The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization - Essay Example

At the core is the idea of systems thinking. Senge refers to it as the fifth discipline, since it integrates the four other disciplines. Systems thinking is “a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things (linear cause-effect chains), and as “patterns (processes) of change rather than static “snapshots” (p. 68). To show the importance of systems thinking, he gives the example of the beer game whereby the retailer, wholesaler and the brewery, each acts individually to optimize profit, and produces disastrous results. Though their decisions seemed optimal for the subsystem, they were not ideal for the whole system due to the absence of systems thinking, and the fact that “structure influences behavior” (p.35). As such, managers should use reflection and inquiry skills to discover interrelationships in organizations rather than thinking of linear cause-effect chains. He differentiates detail complexity that involves many variables, acting to produce results, and dynamic complexity, whereby results are not obvious. He suggests that managers should aim at solving dynamic complexity, hence learn to deal with the system archetypes.

Senge (1990) enumerates various system archetypes that are the building blocks of system thinking that include reinforcing, balancing process and delays, limits to growth, shifting the burden, and growth and underinvestment. The reinforcing feedback involves amplifying engines of growth and decline, and is also regarded as the self-fulfilling prophecy since it reinforces the behavior that the manager expects, leading to a vicious cycle (reinforcing negative behavior), or a virtuous cycle (reinforcing positive behavior). The balancing process seeks to maintain the status quo, thus preventing new ideas from being put into action, and often causes resistance to change in organizations (p. 84).The limits to growth structure involves the factors hindering an organization from moving forward while the shifting the burden structure involves blaming external factors for organizational problems (pp.95-104). Another archetype is growth and underinvestment where the organization limits its own growth by not utilizing its full capacity, leading to what Senge calls, “boiled frog syndrome” (p.125). The parable of the boiled frog reveals how managers rarely see the slow, gradual processes that often pose the greatest threats. In this case, if a frog is placed in a pot of boiling water, it tries to jump out, but if placed in cool water, it does nothing. However, if the pot is put on a heat source, and the temperature is gradually turned up, the frog becomes groggier until it is unable to climb out of the pot and boils.

The idea of systems thinking is crucial in human resource management. This is especially so because human resources are the most important assets in any organization. To foster personal growth and development of employees, managers need to see the larger picture; for example, well trained employees produce more, which leads to overall organizational productivity. As such, training is a gain and not an expense. Systems thinking also helps HR managers to approach issues in a different way; for example, in performance appraisals, they must keep giving positive but accurate feedback to employees so that employees can realize their weaknesses and overcome them lest: it results in a vicious cycle due to negative reinforcement (p. 79).

Another idea propagated by Senge, in his book, is personal mastery. This entails looking at reality objectively, as well as commitment to continuous learning and growth. For Senge, it involves two underlying movements, “continually clarifying what is important to us (vision), and continually learning how to see current reality more clearly” (p.141). Personal mastery begins with accepting the current situation and developing strategies to help achieve vision. There emerges a gap between the current reality and vision, and is the creative tension that releases creative energies. Therefore, the essence of personal mastery, according to Senge, is learning how to generate and sustain this creative tension (p.142). People with high personal mastery see their connectedness to the world and interdependencies between their actions and reality, hence are better managers. This discipline is crucial in the human resources course as it strives to enhance personal mastery in organizations. It aims to produce good leaders who can help employees release their creative tension and become more productive. HR managers often fail to give a picture of the true reality; they are not committed to the truth and this negatively affects employees. Moreover, the HR manager does not have to suppress their personal visions but rather encourage them. They do this by encouraging employees to contribute to decision making and airing their views without reprimand. Studying personal mastery in this course thus helps to produce well prepared HR managers who can deal with employees effectively.

Another great idea shared by Senge includes mental models. Mental models are “deeply held internal images of how the world works” (p. 174). Many organizations have their way of doing things, which is recognized by all members, and this for Senge, hinders change because even if one person has a different strategy, which would be more successful, the prevailing model prevents such strategy from being put into practice. Mental models thus act as balancing processes determined to maintain status quo and shape how people act and what they see. This discipline is vital in the human resources course as the aim of this course is to produce managers who continually learn and grow and help others to grow and develop. HR managers only achieve this if they know how to deal with their mental models. Secondly, they deal with people on a daily basis, and their mental models may prevent them from dealing with employees effectively. For example, if the organization culture does not allow learning through mistakes, then HR managers are bound to punish those who error, thus hindering their creativity.

Shared vision is vital for organization learning. It is not just a vision statement that arises from strategic planning activities; For Senge, it is a shared vision only “if all have the same picture and are committed to one another having it, not just to each of us, individually having it” (p. 206). Shared vision does not mean suppressing personal visions, but rather, it is developed from these personal visions. As such, it should not be imposed on people. If people have shared vision, they truly commit to a cause and are enrolled on it. Understanding shared vision is vital in the human resources course more so, in producing leaders who clearly articulate their vision in a way that encourages others to share it. Such managers do not aim at making employees “buy into” the vision, but they strive to make them enrolled. Buying into a vision means compliance with what is required, but being enrolled entails owning the vision and committing fully to it without being compelled to do so.

