THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION

Review - Rohan Nagwekar

INTRODUCTION
In his book The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge defined a learning organization as a place
where people continually expand their capacity to create 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. Senge described the core of a
learning organizations work as based upon five learning disciplines that represented
lifelong programs of both personal and organizational learning and practice.
These include:
Personal Mastery individuals learn to expand their own personal capacity to create
results that they most desire. Employees also create an organizational environment that
encourages all fellow employees to develop themselves toward the goals and purposes that
they desire.
Mental Models this involves each individual reflecting upon, continually clarifying, and
improving his or her internal pictures of the world, and seeing how they shape personal
actions and decisions.
Shared Vision this involves individuals building a sense of commitment within particular
workgroups, developing shared images of common and desirable futures, and the principles
and guiding practices to support the journey to such futures.
Team Learning this involves relevant thinking skills that enable groups of people to
develop intelligence and an ability that is greater than the sum of individual members'
talents.
Systems Thinking this involves a way of thinking about, and a language for describing
and understanding forces and interrelationships that shape the behavior of systems. This
discipline helps managers and employees alike to see how to change systems more
effectively, and to act more in tune with the larger processes of the natural and economic
world.
David Garvin defines a leaning organization as "an organization skilled at creating,
acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new
knowledge and insights."
The important component of this definition is the requirement that change occur in the way
work gets done. This test rules out a number of obvious candidates such as colleges. We in
colleges have been successful in creating knowledge (research) and transferring knowledge
(teaching) but have not been successful in applying that knowledge to our own activities.

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The process of building a learning organization unleashes individual creativity, and fosters
collective learning, which is crucial for encouraging, and developing innovation and rapid
responsiveness to global competition (Millett 1998). In short, a learning organization is
continually getting smarter because learning is planned, systematic and in alignment with
the organization's strategic goals.
In order to get smarter, the organization needs to capture its organizational knowledge.
Prahalad and Hamel (1990) have described the process of how organizations learn, and
identify the outcomes of the process as the development of core competencies, which are
the collective learning in the organization. This occurs at all levels and functions within the
organization. On the surface, developing core competencies has an intuitive appeal, but it is
an extremely difficult process to maintain and manage, particularly as the organization
changes and adapts to its environment.
The McKinsey 7-S Framework provides a systems view for describing the major differences
between a traditional view of an organization and a learning organization. In the McKinsey
7-S Framework, seven key elements of an organization, namely, the structure, measurement
system, management style, staff characteristics, distinctive staff skills, strategy/action plan,
and shared values are identified. The first six elements are organized around the
organizations shared values. However, Hitt adds an eighth element synergistic teams
that he describes as the missing link. It is this element that Hitt regards as being at the
core of the learning organization. Synergistic teams provide the means for the members of
the organization to learn together, developing collective intelligence that is greater than the
sum of the intelligence of the individual members. Table below illustrates the characteristics
of the traditional view of an organization and the characteristics of a learning organization.

Eight Characteristics of the Traditional Organization

Versus the Learning Organization
Element

Traditional Organization

Learning organization

Shared Values

Efficiency
Effectiveness

Excellence
Organizational Renewal

Management Style
Strategy/Action Plan

Control
Top down approach
Road map
Hierarchy

Structure
Staff Characteristics
Distinctive Staff Skills
Measurement System
Teams

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Facilitator Coach
Everyone is consulted
Learning map
Flat
structure
Dynamic networks
People who know (experts) Knowledge
is
power
People who learn
Mistakes tolerated as part of
learning
Adaptive learning
Generative learning
Financial measures
Both financial and
non-financial
measures
Working
groups Cross functional teams
Departmental boundaries

There is a considerable body of literature on the concept of the learning organization, but
much of it is theoretical or prescriptive. The practical steps taken by a medium sized to
evolve into a learning organization related to three main themes.
1) The organizations use of strategy as a learning process.
2) The organizational structures and systems in place and considers whether these support
the development of a learning organization.
3) The role of leadership and teams, as significant levers that influence the learning
processes.

STRATEGY AS A LEARNING PROCESS

In particular, organizations they find themselves in a competitive environment
characterized by rapid change. Any competitive edge depends on its ability to deal with
change more effectively and more rapidly than its competitors. It is no longer appropriate
for managers to take all the responsibility for implementing organizational change in
response to rapid and complex changes within the environment. Each individual within the
organization needs to be accountable and take responsibility for making the necessary
changes within their individual work areas. They also need to share their knowledge with
others in the organization thus emphasizing the notion of teams and teamwork. These are
ideals typical of an organization aspiring to develop a learning organization
Strategy is an integral part of the learning process for a learning organization because it
focuses on the organizations development of core competencies, both in the present and in
the future. It also focuses the learning process on the desired future position that the
organization would like to be in. Rather than focusing on only one aspect of organizational
change, the company should try to develop a dynamic and iterative process aimed at
providing the organization with a builtin capacity to change and redesign (itself)
continually as the circumstances demand. This has involved transformational change of the
organizational structure, human resource practices, and technology. This means that at all
levels of the organization, employees have been, and are, involved in the processes of
transformation improvement.
The concept of planning as a learning process is emphasized by Arie de Geus. He refers to
the way one of the world's most successful companies, Shell, used the corporate planning
processes as a constructive and significant way to promote learning at the strategic and
operational levels.
The companys vision is central to defining and developing the organization. It is an
articulation of the core competence of the organization. Business strategies should be
strongly driven by its vision and mission. The importance of the vision is strongly
emphasized in team meetings, regular feedback sessions to staff and other types of
communications. The vision and mission should be developed after extensive consultation
with employees, including a competition within the company to find the best mission
statement. There is particular emphasis on the organizations values. These were developed
in conjunction with the Covey 7-Habits Program, and a comprehensive training program in
which more than eighty percent of employees were exposed to the Covey principles. An
Employee OpinionClimate Survey should conducted every eighteen months to determine
the extent to which people buy in to the vision and mission, and to measure whether there
is congruence between organizational values and the beliefs of individual employees.

