What Does Learning Organization Mean - Literature review Example

?Learning organisations The term ‘learning organization’ is used in order to reflect ‘the facilitation of learning for all employees and the constanttransformation for responding to that new knowledge’ (Pedler et al. 1989, in Martin 2005, p.186). In accordance with another definition, an organization is characterized as a learning organization if it is ‘skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge’ (Koontz et al. 2006, p.277). In other words, the learning organization supports the learning initiatives of its employees and continuously updates its plans in accordance with the market trends and requirements. These organizations can exist in both the private and the public sector (Easterby et al. 1999, p.131). The ability of a learning organization to manage knowledge has two different dimensions: the internationalisation and the externalisation of knowledge (Salisbury 2008, p.56). Characteristics Learning is a key capability for a learning organization. Organizational learning is often differentiated from learning as an activity performed by an individual. Using the pragmatic approach for explain the organizational learning it could be noted that learning in the context of organization is ‘a continuous cycle of generating information, of integrating it in the organization, of interpreting it and on taking necessary action’ (Dixon 1994, in Easterby et al. 1999, p.149). In order for learning to be effective and proactive in the context of organization, it needs to be developed towards two different directions; employees should be able and willing to learn following the guidelines of the manager; the organization should be also capable of learning, having incorporated the necessary mechanisms that support the promotion of learning and innovation across the organization (Martin 2005, p.186). At this point it should be mentioned that learning organization is differentiated from organizational learning; even if learning is an indispensable part of a learning organization, still organizational learning is not the only characteristic of the learning organization – an organization that needs to focus on ‘flexibility, innovation and improvement’ (Huysman et al. 2002, p.28); as for the organizational learning, this is considered to be a necessary element of organizational growth (Huysman et al. 2002, p.28) being differentiated from learning organization as an autonomous centre of organizational activities. Learning Capacity of organizations The ability of an organization to learn is affected by its structure and its resources; these elements are likely to influence the organization’s learning capacity, which has been defined as ‘its ability to learn individually and as a collective unit’ (Easterby et al. 1999, p.149). The level of organizations’ learning capacity sets the limits of their potential for growth through learning. Apart from the above criterion, the potentials of a learning organization are depended on the organizational culture; in fact, organizational culture and structure are two key prerequisites of organizational learning (Easterby et al. 1999, p.149). The learning capacity of learning organizations is high; in fact, these organizations are based on the promotion of learning in their internal and external environment; because of their high learning capacity, learning organizations are more able to establish a series of advanced technologies and schemes, as for example, ‘benchmarking, reward systems for their employees and outsourcing’ (Saxena et al. 2010, p.44). Internal and external mechanisms In accordance with the book The Fifth Discipline – where the concept of learning organization is extensively analyzed – there are five technologies that highly support learning within organizations: ‘systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, a shared vision and team learning’ (Koontz et al. 2006, p.277). These technologies are not necessarily present in all learning organizations; however, in case they are developed within a particular organization, that the learning capacity of the specific organization will be increased. Moreover, a learning organization is expected to develop a series of additional technologies and mechanisms, such as mechanisms for promoting organizational restructuring, teams of employees working on the transfer of knowledge across the organization; at the same time, initiatives can be developed for the exchange of knowledge between the organization and its external environment (Koontz et al. 2006, p.277). It should be noted that the internal and external mechanisms on which the plans of a learning organization will be based have to be reviewed in advance as of their alignment with organizational culture but also as of their feasibility. In case that signs of instability (conflicts) are identified in either the internal or the external organizational environment then the development of an organizational project should be postponed avoiding any risk of failure. For example, in case that the mental models on which team-working will be based is are not appropriately established, it is possible that the reactions of employees to the organizational plans will be differentiated; in such case, trust may not be achieved while employees ‘may feel as threatened and react defensively’ (Douglas et al. 2000, p.200). However, the establishment of an effective organizational structure – as analyzed in the next section – would help to limit such threats. Differences from traditional organizations Learning organization is differentiated from the traditional organization; the latter has been characterized by ‘planning, managing and controlling’ (Douglas et al. 2000, p.196-197); instead, learning organization is mostly based on ‘vision, values and mental models’ (Douglas et al. 2000, p.197). The processes of learning organization focus on the promotion of innovation; however, the achievement of this target requires the provision of support to managers so that they adopt ‘more systemic and dynamic perspective’ (Douglas et al. 2000, p.197). In other words, learning organizations require the development of specific policies and behaviours – across the workplace. One of the most important characteristics of a learning organization is its ability to be adapted to different