Margaret Mcintyre asked me: "We've had some threads on developing a
learning organization, but I'd be very interested in hearing your
observations on the process. Could you please elaborate?"
I have not yet had time to read many threads in this group, but here -
very briefly - are some of my ideas:
Learning in an organization takes place at three levels: individual,
group, and cultural. All three are important. Like axons, knowledge must
be reinforced by documentation (or memorization) and disciplined
repetition. This knowledge takes the form of a shared mental model, a
computer model, or a physical model. However, new knowledge is gained
("learned") by deviating from the rote, comparing the results against the
current model, and improving the model. The cooperative, focused action
of a group can develop a much more powerful and precise shared model than
any individual, and the model can be improved faster because many
repetitions can be accomplished and deviations tried and analyzed.
As several groups in an organization compare their knowledge and beliefs,
the most common findings and tenets begin to form a "cultural"
knowledgebase. This cultural knowledge represents a set of constraints,
expectations and prejudices under which the g roups and individuals act.
In many cases the organizational culture is not written down, but instead
handed down by observation of rewarded and punished behaviors. The culture
also "learns" when these truisms are challenged with successful results.
Cul tural knowledge is important for organizational learning because it
establishes an environment and a set of ground rules so that people and
groups know what to expect from each other in given situations, like a
sort of "language".
Every group of humans brought together for a focused purpose forms a
learning organization. However, some groups are much better and faster at
learning than others. I believe that the successful competitors in
business are those who learn faster than th eir rivals. Nobody is perfect,
nor do you have to be. You only need to be a little better at learning.
Organizations can get better at learning if they work on it at all three
levels. Most managers concentrate only on the individual level, and not
very effectively even there. For example, many clients have told me "we
send each employee to training 5% of his/her time." There is no attempt to
find out if this training is really increasing the job-related knowledge
of that individual, never mind the group or culture. I have found
certifications programs to be much more effective. Groups must take time
off-line to examine and increase their learning methods and learing rate.
How do they codify the group knowledge so that it is not lost with
outgoing individuals. Where do the models reside and how do they improve?
What constraint s are presented by the cultural tenets, and how can we
improve the cultural knowledge? I typed enough for tonight, but perhaps
you can begin to see how we can analyze the health of a learning
organization and coach the groups for improvement.
And yes, there is a "process".
Very Best Regards,
Scott Elliott
scott_elliott@hotmail.com
"A model should be as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein
--Scott Elliott <scotte@sonic.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>