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Furthermore, every employee in the organization should have access to information about
the companys performance via a centrally located notice board that is updated every
month.
A process of organizational renewal, started with the implementation of a flatter
organizational structure. The process continues through alignment of the organization
vision and mission by encouraging individual teams to develop their own purpose (mission
statements) that align with the company vision. The implementation of business plans,
aimed at moving the company towards its vision, is managed under the umbrella of Critical
Success Factors (CSFs) and associated strategies. The CSFs represent the core competencies
associated with a number of key performance measures. These measures are both financial
(for example, profit) and non-financial.
Examples of non- financial measures are:
level of participation of people in continuous improvement projects;
number of mission awards presented; and
level of employee satisfaction as measured in the employee culture survey.
Two CSFs in particular are relevant to the evolution of any company as a learning
organization, namely:
Critical Success Factor 1: People
We must attract, motivate and develop talented people who are committed to our values
and vision.
Strategies supporting the CSF include:
the establishment of a working environment attractive to employees;
taking action to enable employees to develop their full potential; and
the commitment to developing effective leadership.
Progress in this area has been positive. The Covey 7 Habits Program is being used as a
foundation for developing people as individuals, fostering Senges self mastery, and as a
launching point for team development. The Covey program is seen as important in helping
people to cope with significant organizational changes that have been implemented in recent
years. For managers, a coaching skills program is being introduced to build on the learning,
using a management for performance program. The mission award process that
recognizes individual and team performance has wide acceptance. The development of team
purposes (mission statements) is being evolved to obtain greater involvement of all
employees in continuous improvement, and to achieve a shared vision.
Critical Success Factor 2: Continuous Improvement
We must entrench a culture of continuous improvement in everything we do.
Strategies supporting this CSF include:
the identification of improvement opportunities by measuring and analyzing work
processes;
enabling all employees to play an effective role in continuous improvement; and
benchmarking key work processes.
This CSF is a driver for cross- functional teamwork in the organization. It encourages
people from different departments to work together to solve specific problems. Teams are
encouraged to take a systems approach to problem solving and to use collective thinking
skills to build on the experience and creativity of individuals. There are a number of cases
where cross- functional teams have implemented innovative solutions to long-standing
problems previously attempted on an individual basis. It is a bottom- up process in which
individual teams come together to formulate future plans, based on their understanding of
the needs of the business. Individual team plans are then consolidated by the management

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team, refined and communicated back to individual teams, prior to being finalized at an
annual management conference that takes place. The strategic planning process should be
reviewed annually and its effectiveness is measured in a survey. The vision, mission, and
values encourage a process of personal commitment on the part of the employees. It also
develops a collective sense of identity with the organization and its mission.
Various initiatives such as: Encouraging employees participation in the building of a
shared vision, mission and value statement.
Employees buy- in to this process via:
the organization of a competition to find the best mission statement supporting the vision;
extensive consultation with staff through team meetings and feedback sessions during the
values development process; and
the annual mission award process recognizing individual and team effort in activities
contributing to the achievement of the vision, mission and values.
Facilitating Personal Mastery
Much of this has centered on the use of the Covey 7-Habits program to help employees
achieve personal mastery in their personal and working lives. Measuring the effectiveness of
this aspect of the Covey program has not been easy. Informal feedback from employees to
team leaders, the management team and the HR Manager indicates that employees feel the
Covey program has helped them to cope with change in their personal lives, as well as in the
workplace. The HR Manager may also feel that the program had influenced a number of
individuals who were previously resistant to change in work practices to support such
change and even, in some instances, to drive the change.
Encouraging and developing teamwork
Change in the structure of the organization results in the development of a team- based
structure. Teamwork is reinforced via the performance management system that assesses
individual and team performance. Members of all teams participate in an annual review
process where they complete a standardized questionnaire relating to their perceptions of
each of their fellow team members performance. Feedback from other team members is
given to the team as a whole, and the individual, at their annual performance assessment
interview. There could also be an extensive training program, facilitated by the HR
manager and other members of the organization, to help employees improve their team
collaboration skills.
Flattening the organizational structure
The flatter organizational structure has allowed a larger number of employees to contribute
to the development of the business strategy. This is done on an annual basis using both a
bottom up and top down process. Individual teams develop strategies and plans for
functional areas that are then incorporated and formalized as an integral part of the
strategies and plans developed by senior management. The flatter organizational structure
has effectively facilitated the communication process required to align business objectives
with functional team plans.
Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Key Performance Measures
Apart from the overall CSFs for the organization, each team has developed a sub-set of
financial and non-financial CSFs applicable to their functional area. Team performance is
assessed on the achievement of key performance measures supporting their team CSFs.

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Functional teams are, therefore, able to determine the impact of their activities on the
success of the team and hence the overall business. The strength of this approach is that it
does not focus only on one aspect of the organizational transformation, but includes many
aspects of the organization such as the organizational structure, human resource practices,
and technology. Companies should try to use this process as a dynamic and iterative
process aimed at providing the organization with a builtin capacity to change and redesign
themselves continually as the circumstances demand. At this stage they need to continue on
their path of continuous improvement using the strategies they have in place.

ACTIVITIES OF A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

1. Systematic problem solving:
o Thinking with systems theory
o Insisting on data rather than assumptions
o Using statistical tools
2. Experimentation with new approaches:
o Ensure steady flow of new ideas
o Incentives for risk taking
o Demonstration projects
3. Learning from their own experiences and past history:
o Recognition of the value of productive failure instead of unproductive
success
4. Learning from the experiences and best practices of others:
o Enthusiastic borrowing
5. Transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization:
o Reports
o Tours
o Personnel rotation programs
o Training programs

REASONS TO BUILD A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Because we want superior performance.

