The Learning Organization

P.A. 227 (Human Resource Development)

ORGANIZATIONAL
LEARNING

• a process in which members of an

organization detect error and correct it

• by restructuring organizational
theory of action

• embedding the results of their inquiry

in organizational maps and images
Levels of Learning

Single-loop learning = improving the

organization‟s
capacity by making
small adjustments
in its actions
without radically
changing them

= routines; no significant
change in basic
assumptions
Levels of Learning

Double-loop learning = finding solutions

out of the current
ways of thinking
and acting

= there is change in the

system itself and the
underlying values or
programs
Levels of Learning

“Deutero” learning = the capacity of

an organization
to learn how
to carry out
and optimize its
single- and
double-loop
learning
processes
Employee Learning

• organizational learning depends

on the learning of employees

• learning individuals lead

to organizational learning

• employee learning is not enough to ensure

learning at the organizational level

• Learning-oriented organization
Learning-Oriented Organizations

Basic Principles for HRD departments:

1. broadened view of the field
• not limited to training
• formal and incidental learning
• Individual and collective learning

2. learning as shared responsibility

3. learning and working are intertwined

Learning Organization

• an organization that anticipates

changes in its environment on a
strategic level

• deliberately aims at improving

its ability to learn

• makes use of and enhances the learning

of all employees at all levels

• all are searching, all the time,

for ways to do better
Learning Organizations
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• organizations where
people continually expand
their capacity to create the
results they truly desire

• organizations where new and expansive

patterns of thinking are nurtured
Learning Organizations
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• organizations where collective

aspiration is set free

• organizations where
people are continually
learning to see the whole
together
Learning Organizations
(Peter Senge, 1990)

basic rationale for learning organizations:

• in situations of rapid change only

those that are flexible, adaptive,
and productive will excel.

• for this to happen, organizations need to:

„discover how to tap people‟s commitment
and capacity to learn at all levels’
Learning Organizations
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• For learning organizations, it is NOT

enough to survive

• “generative learning” must join

“survival” or “adaptive” learning

Generative = learning that

Learning enhances our
capacity to create
Learning Organizations
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• Basic disciplines (or component

technologies) that distinguish learning
from traditional organizations

• Systems Thinking

• Personal Mastery

• Mental Models
• Building shared vision
• Team Learning
Learning Organizations
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• The disciplines are concerned with a shift of

mind :
• from seeing parts to seeing
wholes

• from seeing people as helpless

reactors to seeing them as
active participants in shaping reality

• from reacting to the present

to creating the future
• Each discipline is necessary to the other
if organizations are to “learn”

Discipline = a series of principles and

practices that we study, master,
and integrate into our lives
Levels of Approaches to the five
disciplines:

Practices = what you do

Principles = guiding ideas and insights

Essences = the state of being those

with high level of mastery
in the discipline
Systems Thinking
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• the conceptual cornerstone of Senge‟s

Fifth Discipline approach and integrates
the other disciplines into a coherent
body of theory and practice

• the ability to comprehend and address

the whole

• the ability to examine the interrelationship

among parts
Systems Thinking
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• Events and things that may appear distant

in time and space are connected within
the same pattern, influencing each other

• the ability to see ourselves as connected

to the world rather than separated from it

• the ability to see how our actions create the

problems we experience rather than seeing
problems as caused by someone or
something out there
Systems Thinking
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• the systems viewpoint is generally

oriented toward the long-term view.

• the use of „systems maps‟

= diagrams that show the key elements
of systems and how they connect

• failure to understand system dynamics

can lead us into „cycles of blaming and
self-defense
Personal Mastery
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• achieving a high level of personal

commitment to realize results that matter
deeply, not simply gaining dominance

• continuous and constant learning mode

• Personal learning must be connected

with organizational learning

• a reciprocal commitment between individual

and organization
Personal Mastery
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• involves continually clarifying and

deepening personal vision, focusing
energies, developing patience, and seeing
reality objectively

• it goes beyond competence and skills,

but rather about calling

• being acutely aware of one‟s ignorance,

incompetence, growth areas, yet being deeply
self-confident.
Mental Models
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations,

or even pictures and images that influence how
we understand the world and how we take action

• Includes the ability to carry on “learningful”

conversations that balance inquiry and advocacy

• where people expose their thinking effectively

and make that thinking open to the influence of others

• fostering openness
Building Shared Vision
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• the capacity to hold a picture of the future we

seek to create that foster genuine commitment
rather than compliance

• management‟s presentation of a vision of the

future that guides and inspires the organization
allowing it to transform itself

• goals, values, missions that become deeply

shared throughout the organization
Team Learning
(Peter Senge, 1990)

• free flowing of meaning through a group,

allowing the group to discover insights
not attainable individually

• involves dialogue = the capacity

of members to suspend
assumptions and enter into
genuine “thinking together”

• involves learning how to recognize patterns

of interaction in teams that undermine learning
Learning Disabilities

1. “I am my position”

2. “The enemy is out there”

3. The illusion of taking charge (proactive)

4. Fixation on events
Learning Disabilities

5. The parable of the boiled frog

6. The delusion of “learning from experience”

• we never learn directly the consequences

of our most important decisions

• limited learning horizon

7. The Myth of the Management Team

1. Change the image of learning

2. Develop team learning activities

3. Change the role of managers

4. Encourage experiments and risk taking

5. Build mechanisms to disseminate learning

6. Empower people

7. Develop the discipline of systems thinking

8. Create a culture of continuous improvement

Barriers to Learning

• Bureaucracy

• Control

• Poor communications

• Poor leadership

• Rigid hierarchy
Learning vs. Training and Development

Training Learning
Focus Knowledge, skills, Existing information plus
attitudes creating new solutions for
not-yet-fully understood
problems

Methodology One-way transfer Can take place

to learners without teachers

Effectively Training and development Managers who can make

performed professionals who may not learning happen
be accountable nor have
the authority to make
changes