Article 4. Learning Organisation and Its Importance

 

 Learning Organisations

"Learning organisations," organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.
Peter Senge (1990-Fifth Discipline)

Disciplines of a learning organisation

1. Systems Thinking:

• It involves looking at problems and goals as a part of a whole system where problem acts as the input, the learning process gives to the solution of the problem as the output.

• It acts like a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than, things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static ‘snap-shops’.

2. Personal Mastery:

• It is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.

• Articulating the goals and objectives an individual wants to achieve also involves personal mastery.

3. Shared Vision:

• A shared vision is a mutual purpose among a group of people with common interests.

• Shared vision binds people together around a common identity and a sense of destiny.

• It builds a sense of commitment and facilitates open communication in the organization.

4. Mental Models:

• These are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence people how they understand the world and enable them to take necessary actions.

• They act as a tool for reflection and inquiry, to develop awareness of attitudes and perceptions and define the current reality of the organization.

5. Team Learning:

• It is facilitated through constant dialog and discussion within small groups/work teams.

• Collective thinking is used to achieve a common objective or mutual learning.

• Members of a team learn and grow together so as to develop intelligence and competence and leverage the knowledge of the whole together as one.

Importance of a learning organisation 

Companies are seeking to walk on the path of continuous improvement in their products and services, foster creativity, and innovation through breakthrough strategies in order to stay into the highly competitive market scenario. 

Learning organisations can help organisations in the following ways:

• They help organisations to successfully cope with rapid and unexpected changes where existing ‘programmed’ responses are inadequate.

• They provide flexibility to cope with dynamically changing situations.

• They ensure that the organisation’s front-line staff are more responsible so as to effectively respond with initiatives based on customer needs.

• Learning organisations facilitate in developing organisational capabilities for fast-paced innovation and inculcates a strong commitment to learn and love change.

• As the competitive business environment becomes more complex and challenging, the learning organisations provide a broader range of managerial beliefs, and a greater repertoire of managerial actions so as to facilitate fast-paced growth.

• Learning organisations imbibe a strong people centric approach by linking the strategies of the organisation with those with the people and creating an environment encouraging lifelong learning and knowledge sharing.

Watch this video about the importance of learning in organisation.

👉https://hbr.org/video/2226587714001/the-importance-of-learning-in-organizations

References

Harvard Business Review; Video, available at

https://hbr.org/video/2226587714001/the-importance-of-learning-in-organizations

Accessed on 23rd August 2023

Senge P. (2010) The Fifth Discipline (1st edition), Random House [online], available at https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Fifth_Discipline_The_art_and_practic/0V2zW09DDx4C?hl=en&gbpv=1

Accessed on 23rd August 2023

Preserve Articles, Learning Organisation, available at https://www.preservearticles.com/management/learning-organisation/31084

Accessed on 23rd August 2023