To improve quality.
For customers.
For competitive advantage.
For an energized, committed workforce.
To manage change.
For the truth.
Because the times demand it.
Because we recognize our interdependence.
Because we want it.

ATTRIBUTES OF A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

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Four attributes those are necessary to cope with change:

1. The first is learning how to disperse power on an orderly, non-chaotic basis. Right
now the word "empowerment" is a very powerful buzzword. It's also very
dangerous. Just granting power, with out some method of discipline and order that
comes out of a command-and-control bureaucracy, produces chaos. We have to
learn to disperse power so that self-discipline can largely replace imposed discipline.
That immerses us in the area of culture; replacing the bureaucracy with aspirations,
values, and visions.
2. The second attribute of winning companies will be systemic understanding. ...We
are good at the type of problem that lends itself to a scientific solution and
reductionistic thinking. We are absolutely illiterate in subjects that require us to
understand systems and interrelationships.
3. The third attribute that twenty-first companies will need is conversation. This is the
single greatest tool in your organization -- more important than computers or
sophisticated research. We are good at small talk.... but when we face contentious
issues -- when there are feelings about rights, or when two worthwhile principles
come into conflict with one another -- we have so many defense mechanisms that
impede communications that we are absolutely terrible.
4. Finally, under our old system of governance, one could lead by mandate. If you had
the ability to climb the ladder, gain power, and then control that power, you could
enforce these changes in attributes. But the forthcoming kind of company is going to
require voluntary follower ship. Most of our leaders don't think in terms of getting
voluntary followers; they think in terms of control.

THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS

Organizations learn. Just like individual people, organizations sense circumstances within
their environment and they respond. They observe the results of their responses and
remember the results, along with information gathered from other sources, for reference in
designing future responses. This process of sensing, responding, and observing/
remembering goes largely unnoticed by the individuals working within the organization due
to the complexity of the "anatomy" of organizations. But consciously or not, effectively or
not, all organizations are doing these activities over and over. In studying the concept of
learning organizations we seek the tools and methodologies that will help an organization
learn consciously and proactively in pursuit of its goals.
One of these tools is dialogue. The word "dialogue" comes from the Greek dialogos: logos
meaning "the meaning of the word" and dia meaning "through." In a learning
organization, our purpose for dialogue is to let the meaning of our words permeate through
the group, or, to develop fully shared, even synergistic understanding of important
information, experiences, goals, etc. among all the people involved.
Why is this so? Because it is the people that breathe the life into the organization, they do
the sensing, responding, observing and remembering. An organization is nothing more than
the actions, interactions, and resultant artifacts, of the people that participate. When an
organization learns, it is the people who do the learning. Learning organization experts
believe that if the organization is going to move decisively toward its vision it needs to

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develop a unique "consciousness" designed for the purpose. But this consciousness can only
exist in the collective consciousness of the people, therefore dialogue is necessary to develop
an organizational "consciousness" that is proactive and effective.
Without shared understanding of information we will sense the environment differently,
causing confusion. Without shared understanding of experiences we will advocate different
responses, causing conflict. Without shared understanding of observations we will
remember different outcomes, exacerbating the confusion and conflict. Dialogue is people
coming together to share and analyze the information, ideas, and paradigms of their
organization for the purpose of improving the organization's ability to sense, respond,
observe/remember; for the purpose of improving the organization's capability to learn. In
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook Bill Isaacs explains it this way:
Dialogue is not merely a set of techniques for improving organizations,
enhancing communications, building consensus, or solving problems. It is
based on the principle that conception and implementation are intimately
linked, with a core of common meaning. During the dialogue process, people
learn how to think together-not just in the sense of analyzing a shared
problem or creating new pieces of shared knowledge, but in the sense of
occupying a collective sensibility, in which the thoughts, emotions, and
resulting actions belong not to one individual, but to all of them together.
Our Strategic Conversations indeed are people coming together to share and analyze
information, ideas and paradigms that are of strategic importance to our organization.
These sorts of discussions generally lead to mutual understanding, and when we do a good
job, truly common understanding.
Some may ask, "But what about the fact that nothing really happens as a result of the
Strategic Conversations?" Ironically, that's sort of what we need. David Bohn, physicist and
dialogue theorist, claims dialogue does not need an immediate purpose.
Organizational learning actually happens in the innumerable interactions of the people and
manifests itself in their equally innumerable workplace activities. If 50 people at a Strategic
Conversation all learn one thing, how often will that unit of learning actually affect their
actions? How big an effect will it probably have even then? Small, to be sure. But dialogue's
nature, small increments of learning happening in many places, creating effects in even
more places, is generally not in the realm of short-term tangible change. It is in the realm of
systemic and evolutionary change.
Does this mean we shouldn't have bothered to learn from/with each other? No, it means
that we need to incorporate dialogue into our daily work and understand that any one
dialogue usually will not make an immediately discernible difference. Another concern
commonly arises about dialogue. Sometimes in Strategic Conversations it may feel like we
are just "sharing our ignorance." After all, we are discussing complicated subjects and may
or may not have any "real experts" in the room to guide us. But this too is natural. While
dialogue, in the learning organization context, may have been happening here and there for
years, creating it "on demand" is a new skill we are learning. We want to be a consciously
and proactively learning organization. Since we have not been doing it for very long we are
not very good at it yet. We understand that a student in a classroom will learn better if they
know how they learn.

