Processing Information in Learning Organizations

The sponge is unlike any other kitchen tool. It can adapt and transform to any shape needed for
maximum functionality and efficiency. Because of this adaptability, the sponge can soak up a
great deal of fluid. Just think about your kitchen sponge; it's likely that you've had spills around
the house, and you've reached for that handy sponge because you knew that it would suck up
any type of liquid. You might be asking yourself: what does the sponge have to do with
management?
Perhaps you've heard the phrase 'to absorb information like a sponge'. Much like the sponge,
the learning organization goes through the same process of absorption and adaptation to reach
maximum functionality and efficiency, but instead of fluid, the learning organization processes
information and knowledge. This lesson will define what it means to be a learning organization
and provide a list of benefits to becoming one.

Characteristics of the Learning Organization

The learning organization symbolizes a company where its members are constantly learning
from everything that they do. Experience, from both successes and failures, is used to improve
the company's performance and to reach organizational objectives. New knowledge is
continuously acquired, shared, and applied among organizational members in decision making
and work processes. All members take an active role in identifying and resolving work-related
issues so that the individual and organizational goals can be accomplished. In the learning
organization, people are able to create the results they truly desire through personal expansion
of creativity, appreciation for new ways of thinking, collaborative efforts, and shared vision.
The idea of the learning organization became popular largely by Peter Senge's book The Fifth
Discipline, which was first published in 1990. Senge is the director of the Center for
Organizational Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management and is considered an authority
on organizational learning. Senge proposed that the following five disciplines are characteristic
of a learning organization:
1. Personal mastery of the individual worker who must have personal professional
development goals in which to focus energy, and the organization must recognize and
nurture these goals.
2. Mental models refer to the generalization and assumption we use to make sense of the
world and how we react to it. In this context of the learning organization, we can look at
mental models as the organization's culture being one that is mindful and respectful of
the intricacies and theories that provide the framework for how effective organizations
function.
3. Building a shared vision implies that the organization and its members have a shared
vision; that is, the organization consciously blends individual aspirations with company
goals.
4. Team learning stresses the importance of collaboration, shared dialogue and decision
making, and mutual accountability in work groups.

5. Systems thinking , also known as the Fifth Discipline in that it integrates the previous
four, acknowledges that organizations are complex systems made of interrelationships.
That is, marketing depends on finance, finance depends on IT, IT depends on research
and development, and so on. Senge believed that these interrelationships must be
carefully examined and understood to uncover opportunities, problems, and possibilities
within them.

Comparing Different Types of Organization

A simple way to understand what it means to be a learning organization and its benefit is by
comparing it to a more traditional organization. We can examine two organizations in the same
industry; let's take the automotive industry for example.
ABC Automotive is a traditional organization. They pride themselves on continuing to
manufacture and sell the same vehicle models, with a few adaptations, that they did from the
moment they opened their doors. The management of ABC live by the saying, 'If it ain't broke,
don't try to fix it.' They believe what enables them to be successful in the automotive industry is
the consistency in the products ABC continues to offer their loyal customer base. ABC sees no
need to put fancy bells and whistles on their products just for the sake of doing so. Because the
culture of ABC is so traditional, employees spend their days maintaining the status quo and
carrying out business as usual. Many of the employees have been working at ABC for over 10
years and most plan to retire with ABC.
XYZ Automotive is a learning organization. Unlike ABC, XYZ thrives on continuous improvement
and innovation. A great deal of resources is spent on discovering, developing, and selling novel
vehicles. Even with a great deal of success, XYZ knows that they must work ten times harder
than its competition in order to maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. To
accomplish this, management at XYZ works closely with the employees to brainstorm, research,
and create unique product lines that are reflective of customer demands.
Knowledge is shared frequently between departments to ensure that the most up-to-date
information is being disseminated throughout the organization. Some of the most innovative
ideas have come from the most unsuspecting areas of XYZ, making it imperative to keep the
lines of communication open and flowing. At XYZ, each employee is considered a valuable asset
with distinctive qualities, insight, and goals. These unique characteristics are acknowledged,
nurtured, and aligned with organizational objectives to maximize the success of the individual
and the success of the organization.

Benefits of Becoming a Learning Organization

Now that we understand each organization, let's look at the benefits of being a learning
organization over a traditional organization. The traditional organization maintains the status quo
and remains relatively stable over time. XYZ is much like that sponge we talked about earlier working to absorb information and adapt to reach maximum functionality and efficiency. Because
of this continual reinvention, XYZ is superior to competitors, such as ABC, in that XYZ is capable
of imagining and developing a product line of the future. XYZ is a learning organization, which
means that each employee's ideas and perspectives are appreciated and welcomed. Information
is communicated freely, and it is assumed that everyone 'needs to know'. Such an inclusive
culture promotes a sense of ownership and appreciation among all employees, regardless of
their position within the organization