Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Bishwajit Mazumder
Nursing Instructor
Dhaka Nursing College, Dhaka
E. mail: mbishwa@rocketmail.com
Seminar on Learning Organization
Introduction:
Learning organizations are organizations that place emphasis on flexibility and
responsiveness (Senge, 1990). Enactment of Senges five disciplines is essential to
achieving learning organization status. Disciplines refer to the critical and interrelated
elements that comprise a grouping that can function effectively only when all elements
are present, linked, and interacting. For example, a car with a working engine and other
operational features but no tires could not be driven as designed. Without knowledge of
the interrelatedness of the cars operational features, one might not be able to take the
right action to use this form of transportation (Yoder, Patricia S. 2007).
A learning organization is the term given to a company that facilitates the
learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. Learning organizations
develop as a result of the pressures facing modern organizations and enables them to
remain competitive in the business environment (OKeeffe, T. 2002 ) A learning
organization has five main features; systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models,
shared vision and team learning (Senge, P.M. 1990). The Learning organization concept
was coined through the work and research of Peter Senge and his colleagues (Senge,
1994). It encourages organizations to shift to a more interconnected way of thinking.
Organizations should become more like communities that employees can feel a
commitment to.
Learning is something undertaken and developed by individuals; organizational
arrangements can foster or inhibit the process. The organizational culture within which
individuals work shapes their engagement with the learning process. More than this, there
are serious questions about whether and how the organization can harness the learning
achieved by its individual members. Thus, although continuing professional development
has long been a part of the NHS, evidence from other sectors suggests that learning needs
to take a more central role. Organizations that position learning as a core characteristic
have been termed learning organisations, and this concept is an important one in the
context of Organizational development.
An organization is not simply a collection of individuals; the whole amounts to
something greater than the sum of the parts. Similarly, the learning achieved by an
organization is not simply the sum of the learning achieved by individuals within that
organization. Individuals may come and go, but the organization (even in the turbulent
world of health care) usually endures. Robust organizations can still accumulate
competence and capacity despite the turnover of staff; individual learning can be retained
and deployed in the organization. How well any organization can do this depends on
factors such as internal communication and the assimilation of individual knowledge into
new work structures, routines, and norms. Learning organizations see a central role for
enhancing personal capabilities and then mobilizing these within the organization.
Background of learning organization/History:
Peter Senge is considered by most to be the "father" of organizational learning
(Dumaine, 1994). Senge is a director at Innovation Associates, a Cambridge consulting
firm, and advises government and educational leaders in centers of global change like
South Africa. Senge's message of growth and prosperity holds strong appeal for today's
business leaders. His research center at MIT, the Center for Organizational Learning,
started in 1990. The learning organization concept gained broad recognition when Senge
published his best-selling The Fifth Discipline in 1990. In it he writes that a learning
organization values, and derives competitive advantage from, continuing learning, both
individual and collective. The five disciplines are systems thinking, personal mastery,
mental models, shared vision, and team learning (Senge, 1990). Senge proposes that
people put aside their old ways of thinking (mental models), learn to be open with others
(personal mastery), understand how their company really works (systems thinking), form
a plan everyone can agree on (shared vision), and then work together to achieve that
vision (team learning).
between vision and reality. Mastery of such tension allows for a fundamental shift. It
enables the leader to see the truth in changing situations.
Empowerment (flatter hierarchies)Empowerment has been variously defined, but its core idea is based on creating
an environment where others are equipped and encouraged to make decisions in
autonomous ways and to feel that they are in control of the outcomes for which they have
accepted responsibility.
Learning from mistakesStaff members need to find out what failure is like so that they can learn from
their mistakes in the future. The managers are then responsible for setting up an open,
flexible atmosphere in their organizations to en-courage their workers to follow their
learning example. Anonymity can be achieved through electronic conferencing; this type
of conferencing can also encourage different sites to communicate and share knowledge.
Learning organizations in healthcare:
A notable example of this structural reform is the induction of culture of
learning organization for the NHS. This implies that healthcare provides need to embrace
learning from simple errors and common mistakes to improve health care. Healthcare
managers in the NHS need to utilize the learning potential in individuals to achieve safety
and quality in service delivery to clients/patients (Davies and Nutley, 2000). The demand
for safety and quality in healthcare should make doctors can learn from prescription
errors. When a pharmacists perceives a prescription error , he/she can write her
professional opinion at the back of the prescription sheet and request the patient goes
back to see the doctor who issued the prescription.