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DIVERSITY AND THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION

The heart of learning organizations is the concept of "communities of commitment." The
current U.S. culture promotes fragmentation of thoughts and detachment of individuals
from the community. To the contrary, the building of a learning organization is not an
individual task, but a systems approach that brings the parts (people) together to create
alternative ways of working and living together. Capturing the strengths of diverse people is
natural for a learning organization. The management of diversity must become a strategic
issue.
The goals of valuing diversity by believing that no one is more important than another, each
is important in a unique way, and of developing a quality approach to its services are
powerful momentums. When these two forces come together, major change will come. A
learning organization is the framework on which both these forces can be energized and
strengthened.
The learning organization of the future will incorporate diversity into its internal processes
by encouraging the expression of different point of views. Diversity of experience,
education, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, expertise, and opinion can aid any
organization in attempting to understand students, customers, competitors, and suppliers,
anticipate future trends, and provide a challenging workplace for the employees. If the
requisite level of diversity does not exist or is not effectively managed, the organization will
be unable to adapt to a rapidly changing, external environment.
The quality concept of exceeding the needs of your customers comes into consideration
when discussing diversity. The changing demographics of the students and the generational
differences between the students and faculty require that an organization learn about its
"customers." If the organization fails to learn from the diversity of its internal and external
customers, the future will be troubled.
A learning organization enables contributions from the people by:
Discovering multiple ways to contribute
Utilizing diversity of background and perspective
Recognizing unique roles
Providing support for the whole person
An upcoming honors speaker and noted author, remarks about the connection between
diversity and a learning organization:
Diversity means many different relationships, many different approaches to
the same problem. A diverse community is a resilient community, capable of
adapting easily to changing situations. Accordingly, eco-management
includes the conscious effort to include representatives from different
interest groups, contradictory tendencies, different cultural backgrounds,
etc., in the process of reflection and decision-making. ...All living systems
develop, and all development is learning. Therefore a sustainable
community is always a learning community; a community that continually
changes, develops, and learns.

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SYSTEMS THINKING
Systems thinking is the fifth discipline of the learning organization. Which has been
explored for the improvement of instruction. Conclusions reached are as follows:
1. Discussions in Systems Thinking cause us to get out of and beyond conversations
that we have been having for quite a while. In several cases, we stopped bringing up
the same issues we have heard ourselves complain about for many semesters, and
gained a clear view of what we were all actually talking about. We didn't actually
resolve anything -- yet. But we now feel we are making forward progress in our
conversations and in our work improvement.
2. Knowledge of Systems Thinking definitely broadens a person's frame of reference,
and helps us understand each other better. The binocular perspective -understanding the big picture and the details, intrigues many of the staff members.
And, having the data to understand the "why" of many processes and decisions
helps many individuals. One staff member said that for the first time she could
really see her role in the system, and that she felt more important, more likely to
speak up, and more likely to take more responsibility for doing her work as
effectively as possible....
3. The value of a system diagram could be that it shows that people do affect the
college system -- which they can and do make a difference. (This kind of comment
was made several times.) This is an important realization; when this is understood
there might be fewer cases of snap judgments and limited decisions. Decisions and
individual responsibility might be better thought through. People would do a better
job, and have more self-esteem.
4. Applying the knowledge and tools of Systems Thinking after initial implementation
of TQM/CQI appears to be a very logical and important step. This would be
important to every member of the staff, not just the administration. Then the college
could make greater strides in becoming a learning organization, and in meeting its
Vision and Mission.
5. Knowledge of Systems Thinking and increased skills in sharing mental models
should enable the college to move from Strategic Conversations (which often stay on
the theoretical or abstract level) to the concrete levels of tactical and action plans. In
the past, I felt we did well in strategic planning and in specific process improvement.
But the areas in between, and the connections, were not always clearly understood.
Systems thinking provides a vehicle for this.
6. Many assessments of the college culture show effective levels of communication
within existing departments, and an increasing level of communication within
teams. However, it is important to value and increase the communication between
these groups. There is a growing interest across the country in building skills in
"dialoguing" so that people can communicate more clearly. I believe we have to
value this communication, and an understanding of where our departments and our
teams fit in the system would help this become more important. Therefore,
knowledge and skills in Systems Thinking can increase the effectiveness of
dialogues.
Between now and the year 2020, learning at the individual and organizational levels must
be a distinctive competence of our corporation. In these times of accelerating change and

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uncertainty, we must be able to anticipate what we will need to know and then teach and
learn it faster and better than any other corporation on earth.

LEADERSHIP, CHAOS, INDIVIDUAL ROLES

The learning organization profoundly affects the individuals employed in it and several
questions arise. What is the responsibility of the individual and the organization to the time
and commitment toward learning activities? What individual competencies are needed for
the future? How do you get those competencies? What are the trainability and adaptability
of employees? What are the consequences of discomfort, fear, and chaos? What is the role
of employee groups? Are job descriptions and classifications still valid? What will be the
rewards, recognitions and incentives for individuals?
Margaret Wheatley introduces several relationship-based questions. How do we get people
to work well together? How do we honor and benefit from diversity? How do we get teams
to work together quickly and efficiently? How do we resolve conflicts? Leadership is
dependent upon respect for the complex network of people who contribute to the
organization. The web of the universe is now being felt in our work lives.
Margaret Wheatley believes that the current movement toward participation and
collaboration in the workplace through the use of teams and quality principles is rooted in
the new science. Physicists have described a participatory universe. The new focus on
relationships within management follows science. In fact, leadership in organization is
dependent upon the relationships.
Fritjof Capra explains the changes in shifting from our traditional linear thinking to the
new form of Systems Thinking. They suggest that we must see things as processes rather
than structures. For example: a tree is not an object, but an expression of processes such as
photosynthesis, which connect the sun and the earth. The same thinking applies to our jobs,
our organizations, and us.
Theories and discussions from quantum physics, the new science, chaos, etc. create new
ways of thinking about organizational design. They can help us evaluate current
management practices, guide us through the fads, and direct us to deeper understandings.
Important roles for people within a learning organization include:
1. Top leaders and managers serve as learning roles models by sharing their own
learning goals and by encouraging others to learn. They also recognize the need for
individual learning for all levels of employees.
2. Individual employees accept responsibility for their own careers and their own
personal learning. They do not wait to be taught nor expect the organization to
provide career paths.
3. Learning and personal growth are actively encouraged and rewarded. There are
incentives for individuals to stretch their abilities.
4. The "not invented here" syndrome is not practiced by individuals. There is a
constant scanning of the internal and external environment for new ideas and
trends that will lead to improvement.
5. Employees are held accountable for their performance and excellence is rewarded.

