A Start to Organizational Learning!

“An organizations ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate Competitive Advantage” - Jack Welch..

The learning organization is an entity which provisioned for the frequent and continuous learning of its stakeholders; and expands their capacity to generate results that they truly desire; while nurturing their thinking pattern, aspiration in a broader and creative manner (Senge 1990).  It is imperative to note that the Learning organization is a place where people are encouraged to learn and how to learn together and given the freedom of aspiration throughout the process. Pedler et al (1991) explains that a learning organization is one 'which facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself’. According to Wick and Leon (1995) a learning organization, shows rapid improvements while fine-tuning the skills and capabilities required for the future success, under continuous basis.

Concept of Learning Organization

The theory of Organizational learning is recommended and more relevant and It describes the procedure of how the learning taken place in organizations. It concentrates on collective learning, as described by Argyris (1992) the organizations do not necessarily conduct activities to produce learning; yet each member act individual their integral part in the learning process of the organization that produce the learning. Furthermore, organizations are able to create the environment that facilitates such learning culture. Under the organizations learning concept it’s important to recognize, that it’s the way the learning takes place affects the organization in it’s context and culture (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). According to Harrison (2000), the concept of the learning organization is an appealing notion due to its rationality, the human persuasion and influence incurred and the potential to support the organizational for the development and effective results.

The primary focus of the learning organization theory includes organization systems and design (Scarborough et al 1999 as cited in Armstrong, 2009). Although it is not mandatory to put effort on focusing what the individuals needs to learn and how, it is imperative to influence the individuals to enable themselves for their own development. Rather than inflicting the notion of “learning by the organization”, creating an atmosphere more conducive to learning, develops a learning culture, which has more results than that of the learning organization ( Armstrong, 2009).

The way people learn

It is very important to have an understanding about how learning take place in various individuals. According to Kim (1993) learning is the process of increasing a person’s capacity and to effectively take actions. It can be explained as the modification of the behavior through experience.

Figure 1.0: TYPES OF LEARNING
INSTRUMENTAL LEANING	Learning on the Job- Learning how to do the job better after an understanding of the basic standards of the performance
COGNITIVE LEARNING	By the enhancement of understanding and increase of knowledge
EFFECTIVE LEARNING	Based on the development of feelings and attitude other than the knowledge
SELF-REFLECTIVE LEARNING	By the development of new patterns of thinking, understanding and therefore creating new knowledge

                                        (Source: Harrison, 2005 as cited in Armstrong, 2006)

The process of Organizational Learning

The learning organizations facilitate access to its employees to learn and transform itself overtime (Senge, 1990). The thinking of learning organizations is to prepare its members to become flexible, adaptive and survive during rapid changes that the organizations go through.

“While traditional organizations require management systems that control people’s behavior, learning organizations invest in improving the quality of thinking, the capacity for reflection and team learning, and the ability to develop shared visions and shared understandings of complex issues”, (Senge 1992, p289).

Disciplines of Learning Organization

The most predominant reason for learning organization is; in recent time there has been an understanding about the potentials and the capabilities of a learning organization possess. Until the areas of the knowledge, path and the skills identified in an organization and became known, the effort such an organization must put has been enormous. Fundamentally and a learning organization can be distinguished from Traditional authoritarian by the carefully mastered basic disciplines. Therefore, it is vital to concentrate on the “disciplines of the learning organizations (Senge, 1992), as indicated in the below figure no 1.

Figure 2.0: Five Disciplines of Learning Organization

 (Source: Senge, 1990)

Table 1.0: Five Disciplines of Learning organization

Disciplines
System Thinking	Framework a body of knowledge and tools to make full pattern clearer and to change them effectively.
Personal Mastery	Results; Reciprocal commitment between individual and organization and a spirit of enterprise.
Building a shared vision	The practice of shared vision involves the skills for unearthing shared “pictures of the future” and foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance. This will help leaders to dictate a vision counter-productively no matter how it’s heartfelt.
Team Learning	The capacity of the team members to neutralize the assumptions and thinking together.
Mental Models	The engraved perspectives, generalizations or the things that could influence how we understand our surroundings and take actions on them.

                                            (Source: Senge, 1990)

The organizational learning is a three-stage process consists of knowledge acquisition, dissemination and shared implementation (Dale, 1994). Knowledge can be acquired by direct experience, the experience of others or organizational memory.

As per Argyris (1992) Organizational learning occurs under two conditions:

1). When an organization achieves what is intended.

2). When there is a mismatch between intentions has been identified and rectified.