(http://doc2doc.bmj.com/blogs/doctorsblog/_learning-organizations-can-improvehealthcare-quality)
Learning Organization:
A learning organization is the term given to a company that facilitates the
learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. Learning organizations
develop as a result of the pressures facing modern organizations. Learning organization
enables organizations to remain competitive in the business environment.
Or,
Learning
Personal
Organization
mastery
Shared
vision
Mental
models
Systems Thinking
The foundation of any learning organization is the fifth discipline - systems
thinking. This is the ability to see the bigger picture, to look at the interrelationships of a
system as opposed to simple cause-effect chains thus allowing continuous processes to be
studied rather than single snapshots. Also, this discipline shows us that the essential
properties of a system are not determined by the sum of its parts, but by the process of
interactions between those parts. This is why systems thinking is fundamental to any
learning organization as it is the discipline used to implement the disciplines. Without it,
each of the disciplines would be isolated and consequently not achieve their objective.
Systems thinking enable the formation of an integrated system, whose properties exceed
the sum of its parts. Nevertheless, all of the other four disciplines mentioned above are
required to successfully implement systems thinking. System thinking is the mainstay of
a true learning organization, integrating the above disciplines and is a way of discovering
solutions to complex problems. This discipline enables interrelationships between
systems and teams; at the same time, it allows the organization, through linear and logical
thinking, to understand the source of and the solutions to modern problems.
Or,
A way of thinking about, and a language for describing and understanding, the
forces and the interrelationship that shape the behavior of systems. This discipline helps
us to see how to change systems more effectively, and to act more in tune with the larger
processes of the natural and economic world. (Senge, Roberts et al.1994)
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 (Argyris, C. 1999) Systems thinking state that all the
Mental Models
These are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures and
images, that influence how we understand the world and how we take action (Senge, P.M.
1990). Every human being has an internal image of the world, with deep-rooted
assumptions. Therefore, individuals will behave according to the true mental model that
they subconsciously hold and usually not according to the theories in which they claim to
believe. If group members can constructively challenge each others ideas and
assumptions, they can begin to recognize their mental models and to change these to
construct a shared mental model for the team. This is essential as the individuals mental
model will control what they think can or cannot be done.
Or,
Reflecting upon, continually clarifying, and improving our internal pictures of
the world, and seeing how they shape our actions and decisions (Senge, Roberts et
al.1994).
Or,
Organizations tend to have memories which preserve certain behaviors, norms
and values. In creating a learning environment it is important to replace confrontational
attitudes with an open culture that promotes inquiry and trust (OKeeffe, T. 2002). To
achieve this, the learning organization needs mechanisms for locating and assessing
organizational theories of action.
Shared Vision
Building a sense of commitment in a group, by developing shared images of the
future we seek to create, and the principles and guiding practices by which we hope to get
there (Senge, Roberts et al.1994).
Or,
The development of a shared vision is important in motivating the staff to learn,
as it creates a common identity that provides focus and energy for learning. The most
successful visions build on the individual visions of the employees at all levels of the
organization, thus the creation of a shared vision can be hindered by traditional structures
where the company vision is imposed from above(OKeeffe, T. 2002).
Team Learning
The transforming, conversational and collective thinking skills, so that groups
of people can reliably develop intelligence and ability greater than the sum of individual
members talents.
(Senge, Roberts et al. 1994)
Or,
Team learning focuses on the learning ability of the group. Mature people learn
best from each other by reflecting on how they are addressing problems, questioning
assumptions and receiving feedback from their team and from their results. Through
team learning, the learning ability of the group becomes greater than the learning ability
of any individual in the group.
Or,
The accumulation of individual learning constitutes Team learning. The benefit
of team or shared learning is that staff grows more quickly and the problem solving
capacity of the organization is improved through better access to knowledge and
expertise. Learning organizations have structures that facilitate team learning with
features such as boundary crossing and openness. Team learning requires individuals to
engage in dialogue and discussion; therefore team members must develop open
communication, shared meaning, and shared understanding (OKeeffe, T. 2002).
Learning organizations typically have excellent knowledge management structures,
allowing creation, acquisition, dissemination, and implementation of this knowledge in
the organization.
Characteristics of learning organizations include the following:
1. An organizational vision is created through input from all key areas and is endorsed by
all employees, not mandated from on high.
