase efficiency within the company.In order to do this, they planned to reposition the brand,

expand the range of distributors, improve customer management, and introduce the concept of the LearningOrganization into the workplace.


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M ethodsIn order to implement Learning Organization techniques,Apple was advised to tackle the Five Disciplines which areessential to a learning organization: Team Learning, SharedVisions, Mental Models, Personal Mastery and SystemsThinking.


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Although group meetings were a regular part of company practice, more time was allowed for group discussions and team education. Thiskept the work teams well informed andincreased every individual's input to their

project.

W ith the increased emphasis on team learning,a shared vision was naturally introduced,allowing each member to work towards thesame goal irrespective of their position.


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Each employee of the company had their own mental model of how the organization, their managers and team colleaguesoperate.By trying to bring each person's mental model into line withthe rest of the team, the learning process was made moreefficient and teams acted more coherently.Personal Mastery was also addressed by encouragingmanagers to set their staff challenging but reasonable goals,and introducing training programmes.

Th i l di i li S Thi ki


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The crucial discipline was Systems Thinking,which brought all the other factors together.This enabled each employee to make decisions,taking the whole system into account, insteadof focusing specifically on their own problems.These disciplines were implemented bymoderate restructuring and a program of

education that was applied to everyone in theorganization.


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R esults

The re-organisation resulted in a markedimprovement in the company's sales, withgrowth exceeding the most optimistic

projections:Market Share grew to 15% in 1995 from

1% in 1989.Annual sales soared to $1.3 billion in 1994,

with the sale of 520 000 computersAlthough not all of the success can be

attributed to the introduction of the LearningOrganization concept, the results indicate anunprecedented improvement. The learningorganization was a major player in institutingthis growth.


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Need F o r Learn i ng Organ iz a tio nNeed F o r Learn i ng Organ iz a tio nLearn i ng o rgan iz a tio n s are e ss en ti al a sLearn i ng o rgan iz a tio n s are e ss en ti al a s

O nly it can survive tomorro w s kno w ledge-based economy .O nly it can manage tomorro w s intense globalcompetition .O nly it can cope w ith tomorro w s rapid firetechnological changes .O nly it can handle tomorro w s demanding

and fragmented market .O nly it can build a people based w ork systemin a company .

B fit f b i L i


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B enefits of being a LearningOrganization

Innovation and remaining competitiveBetter placed to respond to external pressuresKnowledge to better link resources to customerneedsImproving quality of outputs at all levelsImproving corporate image by becoming morepeople orientatedIncreasing the pace of change within theorganization

P bl l ti g t L i g


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P roblems relating to LearningOrganisations

Focuses mainly on the cultural dimension-Focussing exclusively on training activities in order to foster

learning favours this purely cultural bias

Favours individual and collective learningprocesses but does not connect them properlyto the organization s strategic objectives

Remains rather vague


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C o ncl usio n:C o ncl usio n:


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A t the end of the day we can say, Learning A t the end of the day we can say, Learning Organizations are the necessity to cope upOrganizations are the necessity to cope upand sustain in the era of global and sustain in the era of global economyeconomy


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