Ed Brenegar & Other LO colleagues -
LO 18911: well said and helpful. With small changes in your useful LO
definition I can offer some "concrete" to "shore up" our shaky summer
specificity:
"...Learning Organization is not a commodity, but statement(s and
processes) describing ... (goals, objectives and) action-taking by
(members of) the organization to continuously improve by continually
learning."
LO, using this description, can work when company leaders allow other
members to be involved in learning that improves results. A strategy that
works is:
1. Identify learning interests and priorities with (a) multi-source-type
assessment that result in (b) individual and work group learning plans
negotiated among each participating company member, that person's work
group leader, and a performance consultant (perferably an in-company
person).
2. Provide on-going support for learning plan completion. (a) Make clear,
in policy and practice, that each company member's responsibility is to
learn -- continually, as a resource for performance improvement. (b) Also
make clear that part of every other company member's responsibility is to
help, including performance consultants and other "training department"
staff members.
3. Help company members put their learning to work, day-to-day on-the-job,
beginning with their work processes. "Training" (the company's
responsibility) needs to be a part of the learning resources provided by
the company. Process training helps everyone view processes using the
same words ("personal mastery") and descriptions ("new mental models").
"Shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking" follow when the
recognition and rewards (the "WIFM," what's in it for me?) are (a) valued
by members and (b) fit the company's culture and climate.
4. Link an "ideas program" to learning plans and activitites. David
Garvin's ("Building a learning organization," HBR, July-August, 1993)
includes a key point for making learning and improvement continual
processes that receive day-to-day attention from company members:
"...continuous improvement requires a commitment to learning...ideas are
the trigger for organizational improvement" (pages 78, 80).
This strategy and process works -- when done with intent to help company
members improve their performance and their contribution to company and
unit goals they understand and support. Experience shows that investing
three to five percent of participating company members' payroll returns
50% to 300% ROI. Morale, retention, and results improve; operating and
turnover costs are reduced.
How have similar processes worked for others? What would you do to make
this process more effective? Ed: concrete enough?
Dick Webster
Richard S. Webster, Ph.D. - President
Personal Resources Management Institute
709 Wesley Court - Worthington OH 43085-3558
e-mail <webster.1@osu.edu>, fax 614-433-71-88, tel 614-433-7144
PRMI is a 501(c)3 non-profit research, development, and consulting company
founded in 1978. The Institute works on the paradigm shift from "training,
instruction, and teaching" to "learning." Learning is a key strategy for
improving leadership, performance, processes, productivity, quality, and
team work that creates outstanding organizations. Programs and projects
relate to:
* Learning models and processes, key resources for improving work processes,
systems, and other desired results.
** Learning about and using "tools" ("proven change practices") for improv-
ing learning, performance, processes, quality, etc. Effective tools come
from many areas including creative ideas (CI), knowledge management (KM),
learning organizations (LO), organization development (OD), personal devel-
opment (PD), performance improvement (PI), participative management (PM),
quality improvement (QI), servant-leadership (SL, Greenleaf, Block's
stewardship), and team work (TW).
*** Learning qualities of character and citizenship (referred to in some
educational circles as "character education)."
"Things are getting better and better and worse and worse faster and
faster" says Tom Atlee. Our challenges: (1) Choosing the "betters" and
building on them (in time). (2) Learning (each person's responsibility and
opportunity).
--"Richard S. Webster" <webster.1@osu.edu>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>