WHAT IS A LEARNING ORGANIZATION?

A learning organization is a group of

people working together to collectively enhance their capacities to create results they really care about.
Peter Senge The Fifth Discipline

David Garvin, C. Roland Christensen Professor of Business Administration, Harvard University

What is a learning organisation? (1)

An organisation able to adapt and compete at low cost

through learning Common definitional ground multi-level concept: individual-team-organisation role of learning cultures: beliefs, norms and values supportive of employee learning specific HRM policies supportive of learning culture

Organizational Learning Definition

Process through which an organization or individual

acquires knowledge and abilities necessary to compete in its surroundings Collectively create an environment of productivity, creativity and openness The detection and correction of error
Argyris & Schn

THE WHEEL OF LEARNING

Mastering the Rhythm of a Learning Organization
REFLECTING

CONNECTING
DECIDING DOING
More concrete

Individual Reflecting
(thinking and feeling)

Doin g
Connecting

Deciding
More abstract More action

More reflection

Five Requirements of a Learning Organization

SHARED VISION TEAM LEARNING SYSTEMS THINKING ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING PERSONAL MASTERY

SHARED VISION

Not an idea. rather a force of impressive power. It lifts us out of our existing aspirations, and opens the doors to new ones.
Peter Senge The Fifth Discipline

INDIVIDUAL VISION IS NOT ENOUGH

Share your vision. See through each others eyes. Create a shared vision that everyone can support.

A TRUE SHARED VISION

Draws out the commitment of people throughout

the organizationIF developed with everyones input. Not shared unless it has staying power and evolving life-force that lasts for years.

What is a learning organisation? (2)

Tradeoffs in organisational design

stimulate dynamic properties / provide stability in the organisational structure standardisation/routine versus mutual adjustement/innovation Scientific and technical skills deal with an employee participation contraint to innovation in order to avoid conflicts between vested interest in the organisation characteristics of the innovative idea socio-demographic characteristics of the workforce soft skills group processes customer focus transparency and fairness

Systems Thinking
interdependency and change focus on whole not individual parts

long-term goals vs. short-term benefits

better appreciation of systems leads to

more appropriate action

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
It is team learning, not individual learning, that adds to organizational learning.
Peter Senge The Fifth Discipline

HOW ORGANIZATIONS LEARN

Organizational Learning Team Learning Individual Learning

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING IMPACTS

EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY

An effective community college leader strategically improves the quality of the institution, protects the long-term health of the organization, promotes the success of all students, and sustains the community college mission, based on knowledge of the organization, its environment, and future trends.
AACC Competencies for Community College Leaders

Mental Models
deeply ingrained assumptions and

generalizations honest and critical scrutiny of entrenched mental models transcend mental models in order for change to take place

Team Learning

Team learning starts with dialogue= the capacity of members of a

team to suspend assumptions and enter genuine thinking together Allows the group to discover insights not attainable individually Shows group how to recognize the patterns of interaction that undermine learning (Senge 1990: 10)

A Learning Organization Is...

Where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they

truly desire Where new patterns of thinking are nurtured Where collective aspiration is set free Where people are continually learning to see the whole together When you ask people about what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. (Senge 1990: 13)