The Learning Organization: Characteristics,

Importance and the way to form a Learning

Organization
Meaning and Characteristics of Learning Organization:
“The learning organization could also be defined jointly within which everyone seems to
be engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organisation to
continuously experi-ment, change and improve—thus increasing its capacity to grow,
learn and achieve its purpose”.

According to Peter Senge, adapting to environmental changes isn't enough to survive

and flourish within the economic jungle. Organisations should antic-ipate and learn from
change.
The focus of such learning organisations must get on continuous experimentation,
finding new ways of making products and services and serve customers better than
rivals double-loop, generative learning.

Learning organisations, typically, have the subsequent

Characteristics:

(i) Creative Problem Solving:

The essential idea is problem solving, as against the standard organisation designed for
efficiency. in a very learning organisation all employees rummage around for problems,
like understanding the unique requirements of consumers. Employees also solve
problems, by finding novel, innovative and inventive ways to satisfy the strain of
consumers.
(ii) Disciplined Thinking:

In a learning organisation people engage in disciplined thinking. they are doing not
depend on guesswork or assumptions. They develop a critical eye for detail and based
their decisions on factual information.
(iii) Learn from Anything and Everything:

They constantly explore for new knowledge and ways to use it. they appear for
expanding horizons or opportunities instead of finding quick fixes to current problems.
They carefully review both successes and failures. The intent is to appear for lessons
and learn from mistakes.
(iv) Emulate the simplest Practices:

Learning organisations, typically, identify and implement the simplest business practices
of other—excellently run—organisations. Of course, they steal ideas shamelessly. they
create sure that new ideas are acted upon and knowledge is shared throughout the
organisation with none reservations.

A learning organisation has both the drive and also the capabilities to enhance its
performance continuously supported experience. It tries to feature value to customers
by identifying new needs so developing innovative ways to satisfy those needs. In fact,
it learns from past experiences, it learns from customers, it learns from various parts of
the corporate and it learns from other companies.

In learning organisations, innovation and alter don't seem to be infrequent and special—
they are simply some way of organisational life. Learning organisations depend upon
factual data and keep experimenting so as to enhance productivity and efficiency levels
and remain at the highest. they struggle to be told from the past. They emulate the
simplest and learn from the-
1. Boeing is that the best example of a learning organisation. due to problems with the
event of its 737 and 747 planes, Boeing initiated a three- year project to check the event
of those planes to the sooner, more reliable 707 and 727 planes. This project resulted in
an exceedingly booklet of ‘lessons learned’ which was then utilized in the event and
manufacture of the 757 and 767.

Learning organisations routinely use benchmarking to scale new heights. Benchmarking

refers to a process whereby companies understand how others do something better
than they are doing and so attempt to imitate or improve on that. Nissan, General Mills,
United Airlines and plenty of others have used benchmarking within the past to attain
performance improvement.
2. IBM studied city casinos for tactics to discourage employee theft. Many hospitals
have benchmarked their admissions processes against Marriott Hotels. And Giordano
Holdings Ltd., a urban center based manufacturer and retailer of mass market casual
wear, borrowed its ‘good quality, good value’ concept from Marks & Spencer, used
Limited Brands to benchmark its point- of-sales computerized system and modelled its
simplified product offerings on McDonald’s menu!

Building Blocks of a Learning Organisation:

The important elements of a learning organisation could also be presented thus:
(a) Shared Vision:
To create a shared vision, large numbers of individuals within the organisation must
draft it, empowering them to make one image of the long run. All members of the
organisation must understand, share and contrib-ute to the vision for it to become
reality. With a shared vision, people will do things because they need to/ not because
they need to.
(b) Shared Leadership:

In a learning organisation, everyone seems to be encouraged to seek out ways to

enhance the organisation and its products. most are entitled to a share of the pie—in
terms of constructing decisions, directing operations and achieving organisational goals.
(c) Team Based Structure:
Learning organisations depend on a team based structure greatly. Self-directed teams
consisting of employees with diverse skills rotate jobs to supply a whole product or
service; they directly cope with custom-ers; make changes and enhancements as they
get going.
Team members have the authority to create decisions about new ways of doing things.
Virtually bosses are non-existent and team members take responsibility for training,
safety, scheduling vacations; decisions about work methods, pay and reward systems;
and coordination with other teams.
(d) Open Information:
People share information openly and freely. most are armed with data about budgets,
profits and departmental expenses. Every-one is liberated to have a look at the books
and exchange information with anyone within the company.
(e) Employee Empowerment:
Employees are empowered to try to to everything that helps the organisation directly or
indirectly. Empowerment means giving employees the ability, freedom, knowledge and
skills to create decisions and perform effectively.

