90

Methodology of
Training and Development
LESSON

7
LEARNING ORGANISATION

CONTENTS
7.0 Aims and Objectives

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Characteristics of Learning Organisation

7.3 Difference between Traditional and Learning Organisations

7.4 Organisational Learning

7.5 Instruments on Learning Organisation

7.6 Essentials for Developing a Learning Organisation

7.6.1 Solid Foundation

7.6.2 Clear and Well-defined Strategy

7.6.3 Golden Rules

7.7 Let us Sum up

7.8 Lesson End Activity

7.9 Keywords

7.10 Questions for Discussion

7.11 Suggested Readings

7.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

After studying this lesson, you will be able to:
 Understand the concept and features of learning organisation
 Distinguish between traditional and learning organisations
 Describe historical evolution of learning organisation
 Distinguish between learning organisation and organisational learning
 Determinants of learning organisation
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7.1 INTRODUCTION Learning Organisation

According to Peter Senge (The Fifth Discipline), instead of adapting to environmental

changes, organisations have to anticipate and learn from change. Reacting to
environmental changes with routine, standard responses, often produces only short-run
solutions, (adaptive, single-loop learning). Instead, the focus must be on continuous
experimentation and feedback; anticipating changes and discovering new ways of creating
products and services (double-loop, generative learning). Learning organisations go beyond
merely adapting to change; instead, they strive to anticipate and learn from change.

7.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF
LEARNING ORGANISATION
Brian Dumaine summarised the five characteristics of a learning organisation, thus:
 People tend to put aside their old ways of doing, thinking (mental model),
 Learn to be open with others (personal mastery),
 Understand how their company really works (systems thinking),
 For a plan everyone can agree on (Shared vision), and
 Then work together to achieve that vision (team learning).

7.3 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRADITIONAL

AND LEARNING ORGANISATIONS
A learning organisation has both the drive and the capabilities to improve its performance
continuously based on experience. It tries to add value to customers by identifying new
needs and then developing innovative ways to satisfy those needs. The following table
illustrates why learning organisations are gaining importance especially in the context of
managing change intelligently.
Table 7.1: Traditional Versus Learning Organisations (Senge, 1993)
Function Traditional Organisations Learning Organisations
Determination of Vision is provided by top There is a shared vision that can emerge
overall direction management. from many places, but top management is
responsible for ensuring that this vision
exists and is nurtured.
Formulation and Top management decides what Formulation and implementation of ideas
implementation is to be done, and the rest of the takes place at all levels of the
of ideas organisation acts on these ideas. organisation.
Nature of Each person is responsible for Personnel understand their own jobs, as
organisational his or her own job well as the way, in which their own work
thinking responsibilities, and the focus is interrelates and influences that of other
on developing individual personnel.
competence.
Conflict Conflicts are resolved through Conflicts are resolved through the use of
resolution the use of power and collaborative learning and the integration
hierarchical influence. of diverse viewpoints of personnel
through the organisations.
Leadership and The role of the leader is to The role of the leader is to build a shared
motivation establish the organisation's vision, empower the personnel, inspire
vision, provide rewards and commitment, and encourage effective
punishments as appropriate, and decision-making throughout the
maintain overall control of enterprise through the use of
employee activities. empowerment and charismatic
leadership.
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Methodology of 7.4 ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING
Training and Development
Organizational learning is currently the focus of considerable attention, and it is addressed
by a broad range of literatures. Organization theory, industrial econ omics, economic
history, and business, management and innovation studies all approach the question of
how organizations learn. A number of branches of psychology are also revealing on the
issue.
Organizational learning is an area of knowledge within organizational theory that studies
models and theories about the way an organization learns and adapts. The technical
view assumes that organizational learning is about the effective processing, interpretation
of, and response to, information both inside and outside the organization. This information
may be quantitative or qualitative, but is generally explicit and in the public domain….
The social perspective on organization learning focuses on the way people make sense
of their experiences at work. These experiences may derive from explicit sources such
as financial information, or they may be derived from tacit sources, such as the 'feel' that
s skilled craftsperson has, or the intuition possessed by a skilled strategist. From this
view, learning is something that can emerge from social interactions, normally in the
natural work setting. In the case of explicit information it involves a joint process of
making sense of data… The more tacit and 'embodied' forms of learning involve situated
practices, observation and emulation of skilled practitioners and socialization into a
community of practice.
Organizational learning is the process by which an organization gains new knowledge
about its environment, goals, and processes. Herbert Simon (1997) posits three ways in
which organizations learn: (1) individuals within the organization learn some new fact or
procedure, (2) the organization ingests outsiders with knowledge not already in the
organization, and (3) the organization incorporates new knowledge into its files and
computer systems. As broader organizations, governments and policy-making communities
also learn.
The field of organizational learning explores ways to design organizations so that they
fulfill their function effectively, encourage people to reach their full potential, and, at the
same time, help the world to be a better place.
Although theorists of learning organizations have often drawn on ideas from organizational
learning, there has been little traffic in the reverse direction. Moreover, since the central
concerns have been somewhat different, the two literatures have developed along divergent
tracks. The literature on organizational learning has concentrated on the detached
collection and analysis of the processes involved in individual and collective learning
inside organizations; whereas the learning organizations literature has an action orientation,
and is geared toward using specific diagnostic and evaluative methodological tools which
can help to identify, promote and evaluate the quality of learning processes inside
organizations.
We could argue that organizational learning is the 'activity and the process by which
organizations eventually reach the ideal of a learning organization' (Finger and Brand
1999: 136).

