The Learning Organization

Why the Interest in 'Learning Organizations'?
Basically, it's the search for the (unattainable) Holy Grail. Companies are seeking to improve existing products and services (continuous improvement), and innovation (breakthrough strategies). This has resulted in a plethora of initiatives such as TQM (Total Quality Management) and BPR (Business Process Reengineering). But companies are finding that such programmes succeed or fail depending on human factors, such as skills, attitudes and organisational culture. It also appears that many implementations are geared to highly specified processes, defined for anticipated situations. The current interest in the 'learning organisation' stems from the recognition that these initiatives, by themselves, often do not work. Something more is needed to:
Cope with rapid and unexpected changes where existing 'programmed' responses are inadequate
Provide flexibility to cope with dynamically changing situations
Allow front-line staff to respond with initiative based on customer needs vs. being constrained by business processes established for different circumstances
As various management writers put it:
"Organisations must develop a capacity for fast-paced innovation.. learn to love change" (Peters)
"As the competitive environment becomes more complex and variegate, the need for greater genetic variety - a broader range of managerial beliefs, and a greater repertoire of managerial actions - grows apace" (Hamel and Prahaled).
"Top companies seem to organise around people ..honouring these needs - feeling of control, something to believe in, challenge, lifelong learning, recognition" (Waterman)
With the pace of change ever quickening, the need to develop mechanisms for continuous learning and innovation is greater than ever.
Types of Learning
A learning organization is not about 'more training'. While training does help develop certain types of skill, a learning organisation involves the development of higher levels of knowledge and skill. We have developed a 4-level model:
Level 1.- Learning facts, knowledge, processes and procedures. Applies to known situations where changes are minor.
Level 2.- Learning new job skills that are transferable to other situations. Applies to new situations where existing responses need to be changed. Bringing in outside expertise is a useful tool here.
Level 3 - Learning to adapt. Applies to more dynamic situations where the solutions need developing. Experimentation, and deriving lessons from success and failure is the mode of learning here.
Level 4 - Learning to learn. Is about innovation and creativity; designing the future rather than merely adapting to it. This is where assumptions are challenged and knowledge is reframed.
Furthermore this model (or adaptation of it) can be applied at three levels - to the learning of individuals, of teams and of organisations. Organizations that achieve learning to Level 4 will "reinvent not just their organization but their industry" (Hamel and Prahaled in Competing for the Future)Characteristics of a Learning Organisation
Observation and research identifies four types of factor:
Learning Culture - an organizational climate that nurtures learning. There is a strong similarity with those characteristics associated with innovation.
Processes - processes that encourage interaction across boundaries. These are infrastructure, development and management processes, as opposed to business operational processes (the typical focus of many BPR initiatives).
Tools and Techniques - methods that aid individual and group learning, such as creativity and problem solving techniques.
Skills and Motivation - to learn and adapt.
Here are some additional points on the first three of these.A Learning Culture
Future, external orientation these organisations develop understanding of their environment; senior teams take time out to think about the future. Widespread use of external sources and advisors e.g. customers on planning teams.
Free exchange and flow of information - systems are in place to ensure that expertise is available where it is needed; individuals network extensively, crossing organisational boundaries to develop their knowledge and expertise.
Commitment to learning, personal development - support from top management; people at all levels encouraged to learn regularly; learning is rewarded. Time to think and learn (understanding, exploring, reflecting, developing)
Valuing people - ideas, creativity and "imaginative capabilities" are stimulated, made use of and developed. Diversity is recognised as a strength. Views can be challenged.
Climate of openness and trust - individuals are encouraged to develop ideas, to speak out, to challenge actions.
Learning from experience - learning from mistakes is often more powerful than learning from success. Failure is tolerated, provided lessons are learnt ("learning from fast failure" - Peters).
Key Management Processes
Strategic and Scenario Planning - approaches to planning that go beyond the numbers, encourage challenging assumptions, thinking 'outside of the box'. They also allocate a proportion of resources for experimentation.
Competitor Analysis - as part of a process of continuous monitoring and analysis of all key factor in the external environment, including technology and political factors. A coherent competitor analysis process that gathers information from multiple sources, sifts, analyses, refines, adds value and redistributes is evidence that the appropriate mechanisms are in place.
Information and Knowledge Management - using techniques to identify, audit, value (cost/benefit), develop and exploit information as a resource (known as IRM - information resources management); use of collaboration processes and groupware e.g. Lotus Notes, First Class to categorise and share expertise.
Capability Planning - profiling both qualitatively and quantitatively the competencies of the organisation. Profiling these on a matrix can be helpful to planning adjustment:
Team and Organisation development - the use of facilitators to help groups with work, job and organisation design and team development - reinforcing values, developing vision, cohesiveness and a climate of stretching goals, sharing and support
Performance Measurement - finding appropriate measures and indicators of performance; ones that provide a 'balanced scorecard' and encourage investment in learning (see, for example, Measuring Intellectual Capital).
Reward and Recognition Systems - processes and systems that recognize acquisition of new skills, team-work as well as individual effort, celebrate successes and accomplishments, and encourages continuous personal development.
Tools and Techniques
Too numerous to cover in detail, but include a wide range of learning and creativity skills in the following groups:
Inquiry - interviewing, seeking information
Creativity - brainstorming, associating ideas
Making sense of situations - organising information and thoughts
Making choices - deciding courses of action
Observing outcomes - recording, observation
Reframing knowledge - embedding new knowledge into mental models, memorizing
Collective (i.e. team and organizational) learning require skills for sharing information and knowledge, particularly implicit knowledge, assumptions and beliefs that are traditionally "beneath the surface". Key skills here are:
Communication, especially across organisational boundaries
Listening and observing
Mentoring and supporting colleagues
Taking a holistic perspective - seeing the team and organisation as a whole
Coping with challenge and uncertainty.