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6. Procedures and policies are in place to ensure ongoing and timely reevaluation of
changing job skill sets and requirements. Job descriptions and job requirements are
examined regularly to accurately reflect the work being performed or skill sets
required.

SKILL SETS NEEDED BY INDIVIDUALS

Jennifer James, cultural anthropologist has identified the skill sets for the 21st century
mind.
1. Ability to understand the culture of the organization
2. Ability to let go of old myths
3. Ability to notice new patterns- language as an indicator
o Multitasking
o Miniaturization
o Short-term memory overload
o Low level depression and increasingly angry culture
o Changes of speed
4. Ability to develop a clear perspective/ open perspective
o Ability to relax
o Sense of humor - ability to laugh
o Knowing your history
o Insulate hot buttons and fears
o Ability to scan for information
o Pretend you are an anthropologist and examine what leaders reward,
evaluate, and control; what they are paying attention to; and what are they
measuring
5. Ability to generate energy with coaching and building self-esteem; ability to bring
energy into a room
6. Ability to learn forever
7. Ability to own your own career
8. Ability to create "safe" environment for others
9. Ability to see what's coming and what's leaving so you can make choices faster;
faster response time
In the early 20th century, philosopher and scientist Otto Neurath envisioned scientists as
sailors who on the open sea must reconstruct their ship but are never able to start from the
bottom... They must make use of some drifting timber of the old structure -- but they cannot
put the ship in dock to start from scratch. During their work they stay on the old structure
and deal with heavy gales and thundering waves. This is a wonderful metaphor for the
challenge we face in a world of ever-accelerating change. We must learn about complex
systems -- which have grown increasingly dangerous -- all the while living in the midst of
these systems."

HOW TO CREATE A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

THE BUILDING BLOCKS

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Before a Learning Organizations can be implemented, taking into account the following can
make a solid foundation:
Awareness
Organizations must be aware that learning is necessary before they can develop into a
Learning Organization. This may seem to be a strange statement but this learning must
take place at all levels; not just the Management level. Once the company has accepted the
need for change, it is then responsible for creating the appropriate environment for this
change to occur in.
Environment
Centralized, mechanistic structures do not create a good environment. Individuals do not
have a comprehensive picture of the whole organization and its goals. This causes political
and parochial systems to be set up which stifle the learning process. Therefore a more
flexible, organic structure must be formed. By organic, we mean a flatter structure, which
encourages innovations. The flatter structure also promotes passing of information between
workers and so creating a more informed work force.
It is necessary for management to take on a new philosophy; to encourage openness,
reflectivity and accept error and uncertainty. Members need to be able to question decisions
without the fear of reprimand. This questioning can often highlight problems at an early
stage and reduce time consuming errors. One way of over-coming this fear is to introduce
anonymity so that questions can be asked or suggestions made but the source is not
necessarily known.
Leadership
Leaders should foster the Systems Thinking concept and encourage learning to help both
the individual and organization in learning. It is the leader's responsibility to help
restructure the individual views of team members. For example, they need to help the teams
understand that competition is a form of learning; not a hostile act.
Management must provide commitment for long-term learning in the form of resources.
The amount of resources available (money, personnel and time) determines the quantity
and quality of learning. This means that the organization must be prepared to support this.
Empowerment
The locus of control shifts from managers to workers. This is where the term Empowerment
is introduced. The workers become responsible for their actions; but the managers do not
lose their involvement. They still need to encourage, enthuse and co-ordinate the workers.
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 time consuming.
Learning

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Companies can learn to achieve these aims in Learning Labs. These are small-scale models
of real-life settings where management teams learn how to learn together through
simulation games. They need to find out what failure is like so that they 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 to follow their
learning example.
Anonymity has already been mentioned and can be achieved through electronic
conferencing. This type of conferencing can also encourage different sites to communicate
and share knowledge, thus making a company truly a Learning Organization.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
Any organization that wants to implement a learning organization philosophy requires an
overall strategy with clear, well-defined goals. Once these have been established, the tools
needed to facilitate the strategy must be identified.
It is clear that everyone has their own interpretation of the "Learning Organization" idea,
so to produce an action plan that will transform groups into Learning Organizations might
seem impossible. However, it is possible to identify three generic strategies that highlight
possible routes to developing Learning Organizations. The specific tools required to
implement any of these depends on the strategy adopted, but the initiatives that they
represent are generic throughout. These initiatives are ably described using Peter Senge's
Five Disciplines of Learning Organizations (Senge, 1990). The three strategies are:
Accidental
For many companies, adopting a learning organization philosophy is the second step to
achieving this Holy Grail. They may already be taking steps to achieve their business goals
that, in hindsight, fit the framework for implementing a Learning Organization. This is the
accidental approach in that it was not initiated through awareness of the Learning
Organization concept.
Subversive
Once an organization has discovered the Learning Organization philosophy, they must
make a decision as to how they want to proceed. This is a choice between a subversive and a
declared strategy. The subversive strategy differs from an accidental one in the level of
awareness; but it is not secretive! Thus, while not openly endorsing the Learning
Organization ideal, they are able to exploit the ideas and techniques.