Check Your Progress 1

State whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Organizational learning is an area of knowledge within organizational theory
that studies models and theories about the way an organisation learns and
adapts.
Contd....
 93
2. The technical view assumes that organizational learning is about the effective Learning Organisation
processing, interpretation of, and response to, information both inside and
outside the organisation.
3. Organizational knowledge is not the process by which an organisation gains
knowledge about its environment, goals and processes.
4. A learning organisation has both the drive and the capabilities to improve its
performance continuously based on experience.

7.5 INSTRUMENTS ON LEARNING ORGANISATION

Taking the humanistic view of organisational change, Peter Senge writes:….. “if a learning
organisation were an engineering innovation, such as an airplane or the personal computer,
the components would be called ‘technologies’. For an innovation in human behaviour,
the components need to be seen as disciplines.” To follow his organisational learning
path, he proposes a lifelong study and practices of five interrelated disciplines, which he
describes “more like artistic disciplines than traditional management disciplines.” In contrast
to a business process like accounting, which he says is good for “keeping scores”, the
five disciplines are aimed at the ‘subtler tasks’ of enhancing an organisation’s creative
capabilities. Moreover, practising the five disciplines is not just about achieving business
performance goals. It also concerns having a personal stake in shaping the company’s
character. The five disciplines are:
1. Personal Mastery: This is the ability to clarify what one must desire in life and
work and then consciously apply the principles and values most important to
achieving those goals. Buliding self-awareness and sensitivity to one’s strengths
and weaknesses is critical to the process. Another dimension of personal mastery
is managing creative tension, which is the gap between the goal aspired to the
current ability.
2. Mental Models: These are unarticulated and unrecognised assumptions that shape
one’s view of the world. They are the judgments and the perceptions from past
experiences that influence what one hears and says and how one reacts to others.
It is not easy to bring mental models to the surface, because most people are
blinded by a confirmation bias that resists change. (A confirmation bias is a tendency
to seek evidence and advocate positions consistent with prior belief). On a personal
level, mental models cause people to draw conclusions before examining all the
facts or hearing all points of view. From a business standpoint, mental models
shape a manager’s views of market conditions and strategies. While mental models
may be right or wrong, the key is what they are and how they influence thinking.
3. Building Shared Visions: Whether a vision is created by an entire company or a
team of two does not matter. The point is that it be created jointly. In turn, the
collective capability of the group to realise the vision is more powerful than any of
the single individuals. For example, Senge notes that in the 1970s, researchers at
Xerox’s Palo Alto research centre had a vision to create a user-friendly computer
years before the transition from mainframes to personal computers took place.
Although their experiments failed to produce the unit they had hoped for, their early
vision created many of the technical stepping-stones to today’s PCs.
4. Team Learning: It is widely accepted that people who work well together can
learn more and accomplish more than they can by themselves. But not all teams
tap the power of collective thinking. The disciplines of building shared visions,
94 practising personal mastery and bringing mental models to the surface are all critical
Methodology of
Training and Development to the team communication that leads to productive learning and action. Effective
group learning involves listening to others without confirmation bias, exposing new
ideas through constructive disagreement and being comfortable not knowing the
answer to every question.
5. Systems Thinking: This is a conceptual framework that defines a system as a set
of inter-related parts. To understand the system requires an understanding of how
all the parts connect and interact. A business is a complex system, with many
subsystems. Applying system thinking to business means looking at functions (e.g.,
manufacturing, finance, marketing, etc.), not as isolated sets of tasks but as part of
a larger system. The relationship of the parts influences the performance of the
whole.

