SMB 3004

Learning
Organizations
Prepared by Wan Hendra Wan Hamzah
 Definition
 A learning organization is an
organization, which facilitates the
learning of all its members and
continuously transforms itself.
(Pedler, Boydell and Burgoyne,
1992)
 A learning organization has managers who
create an environment where the behaviors
and practices involved in continuous
development are actively encouraged.
(Honey, 1996)
 …con’t
 An organization in which learning is
valued, and consciously managed and
supported; a learning organization
develops and uses the knowledge,
skills and experience of those working
within it and around it, to change the
way in which things are done.

(Lewis, 1996a)
 Five Assumptions Behind Learning
Organization

1. Learning is a good thing

- Improving the quality of learning by individuals
will give a +ve effect to the organizations.
2. Learning needs to be planned
-Plan help to increase the quality and quantity of
learning; staff learn the required behavior and
not unwanted behavior.
 …con’t
3. Learning is continuous
- An ongoing process for everyone.

4. Team learning is easier to sustain

-Individual learning difficult to sustain.
Shared learning able to increase team
effectiveness.
 …con’t
 Learning needs to be on the conscious
agenda.
- Behaviors that support learning agenda
should be recognized e.g through
appraisal system etc.
 Characteristics of a Learning
Organization

 Looking in
1. Reward flexibility – the ability of the
organization to deliver rewards to staff.
2. Internal Exchange – involving all
internal department collaborating and
exchanging information with each other
about their expectations, success, needs
and weakness.
 Looking Out
1. Boundary workers as environmental scanners.-
all employees who on the boundary of the
organizations obtain information from both
formal and informal sources to feed into the
organization’s knowledge base.
2. Inter company learning – collaborative working
and networking promotes learning ethos and
offers other sources of knowledge and learning.
 Strategy
1. Learning approach to strategy – policy and
strategy are developed as a learning process,
which involves research as well as reviews.
2. Participative policy making – enables all
organization members to contribute to major
policy decisions
3. Info mating – use technology as tools which
opens access to information and access to
organization system.
4. Formative accounting and control – enables
accounting, budgeting system meet the
employees need and to assist in their learning.
 Structures
 LO has flatter organization’s structure with
fewer layer of management.
 Learning Opportunities
1. Self-development opportunities for all
staff.
2.Learning climate-involve developing
learning culture.
 Fifth discipline
 Done by Senge; ads on to peddler’s
characteristics of LO
1. System thinking- Persons in learning
organizations engage in systems thinking
as they view their work team, the role of
their work team in the organization, and
the organization's relationship to the larger
environment
 Fifth discipline
2.Personal mastery-Personal mastery means
charting a course of development that leads
to a special level of proficiency through
life-long learning.
3.Mental models - mental models enable us
to rapidly size up new situations and take
action and can be found at the individual,
team, and organizational level.
 Fifth Discipline
4. Shared vision - A shared vision produces a
much higher level of sustained
commitment than is possible when the
vision is imposed from above.
5.Team Learning - Team learning has to do
with improving the processes in a team to
improve its effectiveness.
 Role of learning
 Lewis (1996) developed a model which consists
of four key ingredients:
1. Motivation – wanting to learn
2. Action – Practicing, doing
3. Feedback – Giving and receiving and
using comments on action.
4. Reflection – Working out how the learning went
and in particular how it could be made more
effective next time.
 Benefits of developing LO
Peter Honey has listed:
2. To ensure long term success of the
organisations
3. To make continuous improvement a reality
4. To ensure successes and best practice are
transferred and emulated.
5. To increase creativity, innovation and
adaptability.
 …con’t
5. To attract better people and retain your
best people.
6. To ensure people are able and willing to
meet the current and future needs of your
organisation.
 Less Tangible Benefits
1. Integrated culture
2. Goal congruence
3. Organisational self-renewal
4. Whole organisation empowerment
5. Optimisation of “core business”
6. Effective re-positioning in the market
place.
Thank You

The End