03 Learning Organisation and its impact

How is learnig culture important and how does it affect the overall strategy .In business management, a learning organization is a company that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. The concept was coined through the work and research of Peter Senge and his colleagues.There are many definitions of a learning organization as well as typologies of kinds of learning organizations.

Peter Senge stated in an interview that a learning organization is a group of people working together collectively to enhance their capacities to create results they really care about.[4] Senge popularized the concept of the learning organization through his book The Fifth Discipline. In the book, he proposed the following five characteristics:[5][6]

Systems thinking
The idea of the learning organization developed from a body of work called systems thinking.[7] This is a conceptual framework that allows people to study businesses as bounded objects.[6] Learning organizations use this method of thinking when assessing their company and have information systems that measure the performance of the organization as a whole and of its various components.[7] Systems thinking states that all the characteristics of a learning organization must be apparent at once in an organization for it to be a learning organization.[6] If some of these characteristics are missing then the organization will fall short of its goal. However, O'Keeffe[3] believes that the characteristics of a learning organization are factors that are gradually acquired, rather than developed simultaneously.

Personal mastery
The commitment by an individual to the process of learning is known as personal mastery.[6] There is a competitive advantage for an organization whose workforce can learn more quickly than the workforce of other organizations.[8] Learning is considered to be more than just acquiring information; it is expanding the ability to be more productive by learning how to apply our skills to work in the most valuable way. Personal mastery appears also in a spiritual way as, for example, clarification of focus, personal vision and ability to see and interpret reality objectively.[9] Individual learning is acquired through staff training, development and continuous self-improvement;[10] however, learning cannot be forced upon an individual who is not receptive to learning.[6] Research shows that most learning in the workplace is incidental, rather than the product of formal training,[3] therefore it is important to develop a culture where personal mastery is practiced in daily life.[6] A learning organization has been described as the sum of individual learning, but there must be mechanisms for individual learning to be transferred into organizational learning.[8] Personal mastery makes possible many positive outcomes such as individual performance, self-efficacy, self-motivation, sense of responsibility, commitment, patience and focus on relevant matters as well as

1. Organisational Implications of
Coaching

2. At the end of this session you will be able to:
Define the Learning Organisation
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of
the Learning Organisation concept
Evaluate the use of coaching in developing a
Learning Organisation

3. Organisational learning happens anyway
Learning organisation is one that manages its
own learning processes to its advantage

4. “the learning company or organisation is not a
defined end state. It is the journey, not the
destination. As Carl Rogers put it ‘we are all in a
process of becoming’. Hence, organisations that
embrace learning commit to an ongoing process.
It would be a contradiction in terms to say ‘We are
now a learning organisation – we’ve got the
plaque on the wall – what’s our next project?’
Hughes, M., (1995, March), Propagating the Learning Organization, Financial Training Review

5. An organisation which facilitates the learning
of all its members and continuously transforms
itself as a whole
Pedler, M., Burgoyne. & Boydell, T., (1991), The Learning Company, McGraw Hill
Organisations where people continually
expand their capacity to create the results
they truly desire, when new and expansive
patterns of thinking are nurtured, where
collective aspiration is set free and where
people are continually learning how to learn
together
Senge, P., The Fifth Discipline, Centuary

6. A Learning Organisation harnesses the full
brainpower, knowledge and experience
available to it, in order to evolve continually for
the benefit of its stakeholders
Mayo, A., & Lank, E. (1995, 16 November), Changing the Soil Spurs New Growth, Personnel Management

7. Learning is essential to provide rapid
continuous change
The competitive advantage of learning quicker
than competitors
Increasing the rate of change
Increase in creativity
Organisations success depends on
engagement and learning at all levels of the
organisation

8. Implemented with speed and without careful
consideration of the implications and objectives
Superficial implementation
Can be regarded as management fad
Considered as panacea for all the organisations
ills
◦Either in time of crises or in an effort to be seen as
progressive
Consideration not given to triple loop learning
Can be seen as quick fix which can be achieved
by sending all managers on a short training
course!

9. Learning Organisation ExerciseLearning Organisation Exercise

10. Hughes, M., (1995, March), Propagating the Learning Organization,
Financial Training Review
Pedler, M., Burgoyne. & Boydell, T., (1991), The Learning Company,
McGraw Hill
Senge, P., The Fifth Discipline, Centuary
Mayo, A., & Lank, E. (1995, 16 November), Changing the Soil Spurs New
Growth, Personnel Management
ReferencesReferences

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Author Jane Stubberfield
Institute University of Plymouth
Title The Learning Organisation
Description The Learning Organisation concept and its implementation
Date Created 17.01.2011
Educational Level 7
Keywords
UKOER, LFWOER, Learning from WOeRK, UOPCPDLM, Continuous
Professional Development, CPD, Work-based Learning, WBL, Learning,
development, strategy, coaching, learning organization, learning
organisation
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