Check Your Progress 2

Describe the following:

1. Personal Mastery
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
2. System Thinking
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

7.6 ESSENTIALS FOR DEVELOPING

A LEARNING ORGANISATION
The essence of organisational learning is the organization's ability to use the amazing
mental capacity of all its members to create the kind of processes that will improve its
own.
Essentials for Developing a Learning Organisation can be discussed as follows:

7.6.1 Solid Foundation

Before a Learning Organisations can be implemented , a solid foundation can be made
by taking into account the following:
Awareness
Organisations must be aware that learning is necessary before they can develop into a
Learning Organisation. 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 excepted
the need for change, it is then responsible for creating the appropriate environment for
this change to occur in.
Environment
Centralised, mechanistic structures do not create a good environment. Individuals do not
have a comprehensive picture of the whole organisation 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 95
Learning Organisation
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 organisation 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 organisation 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
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 organisations 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 Organisation.

7.6.2 Clear and Well-defined Strategy

It is possible to identify three generic strategies that highlight possible routes to developing
Learning Organisations. The specific tools required to implement any of these depends
on the strategy adopted, but the initiatives that they represent are generic throughout.
The three strategies are:
Accidental: For many companies, adopting a learning organisation 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
Organisation. This is the accidental approach in that it was not initiated through awareness
of the Learning Organisation concept.
96 Subversive: Once an organisation has discovered the Learning Organisation philosophy,
Methodology of
Training and Development 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 Organisation 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 Organisations are adopted as part of the company ethos, become
company "speak" and are manifest openly in all company initiatives.

7.6.3 Golden Rules

1. Encourage Change
2. Encourage Experimentation
3. Communicate Success and Failure
4. Facilitate Learning from the Surrounding Environment
5. Facilitate Learning from Employees
6. Reward Learning
7. A Proper Selfishness
8. A Sense of Caring

7.7 LET US SUM UP

Hopefully reading this lesson has given you an insight into the Learning Organisation
philosophy. With any luck it should have given you a few pointers and ideas to implement
it in your own company.
The perfect Learning Organisation is not an attainable goal,it is merely a desirable concept.
There is no correct implementation of the Learning Organisation. Every company can
continuously adapt and adjust and some will be better Learning Organisations than others,
but every one of them has something new to learn.
Finally it should be mentioned that the Learning Organisation is just a means to a business
goal, created to improve productivity and most importantly profit. Quite how long this
philosophy will remain fashionable is unknown. What is certain is that for any company
in today's global marketplace continuous change and adaptation is the only way to survive.

7.8 LESSON END ACTIVITY

Identify and discuss the steps to initiate the process of organisational learning in an
organisation.

7.9 KEYWORDS
Learning Organizations: Learning organizations are organizations where people
continually expand their capacity to create the 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 to see the whole together.
Shared Visions:To create a shared vision, large numbers of people within the organisation
must draft it, empowering them to create a single image of the future.
Personal Mastery: It is the process of continually clarifying and deepening an individual's 97
Learning Organisation
personal vision.
Systems Thinking: This is the ability to see the bigger picture, to look at the
interrelationships of a system as opposed to simple cause-effect chains.

7.10 QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. It is said that a learning organisation is one where there is continuous learning. Do
you agree? Why or why not?
2. What are the features of typical learning organisation? How do these features
enhance the capacity to learn in a learning organisation?
3. Senge’s approach to a learning organisation focuses on five disciplines. How does
the practice of these five disciplines help us to achieve the business performance
goals and also help to shape the character of the company?
4. Discuss some of the common elements which support organisational learning.

Check Your Progress: Model Answers

CYP 1
1. T, 2. T, 3. F, 4. T
CYP 2
1. Personal mastery is the process of continually clarifying and deepening an
individual's personal vision. This is a matter of personal choice for the individual
and involves continually assessing the gap between their current and desired
proficiencies in an objective manner, and practising and refining skills until
they are internalised. This develops self esteem and creates the confidence
to tackle new challenges.
2. Systems Thinking: The cornerstone of any learning organisation is the fifth
discipline - systems thinking. This is the ability to see the bigger picture, to
look at the interrelationships of a system as opposed to simple cause-effect
chains; allowing continuous processes to be studied rather than single
snapshots. The fifth discipline shows us that the essential properties of a
system are not determined by the sum of its parts but by the process of
interactions between those parts.

7.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

Rao VSP, Human Resource Management, Excel Books, New Delhi, 2005
Rao PL, Comprehensive HRM, Excel Books, New Delhi, 2004
Bhattacharyya D K, Human Resource Management, Excel Books, New Delhi, 2006
Rao PL, Training and Development, Excel Books, New Delhi, 2007
Sahu RK, Training for Development, Excel Books, New Delhi, 2005
Naik G. Pandu, Training and Development, Excel Books, New Delhi, 2007