A survey of 1414 managers and workers, released by Kepner-Tregoe, Inc,
provided the following data- Nearly two-thirds of 773 hourly workers said
their organizations were operating with half or less than half the
employee brainpower available to them. 63% of the responding 641 managers
shared that observation. The barriers most commonly cited were
organizational politics, time pressure, and lack of involvement in the
decision-making process. Lack of training was another barrier frequently
cited. The Washington Employers Bulletin (Nov 97) was the source for this
article.
At my place of work (where I am doing PhD research into how LO concepts
can be applied to units within a large organisation), I am frequently
asked about LOs & what they are. I am yet to find an easy, relevant and
understandable definition of my own that incorporates the key components
as I see them. When I read the above survey results I thought 'this is
it'.
Another way of thinking of a LO for me is one where employees'
'brainpower' is used to maximum capacity. Simple, but gets the point
across.
In order for this to occur the organisation needs to have certain
characteristics & culture: encourages experimentation & flexibility; rules
& regulations are minimised; structure is fluid and open; teamwork is
fundamental etc. The distinction between supervisor & employee becomes
invisible & there would be many subtle changes in an organisation like
this eg in relation to titles (which should become less hierarchical in
name) & office space (which should become more open & less associated with
position). I believe that these outward signs are two important
indicators of an organisation that has moved along the LO continuum.
(Clearly there are others, but this is just today's response to Doc's
survey.)
Dianne Ball (on Australia Day in Sydney - where we have good cricket &
tall ships)
--Dianne Ball <z8179506@student.unsw.edu.au>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>