Team learning is also crucial in building a learning organization. It is “the process of aligning and developing the capacity of a team to create the results its members truly desire” (Senge, 1990, p. 235). The team, according to Senge, is the key learning unit in the organization. This is based on the idea that many minds are more intelligent than one. For team learning to occur, dialogue, discussion, and practice are critical. Though teams involve people with divergent views and cultures that often result in conflicts, Senge thinks conflict of ideas is crucial for continual learning. Team members engage in open and constructive dialogues and come up with solutions to problems. This is crucial for human resource practitioners as it helps them to understand how to build effective teams. Moreover, contemporary organizations embrace the concept of team working, hence it is crucial to learn effective team building.

Evaluation of the Ideas

Senge presented various ideas in the book that require professional assessment. In support of the five disciplines, Senge uses many real-life examples involving experiences of different companies, such as Hanover Insurance, WonderTech, and People Express. For example, he uses the experiences of Hanover Insurance Company in their transformation journey into a learning organization. Hanover CEO, Bill O’Brien, admits organizations moved from the traditional authoritarian organization centered on managing, organizing, and controlling to learning organizations based on vision, values and mental models (p.181). Most of these organizations experienced periods of decline and prosperity and applied the five disciplines in their recovery process. More importantly, most managers relied on reflection, inquiry skills, and the microworlds technology to solve their problems. Microworlds technology allows groups to reflect on, expose, test and improve mental models that they rely on while solving problems (p. 315). For example, Bill Seaver (President) and John Henry (VP) of Meadowlands shelving company adopted microworlds to decide between two marketing strategies: better service or giving discounts (p.321). In addition, he borrows ideas from other accomplished organizational learning theorists such as, Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, hence giving his ideas relevance and acceptability. For example, he borrows the idea that people behave congruently with their theories-in-use (mental models) and not their espoused theories (what they say) from Argyris (Senge, 1990, p. 175; Cited in Argyris, 1982). His ideas are also not obvious; they debunk what most people take for granted. For example, most managers believe in deriving vision statements from the strategic planning process, but for Senge, shared vision is derived from individual visions. As such, his ideas are brilliant and practical and are therefore useful for the Human Resources field.

Usefulness of the Article to HR Discipline

Senge’s ideas are very useful in the HR discipline, especially relating to specific issues. The idea of system’s thinking helps HR managers to understand how the actions of various actors in the organization affect organizational performance. HR managers deal with human resources who are basically the actors, hence the need to understand how to handle them. They are also prone to system archetypes that may prevent good relations in the workplace. For example, the reinforcing feedback is a self-fulfilling prophecy; employees behave in a manner expected of them (P.79). If a manager expects an employee to underperform, then the employee will underperform. Shifting the burden helps to understand resistance to change and how to deal with it. Organizational structure and culture dictate organizational behavior and for HR managers to achieve success, they must change their mental models and those of the administration. For example, they can foster a culture of trial and error for creativity and innovation to thrive. In addition, they can encourage employees to share ideas openly to foster commitment and shared vision. Personal mastery is vital in all aspects as it allows employees to focus on common goal and purpose, work with forces of change, and fully commit (p. 142). It also enlightens managers on effective delegation and empowering employees. The main purpose of HR discipline is to ensure growth and development of employees; this entails embracing all the five disciplines presented in this book.

Application in Organizational Setting

The ideas presented by the author are crucial in the healthcare setting. This is especially so because it involves a lot of direct interaction between health workers and patients, and as such, their actions directly influence service delivery. Systems thinking is crucial in a healthcare setting because there are many actors in the system whose actions could influence the outcomes for the whole system. For example, the health ministry, research and development agencies, administration, pharmacists, doctors and nurses, surgeons, oncologists, could influence each other’s outcomes. Health policies, such as Obamacare, do affect services offered by insurance firms and care providers. R&D does affect the type of drugs offered in hospitals. The doctors tell which diseases are most prevalent and give that information to the research department to come up with effective medications. The information doctors give is thus crucial as it is utilized in the whole healthcare system, and if incorrect, it can create panic within the system and cause management to make hasty decisions that only solve symptomatic problems. As such, all the actors involved should come together and dialogue about various issues affecting the organization and come up with fundamental solutions. The idea of team learning is critical in a healthcare setting, as the job mostly entails working as a team. For example, in conducting a surgery, surgeons and nurses, among other actors, must work together to produce good results. Nurses must be aware of what the surgeons need in all circumstances. Most of all, the actors share a vision enabling the hospital to give best quality service care to the patients. Otherwise, if the staff members become overworked, or underinvestment in hospital facilities occurs, then the reputation for patient care may erode in an instant. In addition, doctors need to deal with mental models about patients to deliver services effectively. For example, if a doctor deeply believes abortion is wrong, then he may fail to offer such a service to a pregnant woman even if the life of such a woman is in grave danger.

Conclusion

Overall, the Fifth Discipline is very insightful. It offers solutions to problems many managers grapple with every day, which they are often unable to solve effectively due to lack of systems thinking. In most cases, people tend to solve symptomatic problems as they see snapshots of events, rather than the whole picture or patterns of change. For example, managers focus on sales, earnings, or competitor actions and believe they are the source of current problems. Managers tend to blame others for their inefficiencies without realizing their own fault. Moreover, most managers act to preserve their positions by taking charge. This entails dealing with external enemies leading to reactive rather than proactive solutions. The book is vital for managers who want to transform their organizations into a learning organization. All they must do is to embrace all the five interrelated disciplines advocated by Senge.