In learning organisations employees are encouraged to react quickly to changing

circumstances. There are few rules and procedures and knowledge and control of tasks
are located with workers instead of top managers.

(f) Customer Focused Strategy:

Learning organisations add value for purchasers by identifying needs—in some cases
even before customers have done so—and then developing ways to satisfy those
needs.
(g) Culture of innovation:

Companies like Sony, 3M and Toyota are highly inno-vative because they take novel
ideas and switch them into profitable products and work methods. Learning
organisations encourage employees to return out with novel ideas and suggestions.

Employees are allowed to experiment, find an answer to the matter and remain in
control of results. Mistakes are tolerated, as long because the employee shows
willingness to be told from these and go.
(h) Systems Thinking:

The cornerstone of any learning organisation is that the fifth discipline – systems
thinking. this can be the flexibility to determine the larger picture, to appear at the
interrelationships of a system as against simple cause-effect chains; allowing
continuous processes to be studied instead of single snap-shots.
The essential properties of a system don't seem to be determined by the sum of its
parts but by the method of interactions between those parts. this is often the explanation
systems thinking is prime to any learning organisation.

Traditional vs. Learning Organisations:

Why learning organisations are gaining importance especially within the context of
managing change intelligently is given below:

Traditional Organisations:

(a) Determina-tion of overall direction- Vision is provided by top management.

(b) Formulation and imple-mentation of ideas- Top management decides what's to be

done, and therefore the remainder of the organisation acts on these ideas.

(c) Nature of organisational thinking- everybody is answerable for his or her own job
responsibilities, and therefore the focus is on developing individual competence.

(d) Conflict reso-lution- Conflicts are resolved through the employment of power and
hierarchical influence.
(e) Leadership and motivation- The role of the leader is to ascertain the organisation’s
vision, provide rewards and punishments as appropriate, and maintain overall control of
employee activities.

Learning Organisations:

(a) Determina-tion of overall direction- there's a shared vision that may emerge from
many places, but top management is to blame for ensuring that this vision exists and is
nurtured.

(b) Formulation and imple-mentation of ideas- Formulation and implementation of ideas

occur in any respect levels of the organisation.

(c) Nature of organisational thinking-Personnel understand their own jobs further

because the way during which their own work interrelates and influences that of other
personnel.

(d) Conflict reso-lution- Conflicts are resolved through the employment of collaborative
learning and also the integration of diverse viewpoints of personnel through the
organisations.
(e) Leadership and motivation- The role of the leader is to make a shared vision,
empower the personnel, inspire commitment, and encourage effective deciding
throughout the enterprise through the employment of empowerment and charismatic
leadership.

How to Create a Learning Organisations?

Creating a learning organisation isn't a simple job.
It requires consistent support and continued blessings from top management within the
following ways:
1. Top Leadership:
It requires foresight, imagination and commitment on the a part of top management—in
allowing people to place their best foot forward with none fear of getting committed a
blunder. Top leadership must encour-age everyone to travel that extra mile and find
novel solutions to knotty issues confronting an organisation repeatedly.

2. Employees Willing to travel that Extra Mile:

Everyone should be encouraged to search out ways to enhance the organisation and its
products. Top management must also encourage people to experiment with new ideas
and thinking. At South West Airlines the CEO Herb Kelleher encouraged the thought of
doing away with tickets for passengers wholeheartedly when it had been suggested by
the clerical staff.

Long before other airlines adopted the thought of electronic ticketing, Southwest Airlines
passengers made reservations over the phone and received only a PIN number—no
ticket was issued. At the gate, the personal identification number was exchanged for a
boarding card. Passengers who needed a receipt got one promptly through the mail.

3. Share Knowledge with Others:

In a learning organisation people must share their expertise, ideas, knowledge with
colleagues actively and enthusiastically. Employees should cooperate because they
need to, not because they need to. they ought to be happily sharing their solutions with
coworkers whenever and wherever required.
4. Employee Empowerment:

For a learning organisation to happen, people must be empowered fully. they ought to
be made chargeable for problem finding furthermore as problem solving. this can be
where teams come to play a significant role in learning organisations.

5. Customer-Focused Strategy:

Above all, for a learning organisation it's important to place a customer focused strategy
in situ. Learning organisations add value for customer by identifying needs—in some
instances, even before customers have done so—and then developing ways to satisfy
those needs

6. Organic Organisation Design:

Learning organisations must put emphasis on organic designs in situ of mechanistic

systems. the stress, invariably, must air the utilization of teams, strategic alliances and
boundary less networks.