circumstances (Martin 2005, p.186). Therefore, such organization could easily incorporate learning policies that would be similar to those used by individuals (Martin, 2005, p.186); in this context, the learning organization can be closer to its employees in terms of their learning needs. Differences related to organizational structure A critical difference of learning organizations from their traditional counterparts is their structure; because of their culture and targets, learning organizations have to be structured in such way that all the plans are adequately supported – referring to the support provided by employees but also to the support in terms of infrastructure. For this reason, for learning organizations, structure has a key importance (Kondalkar 2009); in the above case structure denotes a series of activities, including: the team working, i.e. the need for cooperation for the development of organizational projects, the effective communication between the leader and the employees and the continuous research on the market trends – ensuring that organizational practices can compete effectively those of the rivals. The difference between traditional and learning organization regarding their structure is reflected to the following phenomenon: in traditional organizations, the vertical structure is preferred; tasks are allocated from the manager to the employees at the lower level of the hierarchy (Daft 2009, p.31); in learning organization, the vertical organizational structure is ignored; instead, the horizontal structure is promoted; this structure allows for the development of team working and the improvement of communication across the organization (Daft 2009, p.31). Culture as an element of differentiation between traditional and learning organizations Apart from structure, culture is another element of learning organization, which strongly affects the success of organizational plans. In learning organizations, culture needs to be different from the culture of traditional organizations; in any case, this differentiation is unavoidable. In learning organizations, culture is aligned with the organizational need for innovation and continuous growth; in traditional organizations, culture is used in order to reflect the need of organization for stability – taking into consideration the fact that traditional organizations aim primarily to secure their position in the national or the international market (Koontz et al. 2006); the development of innovative schemes and projects is often considered to hide important risks and for this reason, in most traditional organizations such initiatives are avoided. Another aspect of culture in learning organizations is highlighted in the study of Daft (2009); in the above study reference is made to the level at which culture in learning organizations support ‘openness, equality and change’ (Daft 2009, p.33). Moreover, employees in learning organizations are more likely to be aware of their role and of the needs of the organization. In this way, employees are more willing to support organizational plans – compared to traditional organizations where the resistance of employees to attempted changes has been identified as one of the key reasons for the failure of organizational plans (Daft 2009). Role of employees Learning organizations offer a significant advantage to individuals – compared to traditional organizations. In the context of traditional organizations, the information related to the various organizational operations is gathered and evaluated by people at the highest levels of organizational hierarchy (executive, directors); those people take the appropriate decisions and give the necessary orders to employees at lower level of the organizational hierarchy – i.e. managers. The latter assign to the employees a series of tasks – related to the orders they have been given by the organizational leaders. Tasks as part of organizational activity do not exist in learning organizations. In these organizations, tasks have been replaced by roles, a term that indicates the participation of employees in a ‘dynamic social system’ (Daft 2009, p.31), a characterization used to describe the learning organization. ‘Roles’ are differentiated from ‘tasks’ at the following point: tasks indicate the lack of discretion by the employee’s side; the employee has to follow strictly the orders of the manager, or of his superior in the context of the organizational hierarchy; he cannot take initiatives or state his own view. On the contrary, the term ‘role’ shows the discretion of the employee to act as he thinks better for the development of a particular activity (Daft 2009, p.31); this means that the employee has the option to follow the method he considers as most appropriate for completing a particular project. It should be noted that in learning organization, as in traditional organization also, there is need for appropriate supervision of employees’ performance; the establishment of roles in learning organizations does not eliminate the above need. The importance of ‘roles’ towards ‘tasks’ has been made clear to the managers of SouthWest Airlines but also to the leaders of the US Marine Corps; in the above two organizations, the direct involvement of employee to key organizational decisions was considered as the most appropriate solution for the improvement of organizational performance (Zenger et al. 2009, p.241). Control and sharing of information Traditional organizations are likely to face the following problem: the sharing of information across the workplace is usually problematic, a phenomenon which is more intense in large organizations where the distance between the employer and the employees is necessarily high – due to the high number of employees, the organizational leader cannot cooperate closely to the employees and be aware of their needs and capabilities. In traditional organizations the above problem has been addressed using appropriately customized formal control systems, which ensure the transfer of information across the organization; these systems are also used for the exchange of information between the organization and its external environment (Daft 2009). In learning organizations there is no such problem. In fact, in these organizations there are no formal control systems; rather, the specific organizations