Declared
The other option is the declared approach. This is self-explanatory. The principles of
Learning Organizations are adopted as part of the company ethos, become company
"speak" and are manifest openly in all company initiatives.

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THE GOLDEN RULES

As an organization, which learns and wants its people to learn, it must try to follow certain
concepts in learning techniques and mould itself to accommodate for a number of specific
attributes.
In particular:
1. Thrive on Change
Dont be scared
Learning Organizations feed on change
Go all the way (no half-way house); committed; focused
Know objectives; plan
2 Encourage experimentation
Experimentation is a necessary risk
Individual input rewarded
Encourage throughout the company
3 Communicate Successes and Failure
Review
Assessment (continuous/self)
The Learning Cycle Diagram
4 Facilitate Learning from the Surrounding Environment
Find internal and external sources of information
Learn from experience of other companies (open your eyes)
Above all discuss customer needs
5 Facilitate Learning from Employees
Encourage participation and experimentation (linked to point 2)
Invest in training - multiskilling (getting most from employees), morale
Empowerment/responsibility
Remove hierarchy
6 Reward Learning
Everybodys wants his or her work to be appreciated - boost morale!!
Benchmarks for performance appraisal
Rewards
7 A Proper Selfishness
Clear goals/objectives
Hints on clarifying objectives

8 A Sense of Caring
Care for the individual

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Ways of implementing this care

1) Thrive on Change
"In a fast-paced, continually shifting environment resilience to change is often the
single most important factor that distinguishes those who succeed from those who
fail."
- Daryl Connor (Managing at the Speed of Change...)
- Tom Peters
The crux of this idea is that for a Learning Organization to be achieved many
changes must be implemented. There can be no doubt that an organization that
enters such changes without a full commitment to them will not succeed. Hence it is
constantly re-framing; looking at problems from different angles or developing and
exercising skills. In short, it is never static. To comply with this, the people in the
organization must continually adapt to changing circumstances.
It is vital that the changing process be driven from the very top levels of the
organization: the managers must lead the changes with a positive attitude and have
a clear vision of what is to be achieved. It is crucial that the management all agrees
to the strategy and believes in it so that they exude a sense of security and selfassurance.
2) Encourage Experimentation
"If learning comes through experience, it follows that the more one
participates in guided experiences, the more one learns. Therefore venturing
into uncharted waters - and experiencing the failures that may occur - is an
important part of organizational learning."
- Gould, Dibrell, Nevis
Every change requires a certain degree of experimentation. To allow this
experimentation is the central concept behind a Learning Organization. Giving
employees opportunities and responsibilities is a risk and can be costly in terms of
resources. However for a company to learn it is a necessary risk, and approached in
a positive manner, will bring many benefits. Innovation, after all, is what sets a
company apart.
A Learning Organization needs to experiment by having both formal and informal
ways of asking questions, seeking out theories, testing them, and reflecting upon
them. It should try to predict events and plan to avoid mistakes -- be active rather
than passive. One way to do this is to review their competitors' work and progress
and tries to learn from their experiences. A Japanese strategy is to send their senior
executives on study visits to other countries, raising questions and gathering ideas.
They then review the visits and try to learn from them.
Just like the changing process, the learning process has to start from the top of the
organization and finds its way throughout. However there is a danger in delegating
the questions and theories to lower groups, as the senior executives could feel no
ownership of the process and are unlikely to take risks with the conclusions. When
John Harvey-Jones became chairman of ICI, he gave a lot of time and attention to

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creating

space

for

the

top

executives

to

question,

think

and

learn.

3) Communicate Success and Failure

"Incorporate others' good points into oneself so that one improves; selfreflect upon others' bad points so that one does not commit the same
mistake."
-Confucius
"For learning to be more than a local affair, knowledge must be spread
quickly and efficiently throughout the organization"
- David Gavin (Building a Learning Organization)
It is important for a company to learn from its mistakes and also to appreciate its
successes. Discussion and contribution in a team framework is vital, followed by
assessment and planning. Each member should be encouraging to self-assess their
own performance.:
The learning should not just stop at the team, however. Lateral spread of
knowledge throughout the company can be implemented by a number of
mechanisms. Oral, written and visual presentations; site visit and tours; personnel
rotation programs; education and training programs will all encourage the spread
of knowledge and experiences along with reduction of hierarchy and red tape
present in many stagnant companies.
To learn from ones mistakes, one must be able to accept failure, analyze the reasons
for the failure and take action. Disappointment and mistakes are part of the
changing process and essential to learning. A true Learning Organization will treat
mistakes as case studies for discussion, thus learning, and ensuring the same
mistake does not happen again.
For this to be done without blame, and with implied forgiveness, the learning has to
be guided by a neutral mentor or coach. This figure may be from inside or outside
the organization, and need not necessarily possess much authority. It is often
beneficial to an organization to form a list of mentors, whose services they can rely
on. If this is the case, then it is a pointer to the fact that the organization has
accepted
the
theory
behind
possessing
negative
capability.
4) Facilitate Learning from the Surrounding Environment
"Enthusiastic borrowing replaces the `not invented here' syndrome;
Millicent calls the process SIS, for `Steal Ideas Shamelessly'."
-- David Gavin (Building a Learning Organization)
In order to keep a leading edge over its counterparts, the learning organization has
to keep abreast with the happenings in its internal and external environment.
Technical and political issues that may exert pressure on the organizations current
and future operations are identified and monitored.
Internal sources of information can be work teams, departments or
affiliated companies/ institutes within the organization.
Outside consultants, other players in the same field and even customers are
potential external sources.

