Gaining a Competitive Advantage by Creating a Learning Organization

ObjectiveTo understand the need for creating a Learning Organization.To outline the different levels of learning and To examine the success of learning methods adopted by few companies.

The External EnvironmentDynamic in natureHeavy competition Increased speed of communication due to information technology andTremendous improvement in the customer requirements.

Goal of all OrganizationsTo have a continuous improvement of their products and services andTo survive and sustain in this competitive and dynamic environment.

To search for new ideas, new problems and new opportunities for learning.To improve their ability to monitor and respond to their customer requirements.To analyze themselves, their processes, structures and their environments and To develop their ability to learn and to learn from their learning. Achieving the goal

Need to create a Learning OrganizationThere is a need to fulfil the essential requirements for continuous improvement like :Learning something new and A commitment to learn. There arises the need to create a Learning Organization.

Meaning of Learning OrganizationA Learning Organization is an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transforms itself. It provides continuous learning opportunities, links individual performance with organizational performance and uses learning to reach organizational goals.

Levels of LearningIndividual LearningOne-to-one LearningGroup LearningLearning OrganizationInter-organizational Learning

Different Methods of LearningSystematic Problem SolvingExperimentation with new approachesLearning from their own experience and past historyLearning from the experiences and best practices of othersTransferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization

1. Systematic Problem SolvingIt relies on the philosophy and the methods of quality improvement. It also relies on the scientific method, rather than guess work. It insists on data, rather than assumptions as background for decision making. It uses simple statistical tools to organize data and draw inferences.

Xerox2. Collecting information 3. Analyzingthe data1. Generating ideas6. Practice in training session4. Reaching concensus 5. Planningactions 7. Apply to real problemsSystematic method of making decisions

2. Experimentation with new approachesThis is focused towards the systematic search for and test of new knowledge. It takes two main forms :Ongoing programs andDemonstration projects

a . Ongoing ProgramsA continous series of small experiments, designed to produce incremental gains in knowledge. It is necessary to ensure that there is a steady flow of new ideas, even if they must be imported from outside the organization.

RanbaxyFirst-line supervisors sent to hospitals located in U.S.The employees learn about the cleanliness and the manner how the nurses handle their products. They understand the need to ensure cleanliness in the workplace. They develop an understanding of new work practices.They bring what theyve learned back to the company and apply it to daily operations.

Henry Ford Famous for building automobiles on an assembly line.They brought small changes in the regular task of employees.They assigned a specific and repetitive task for every worker.By breaking jobs into small standardised tasks, Ford was able to produce cars at the rate of 1 every 10 seconds while using employees who had relatively limited skills.

b. Demonstration projectsThey are usually first time projects to embody principles that the organization hopes to adopt later on a larger scale.They implicitly establish policy guidelines and decision rules for later projects.They often encounter severe test of commitment from employees.They are normally developed by strong multifunctional teams.They have only limited impact if they are not accompanied by explicit strategies for transferring learning.

MotorolaBirth of Six Sigma at Motorola. It is a quality standard with a goal of only 3.4 defects per million processes. Different levels of training to employees and certification as green belts, champions or black belts. Six Sigma Training helps to reduce defects and to cut costs.It has saved the company an estimated $15 billion since the early 1990s.

3. Learning from their own experience and past history

Santayana Review

Coined by a famous philosopher, George Santayana.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it

Companies must review their successes and failure, assess them systematically, and record the lessons in a form that employees find open and accessible.

Hewlett-Packard Employees rendering computer service to the customers were forced to answer calls late at night and on weekends. The employee turnover of the company increased resulting in loss of talented employees. Hewlett Packard redesigned work schedules to allow the employees to volunteer to work either during the week or on weekends. As a result, turnover rates decreased.

4. Learning from others Gaining insights by looking outside ones immediate environment.It is a powerful source of ideas for creative thinking. Benchmarking is one way of getting an outside perspective.It is an ongoing investigation that ensures that best industry practices are uncovered, analyzed, adopted and implemented. The greatest benefits come from studying the best practices of other organizations.

General ElectricBenchmarked the Six Sigma quality standards of Motorola. 35,000 defects per million operations before introducing Six Sigma.Reduced to fewer than 4 defects per million after implementing Six Sigma. Over 1,00,000 employees trained in Six Sigma.Since 1996, when Six Sigma quality initiative was started, it has produced a benefit of more than $2 million for GE.

MotorolaCustomer as an effective source of information.Members of the Operating and Policy Committee, including the CEO, meet the customers personally and on a regular basis.They get insights about their changing needs and to learn about the competitors products.

5. Transferring knowledgeFor learning to be more effective it must spread quickly and efficiently throughout the organization. Ideas carry maximum impact when they are shared broadly rather than held in a few hands. Written, oral, visual reports, site visits, tours, personnel rotation programs and HRIS facilitates this process.

Time LifePersonnel Rotation ProgramThe President of the companys music division, who had several years of rapid growth and high profits through innovative marketing was transferred to the presidency of the book division. As a result the profit in the book division increased which was achieved by sharing the experience of CEO.

HRIS in Northern Telecom Limited A Canadian telecommunications company that has facilities in 90 countries, including United Kingdom, China and the United States.The managers were in need to access to information about the employees located worldwide. The company created a central database to update employee details about their headcount, salary, and recruiting data.This enabled the managers around the world to obtain up-to-date employee data to meet customer needs and to address internal staffing issues.

Communities of practice Group of employees work together, learn from each other and develop a common understanding of how to get the work accomplished. Discussion boards, list servers, or other forms of computer-mediated communication in which employees communicate electronically. Naturally occuring communities of practice that evolve as a result of the relationship employees develop to accomplish work and the design of work environment.

Siemens Power Transmission The managers intended to stop employees from gathering in the employee cafeteria for informal discussions. Later they discovered that the informal discussions actually encountered learning. Employees developed problem-solving strategies, shared product and procedural information, and provided career counseling to each other. Managers are now encouraging employees by providing essential tools and information and giving employees the freedom to meet.

Measuring LearningA comprehensive learning audit to measure performance of employees.By using surveys, questionnaires and interviews to measure the employees level of learning.By bringing consultants from outside the organization.Without this measurement the companies would lack a rationale for investing in learning and the assurance that learning was serving the organizations ends.