2. The organization focuses on analyzing patterns over time rather than taking snapshots.
3. In their on-going communications, employees balance advocacy with inquiry, that is,
they argue for their point of view as much as they invite others to question this point of
view and as much as they ask questions about others points of view.
4. When unintended outcomes happen, learning organizations focus their efforts on
understanding how the system structure enabled that outcome rather than blaming an
individual or group of individuals.
5. Learning organizations are forward looking, always focused on the desired future they
want to create, rather than looking back to what went wrong and trying to fix it.
6. Learning organizations encourage employees to stretch and try out new ideas.
Benefits of Learning Organization:
There are some benefits of Learning Organization- Maintaining levels of innovation and remaining competitive.
- Being better placed to respond to external pressures.
-Having the knowledge to better link resources to customer needs.
-Improving quality of outputs at all levels.
- Improving corporate image by becoming more people oriented.
-Increasing the pace of change within the organization.
Barriers of Learning Organization:
In some organizations a lack of a learning culture can be a
barrier to learning. An environment must be created where individuals
can share learning without it being devalued and ignored, so more
people can benefit from their knowledge and the individuals becomes
empowered. A learning organization needs to fully accept the removal
of traditional hierarchical structures (OKeeffe, T. 2002).
Personal mastery can even be seen as a threat to the
organization. Some organizations find it hard to embrace personal
mastery because as a concept it is intangible and the benefits cannot
be quantified; personal mastery can even be seen as a threat to the
organization. This threat can be real, as Senge
empower
people
in
an
unaligned
organization
can
be
standards laid down in the evidence based guidelines are not abandoned but are woven
into a new pattern of interactions and values. This is an example of double loop learning
Or,
Double-loop learning is about solving difficult problems, according to Argyris.
We discover and establish truth when we subject people's claims to rigorous tests. That
allows us to see more clearly the causal processes embedded in those claims. Argyris
calls this transparency. Double-loop learning depends on stewardship, or the internal
commitment by employees to seek truth, transparency, and personal responsibility in the
workplace. For single-loop learning, people are programmed to believe that transparency
and truth are good ideas, but only when they're not threatening or embarrassing, he says.
Argyris's double-loop learning encourages people to examine their own
behavior, take responsibility for their action and inaction, and make conscious the kind of
potentially threatening or embarrassing information that can produce real change.
Learning about learning or metalearning: (metalearning reflects an organizations
attempts to learn about (and improve) its ability to learn).
Usually underdeveloped, aspect of learning capacity is the ability of
organizations to learn about the contexts of their learningwhen they are able to identify
when and how they learn and when and how they do not, and then adapt accordingly.
Thus, successful learning organizations build on their experience of learning to develop
and test new learning strategies. Example-The experience of refocusing obstetric
services better to meet patient needs and expectations is not lost on the hospital. Through
its structure and culture, the organization encourages the transfer of these valuable
lessons. The factors that assisted the reconfiguring (and those that impeded it) are
analyzed, described, and communicated within the organization. This is not done through
formal written reports but through informal communications, temporary work
placements, and the development of teams working across services. Thus, the obstetric
service is able to share with other hospital services the lessons learned about learning to
reconfigure. This is an example of learning about learning or meta-learning.
Problems Organizational Learning addresses:
Some of the issues that Learning Organizations wanted to address within
Institutions is fragmentation, competition and reactiveness (Chawla and Renesch 1995
p.16). Fragmentation is described as breaking a problem into pieces. For example each
Reference:
Yoder, Patricia S. (2007). Leading and managing in Nursing, 4th edition. Mosby,
Inc., Canada.
Cors, R. (2003). What Is a Learning Organization? Reflections on the Literature
and Practitioner Perspectives, Engineering Professional Development, University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
Abri, Al- R K., Hashmi, Al- I S. (2007). The Learning Organization and Health
Care Education, Vol. 7, No. 3, p. 207-214.
Marty Jacobs, (2009). Davie Healthcare Rx: Are You a Learning Organization?
Davies, H T O. Nutley, S M. (2000). Developing learning organisations in the
new NHS, BMJ vol.320.
http://www.learning-org.com/
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/learningorganization.html#ixzz2GyyNABpN
http://www.systemsinsync.com
(http://doc2doc.bmj.com/blogs/doctorsblog/_learning-organizations-canimprove-healthcare-quality)