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Disseminating the value-added information in an efficient manner so that

everyone within the organization easily accesses it. One suggestion that
stands out in the fore-coming age of information highway is putting the
computer database on the Internet system with limited employee-only
access.
Joint ventures provide precious opportunities of actively observing how others'
systems are run. In such cases, learning objectives should be clearly stated in the
contractual agreements between the allies to avoid any future misunderstandings.
Accusations of corporate spying are serious matter hence everything should be
brought out in the open right from the start and nothing should be done on the sly.
Customers represent the best research and development source, as they know
exactly what they and the market in general want. Moreover, this invaluable
resource is free! Hence, it is worthwhile to try to involve the customers in
product/service
design.

5) Facilitate Learning from Employees

"Some of the most effective consultants your organization could ever hire
are already working for you."
- Jim Clemmer (Firing on all Cylinders)
"Employees themselves, more often than not, know what needs to be done to
improve operations."
- Kanter, Moss (The Change Masters)
The above quotes are very true, however it could also be said that in the past a
company's employees were there most under-rated and under-used consultants. The
importance of this point cannot be overemphasized. The financial implications of
learning from within are an obvious long term bonus. It is estimated that only 20%
of an employees skills are utilized. This inefficiency can easily be overcome by
training and multi-skilling.
6) Reward Learning
"A learning culture rewards breakthroughs and initiative."
-- Al Flood (The Learning Organization)
The performance appraisal is meant to reflect the organizations commitment to
create a learning culture, that is, to promote acquisition of new skills, teamwork as
well as individual effort, openness and objectivity and continuous personal
development. The fragile human ego yearns for acknowledgement from superiors
and fellow colleagues for one's work, in some form of reward or, simply, feedback.
Everyone wants to feel that he or she is doing a `real' job and actively contributing
to the proper functioning of the organization.
Caution should be taken when defining benchmarks for performance appraisal. No
self-conscious member in the organization should be left feeling neglected. When
individuals lose confidence or give up hope, the learning organization has failed.
Therefore, the efforts put in and learning gained throughout the process should be
recognized as well as the end-result. In addition, considerations taken in the

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performance appraisal should be incorporated into criteria for hiring new

employees and promoting current staff.
Annual performance reviews for pay-raise and promotion serve well for long-term
feedback and reward. However, it is also very important to have feedback and
reward on a short-term basis such as having one's mistake pointed out on-the-spot,
and receiving appreciation and recognition there and then. Sometimes, being able to
witness the overall accomplishment of one's work is self-rewarding.
7) A Proper Selfishness
If the Learning Organization is properly selfish, it is clear about its role, its goals, its
future, and is determined to reach them. This may sound extremely obvious, but
does "to make profits" really suffice?
Rather it should be asking:
What are the strengths, talents and weaknesses of the organization?
What sort of organization does it want to be?
What does it want to be known for?
How will its success be measured, and by whom?
How does it plan to achieve it?
The answers for most organizations must start with the customer or client -- who
are they? What do they really want and need? . This is really the essence of the
phrase "a proper selfishness" -- it is right that the organization think of itself in the
ways outlined above, but it must remember why it is there. It is there for the sole
purpose of serving customers and clients (otherwise how could it exist?). If an
organization neglects this fact, it is exhibiting "improper selfishness, and is
ultimately
set
for
failure.
8) A Sense of Caring
Learning Organizations want everyone to learn and they go to great effort to make
that possible. Apart from the points developed above, there are other initiatives:
Tuition reimbursement schemes (as found in many American
companies)
Opportunities to sit in higher level management meetings (as in
Japan)
Projects to encourage personal development
Horizontal careers to open up new possibilities
Brainstorming parties around new problems
Rewards tied to output, not to status; to performance, not age
Public encouragement of questions at all levels
The encouragement of initiative
Constant celebration of achievement
These points can all be summed up into one phrase -- care for the individual. People
do not take risks with those that they do not trust or genuinely care for. It then

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follows that organizations that possess a friendly and trustworthy working

environment are more likely to succeed in today's climate of change, when
calculated risk taking is part of getting ahead of the field.

PEOPLE BEHAVIOR
The core of learning organization work is based upon five "learning disciplines" -- lifelong
programs of study and practice.

OBSTACLES TO LEARNING ORGANIZATION:

We would like to affirm that while the visionary concepts of the Learning Organization are
inspiring, the reality is that implementation of such systems requires a massive change of
attitude that is not always easy to achieve. Success rests in creating a highly-trust
organization where knowledge is readily exchanged. In practice there are many barriers.
Knowledge is seen as power, and jealously guarded. Its possession and use can further
ambitions. A culture of openness may be difficult to achieve, particularly in organizations
where suspicion has been the norm. Knowledge management thus has serious implications
for communication structures, employee involvement schemes, reward systems and
industrial relations.
Some of the most common obstacles to becoming a learning organization should be avoided
in our case:
Operational/fire fighting preoccupation - not creating time to sit back and think
strategically
Too focused on systems and process (e.g. ISO9000) to exclusion of other factors
(bureaucratic vs. thinking)
Reluctance to train (or invest in training), other than for obvious immediate needs
Too many hidden personal agendas
Too top-down driven, over tight supervision, leading to lack of real empowerment

CONCEPTUAL LIMITATIONS:
The most significant problem resides at a quite fundamental conceptual level.
Through conceiving of the organization as in itself engaging in learning, as having an
intelligence of its own, he gives it (the organization, that is) an existence in and of itself, an
existence beyond the level of the individuals who are the units of its constitution. This is
something which is quite different from proposing that the whole is more than the sum of
its parts. To clarify, while it is one thing to claim that one cannot properly understand a
system if one does not conceive of it as a whole, and that organizational change cannot be
reduced to isolated individual actions, it is another implicitly to claim that the organization
has an existence beyond the level of human beings. It is almost as if the organization had a
life of its own. Such a formulation is highly problematic.
The voluntarism (i.e. that we can create the conditions of our own actions; that we
can create reality) might lead the practitioner towards believing that a mere act of will is

