The phenomenon of globalization has turned the business world into a global dynamic village for business exchanges. Indeed, competition is becoming increasingly fiercer and simultaneously using Learning Organization as a strategy has become a MUST for companies’ success and development. Adopting such strategy helps organizations to innovate and acquire knowledge in order to survive and thrive in the current rapid changing environment.
Some key definitions by distinguished writers on Learning Organization are as follows:
- “The essence of organizational learning is the organisation’s ability to use the amazing mental capacity of all its members to create the kind of processes that will improve its own”- Nancy Dixon
- “A Learning Organization is one that consciously manages its learning processes through an inquiry-driven orientation among all its members”- Kim D.
- “A Learning company is an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself”- M. Pedley, J. Burgoyne and Tom Boydell
- “Organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire when new and expensive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn together”- Peter Senge
Learning Organization is achieving a significant importance nowadays and most modern companies is widely applying this concept to allow them achieved sustainable growth and development.
Characteristics of Learning Organization
Three major characteristics of learning organization are Learning Culture, Tools and Techniques and Skills and Motivation.
Learning Culture refers to an organisational environment that nurtures learning. These organisations opt for understanding of their business climate while using internal and external sources and advisers. A Learning Culture develops a free exchange and flow of information within the organization thus encouraging innovation. With the help of systems, expertise and knowledge is readily available allowing employees to be up-to-date. With the support of the top management, employees are more committed to their tasks, they are encouraged to learn and thus achieve personal development. While adopting a learning culture, organizations show concern about their employees. Encouraging them to learn and developing their capabilities is meanwhile valuing employees to progress and achieve efficiency. Organisations also open doors for more creative ideas and more challenges. Employees feel free to explain their ideas. A learning culture consists of the organization being future oriented, encouraging exchange and flow of information, dedicate to learning and personal development, valuing employees, offering people a climate of trust and giving the possibility to learn from experience.
Tools and techniques are concerned about ways that support individual and team learning. This can refer to creativity and problem solving practices. Examples of tools and techniques that can be used to encourage learning are interviews to seek for information, creativity to brainstorm and gain new ideas, delegation of decision making, observation from possible outcomes, re-framing knowledge, communication across borders, understanding people wants and needs and supporting others at work.
Skills and motivation consists of means that management could adopt to encourage learning within the organization. A learning organization is one that shows concern to employees and supports its people in learning new skills and techniques. Motivating people is very important in encouraging people to learn. It can be either through financial or non-financial motivations.
Benefits of Learning Organization
There are several challenges faced by organizations nowadays in their business environment and promoting learning organization can help them to confront them. Changes at place of work is arising constantly and adopting new strategies and techniques can be difficult for workers therefore being a learning organization will allow the organization to get ahead this stage more easily as in a learning organization, changes are perceived as opportunities to learn about new developments and enrich employees’ knowledge.
Producing what customers want is crucial for all businesses and with the constant change in taste of customers, companies need to be very pro-active and apply frequent changes to the whole organization. Learning organization will ensure that strategic coordination is kept between resource allocations, organizational goals and objectives, individual learning and customer need.
Training is often seen as a cost for companies and sending workers on training is relatively considered as time wastage. Learning organization can search for other alternative strategies for the workforce to learn at their workplace and this type of learning is much more appreciated by either top management or staff and is effective and cost less for the company.
Learning is both individual and social. Learning organization also gives room for personal development. It generates in the company permanent learning prospects. The workforce is continuously encouraged to learn thus avoiding employees being reluctant to change and they will be keen at learning new things. Learning organization also encourages inquiry and dialogue which gives rise to employees working altogether in good working conditions.
Collaboration and team learning is also one of the numerous benefit of learning organization as it focuses a lot on group work and team spirit. Employee will learn how to act as a team and work in groups. Learning organization institute systems to retain people and share learning. It empowers employees toward a share vision.
Limitations Facing of Learning Organization
Learning Organisations are progressively being more accepted by worldwide businesses as they are supposed to encourage people to work more efficiently and effectively. The concept of learning organization gives rise to a better work environment where workforce has the possibility to share information and incessantly learn together.
However learning organizations are also criticized and there are opinions which argues that learning organizations see its people as “resources” can that exploited for business’ interests. Learning is often perceived as a instrument for competitive benefit for the organization. One of the main disagreement concerning learning organizations is “whose interests are mainly taken into consideration and being served?” There are several limitations facing the learning organization namely;
- The organization as a site and frame for learning
- The dominant role of managers and educators
- The subordinate role accorded to employees as undifferentiated learner-in-deficit
- The emphasis on problem-solving and instrumental knowledge
- The organization;s appropriation of critical reflection
- The reliance in “open” dialogue for group learning in the workplace.