are based on the effective sharing of information across the organization ensuring that the distance between the employer and the employee is eliminated – as possible (Daft 2009). In fact, the effective management of knowledge – in all its forms – is considered as the major advantage of learning organizations – towards the traditional organizations (Oden 1999). From this point of view, learning organizations have been considered as similar to the small traditional organizations – where employees are aware of all issues related to their organization so that they are able to intervene successfully in all organizational projects – if they are asked to. The sharing of knowledge in learning organizations has another implication: these organizations need to continuous update their IT systems, ensuring that they are able to respond to the needs of knowledge sharing in their internal and external environment. Regarding the specific needs of learning organizations, appropriate IT systems have been developed ensuring the effective transfer, exchange and storage of information; indicative examples are the following ones:’ the Lotus Notes, the Quick Place, the Learning Space and so on’ (Naeve 2006, p.122). Organizational strategy In traditional organizations, strategic planners focus on the development of organizational plans that will ensure the increase of competitiveness of the organization but also the appropriate use of organizational resources (Daft 2009); on thd other hand, in learning organizations, the increase of competitiveness is not a priority for these firms’ leaders. Instead, emphasis is given on the views and the perceptions of employees on the organizational needs; these perceptions have been developed through the everyday communication with customers and suppliers; thus, employees in learning organizations are considered as having an important role in the development of organizational strategies (Daft 2009). An indicative example is IBM; in the past, the strategic planning of the organization was based on the ideas/ views of the strategic planners. In the context of the transformation of the firm to a learning organization, employees, customers and suppliers have been asked to state their view on organizational plans – making suggestions for amendments, where necessary (Daft 2009). Rate of growth In any case, the performance of learning organizations is difficult to be standardized; even in very well structured learning organizations, the benefits from the learning process can last for a specific period of time – which of course, can be many years but it can be, as well, just a few months (Douglas et al. 2000, p.201). This is a point at which a learning organization is similar to the traditional organization; organizations of both types are likely to face periods of growth and decline; the effective management of knowledge in learning organization cannot guarantee the long term organizational growth; it can, though, provide increased chances for a long term growth. Of course, in case of severe market pressures, like the current recession, the ability of traditional and learning organizations to expand their activities is difficult to be measured or foreseen. Challenges Learning organizations can, at least under normal conditions, to face the pressures of the market without having to limit the rate of their growth. However, in practice, the development of learning organizations in various industrial sectors is delayed because of a series of causes. The most common reason for the limitation of learning organizations to achieve a high growth seems to be their internal environment – referring especially to employees who are not willing or are not capable of supporting the organizational projects through which innovation is promoted (Salisbury 2008). The strategic planning of learning organizations is another factor that can negatively affect the development of such organizations. This phenomenon is most common in organizations that were not ‘learning’ since their establishment; rather, they tried to incorporate the mechanisms and culture of learning organizations after their entrance in the market. At this point, the following issue needs to be made clear: in learning organizations, the criteria on which strategies are developed are the following ones: support of learning initiatives and capabilities of employees and continuous update of organizational processes (Martin 2005). In this context, in learning organizations, the alignment of the strategic planning process with the organizational culture and aims is of key importance for the achievement of organizational growth; if organizational strategies are differentiated from organizational culture, then there can be no chance for growth – this is a critical challenge for learning organizations; in traditional organizations there is no such case, since in those firms the strategic planning process can change continuously for ensuring the firm’s stability in its market. References Daft, R. (2009) Organization Theory and Design. London: Cengage Learning Douglas, J., Morecroft, W., Sterman, J. (2000) Modeling for learning organizations. New York: Productivity Press Easterby-Smith, M., Araujo, L., Burgoyne, J. (1999) Organizational learning and the learning organization: developments in theory and practice. London: SAGE Huysman, M., de Wit, D. (2002) Knowledge sharing in practice. New York: Springer Kondalkar, V. (2009) Organization Effectiveness and Change Management. New Delhi: PHI Learning Koontz, H., Weihrich, H. (2006) Essentials Of Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Naeve, A. (2006) Intelligent learning infrastructure for knowledge intensive organizations: a semantic web perspective. Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI) Oden, H. (1999) Transforming the organization: a social-technical approach. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group Salisbury, M. (2008) ILearning: How to Create an Innovative Learning Organization Essential Knowledge Resource. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons Saxena, S., Awasthi, P. (2010) Leadership. New Delhi: PHI Learning Zenger, J., Folkman, J. (2009) The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers Into Great Leaders. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Professional Read More