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enough to change fundamentally the organization, and, moreover might lead the
practitioner to neglect how factors external to the organization which are outside of the
practitioners control, nonetheless, profoundly influence the direction of organizational
change. As has been extensively documented within the social sciences, factors such as
gender, social class and ethnicity can greatly impede learning in the workplace.
Organizations involve highly complex processes of change. The direction of change within,
say a business organization is influenced by much broader processes at the national and
global level, by changes in the market, by the complex interplay of formal and informal
relationships between people at all levels of its workforce, etc. While it may be possible to
steer the overall direction of change that an organization undergoes, it is rather misleading
to propose that one could, by act of will, think an alternative organizational reality into
existence.
At a more pragmatic level, a major problem with the ideal of the learning
organization is that it demands that senior management within organizations have an
almost boundless faith in the value of continuous development. Moreover, it gives the
practitioner few tools with which to assess the extent to which investment in development
has improved organizational competitiveness.

IMPLICATIONS FOR HRD PRACTICE

From the discussion presented above, one can conclude that advocates of the
position are not simply proposing that learning organizations are those which are simply
doing lots of training or are engaging in a lot of employee development. It will very much
depend upon the character and content of that training and development: whether it leads to
real, generative learning, whether it helps both organizations and individuals
simultaneously to move closer to realizing their highest aspirations, etc. Indeed, advocates
of the learning organization are keen to shift emphasis away from training and
development per se towards a more direct engagement with learning itself.
The implications of this position, if taken to its logical conclusion, are that our whole
understanding of what HRD means and entails must change. It would follow that training
and development might take the form of learningful conversations, of group dialogues.
The work of the trainer or human resource manager might become more centrally
concerned with aiming to eradicate the boundaries to group learning (in as far as this
might be possible); to marry up organizational and individual aspirations; to elucidate
and to resolve deeply held conflicts, perhaps those residing in our mental models. In
short, the work of the practitioner would be continuously to manage, to organize and to
balance the relationships between employees so as to best facilitate generative learning.
Furthermore, there is the need for practitioners to discover their own organizational
systems, and to make these actively clear to members of the organization in such a way that
people are able to see the consequences of their actions. He is thus pointing towards the
need for practitioners to expand learning horizons: perhaps even to make people more
accountable for their actions.

WHY LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS WORK

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1 The People Develop

A Learning Organization encourages its members to improve their 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.
2 Greater motivation
People are appreciated for their own skills, values and work. All opinions are treated
equally and with respect. By being aware of their role and importance in the whole
organization, the workers are more motivated to "add their bit". This encourages creativity
and freethinking, hence leading to novel solutions to problems. All in all there is an increase
in job satisfaction.
3 The workforce is more flexible
People 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, whilst at the same time it removes the barriers
associated 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.
4 People are more creative
There are more opportunities to be creative in a learning 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 and interpersonal communication skills. An
organization based on learning will ensure members become better at these activities.
Teams will work better as a result.
6 Teams and Groups Work Better
Learning Organizations provide the perfect environment for high performing teams to
learn, grow and develop. On the other hand these teams will perform efficiently for the
organization to produce positive results.
7 Knowledge sharing
" Openness Creates Trust "
A team is composed of highly specialized members who cannot and are not expected to
know everything about a job. In this case the sharing of common knowledge is quite
important for the completion of a job. Within learning organizations in general, and teams
in particular, information and knowledge flows around more freely. This makes for higher
productivity within teams and between teams as they build on each others strengths. Trust
between team members increases and hence they value each others opinions more.
8 Interdependency
In any organization people depend on each other for the completion of their jobs. Learning
Organizations will increase this awareness, and improve relations between people at a
personal level. By knowing more about other people's roles, needs and tasks, members can
manage their time better and plan their work more efficiently. This dependency is
decreased as learning is enhanced, letting people get on with their own job better as they
rely less on others.
9 The Company Benefits
An 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.
10 Breakdown of traditional communication barriers
The old hierarchical communication barrier between manager-workers has devolved into
more of a coach-team member scenario. Leaders support the team, not dictate to it. The
team appreciates this, which in turn helps them to be highly motivated.
All workers have an increased awareness of the company's status, and all that goes on in
other departments. Communication between and across all layers of the company gives an
other departments. Communication between and across all layers of the company gives a
sense of coherence, making each individual a vital part of the whole system. Workers
perform better as they feel more a part of the company; they are not just pawns in a game.
11 Customer relations
A 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
the two. If the customers requirements change, learning organizations can adapt faster and
cope more efficiently with this change.
12 Information resources
Over time a company builds up a pool of learning, in the form of libraries, and human
expertise. This pool of knowledge within learning organizations is larger than average. New
problems and challenges can be met faster using this increased resource.
13 Innovation and creativity
As more people in every level of a company engage in continual learning a valid
contribution can 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 and
allows learning organizations to adapt to changes in the state of the market, technology and
competition efficiently.

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Moreover, this creativity gives rise to an increased synergy. The interaction between high
performing teams produces a result, which is higher than was planned or expected of them.

CONCLUSION
The concept of the learning organization arises out of ideas long held by leaders in
organizational development and systems dynamics. One of the specific contributions of
organizational development is its focus on the humanistic side of organizations. The
disciplines described, differ from more familiar management disciplines in that they are
personal disciplines. Each has to do with how we think, what we truly want, and how we
interact and learn with one another. We see learning organizations as part of the evolving
field of organizational development. There are no true learning organizations at this point.
However, some of todays most successful organizations are embracing these ideas to meet
the demands of a global economy where the value of the individual is increasingly
recognized as our most important resource.

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