THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION

SENGE argues that organization should have the sort of culture to shape owns future to
a far greater degree.
PEDLER defined a learning organization as one that facilitates learning of all its
members and continuously transform itself.
• Learning Organization bring together ideas of culture, structure and leadership.
• Organizations are made up of functioning parts which should act in harmony.
• Learning assists organizations to survive and develop.

Aspects of Learning Organization

• Should be liberating for those who work in it, employees should be empowered.
• There should not be a culture of blame.
• Treat employees as customers. Encouraged to learn from their work.
• Making use of multifunctional teams and open communications.
• Leadership should be democratic/ participative, sharing vision.

Criticisms of the Concept

Despite of the popularity of the learning organization concept, there are critics of this
approach. Some this are:
• Some definitions focus on individual learning while other emphasize the culture
and structure
• R. Harrison argue that many managers jealously guard the control of learning.
• Difficult to measure the degree of learning organization.

THE CULTURE OF QUALITY

Many modern organizations have expanded the traditional notion of quality control with
the wider concept of the culture of quality. This way be thought of as being made up of
three waves of activity:
1. Focus falls on front line workers (production or sales).
2. Focus on how things are run and done in the organization.
3. Focus in breaking down the barriers between the employees and managers.
Quality Control- Function which sets out to ensure that goods and services of an
acceptable quality are produced.
Basic technique of quality control:
• Inspection- seen as passive control in that work is performed, inspected and
judged for rectification or scrapping.
• Statistical Sampling- mass production industries producing standardized goods
may be possible to inspect using sampling technique.

Quality Problems
• Worker’s Problem- careless, uninterested, poorly trained, low morale, low
motivation employees.
• Management Problems- inadequate leadership, poor planning, poor
management training and lack of interest in quality.
• Working Conditions- poor working environment.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

• Tom Peters encapsulated the ideas of TQM and argued that management should
be “obsessed with quality”.
• He insists that there should be precise measurement of the costs and benefits of
the pursuit of quality.

Quality Circles (QC’s)

- Voluntary group of employees who meet regularly with the objective of improving
the way the organization provides quality of goods and services to the
customers.
Benefits:
• Can change the whole atmosphere of the organization.
• Changed attitude provides a framework within which quality can be improved.
• Improves problem solving skills of those involved.

Assessing Total Quality Management

Drucker identifies high performance areas which are critical to the long- term success
of an enterprise.
Market Standing- How high is the reputation of the company in the eyes of the
customers, competitors and employees in the public?
Innovation- Are innovations and research and development geared towards quality?
Productivity- Is any increase in productivity compatible with increase in quality
Resources- Are the resources being directed to pursuit of quality?
Profitability- Are adequate profit levels being combined with quality goods and
services?
Manager Performance- Are managers giving quality the priority it deserves?
Worker Performance and Attitude- Are workers know the idea of quality and are they
putting it into practice in their work?
Public Responsibility- Do ideas of quality apply to the public good?

Development in the Culture of Quality

Best Practice Benchmarking (BPB)
- Sets standards according to the best practice found anywhere in the world.
-Stresses the need for the most up- to- date technology and management skills.
World Class Manufacturing (WCM)
- Stresses the need to meet the changes in customer expectations.
- Stresses management commitment and encouraging employees to identify best
practice and adopt it.

THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is the process by which national barriers are breaking down in respect of
the market in which organizations operate.
- The move towards a global market place has been accelerated by the growing
acceptance that barriers to trade are essentially unproductive.

Globalization and the Manager

Managers in such companies have to be aware of the different dimensions brought to
their organizations. There are many aspects of this which affect the manager:
Decision Taking - Different countries have entirely different cultures and decision-
taking processes vary across frontiers.
Leadership Style- Some countries have much more didactic approaches to
leadership.
Motivation- People from different cultures understandably respond to different
motivation stimuli.
Personnel Policies- Security of job tenure is extremely variable from country to
country.
Organization Structures- If companies are into global operations, Organization
Structure become more complex.
Communications- Globalization has serious implications for the way different parts
of the enterprise communicate with one another.
Geographical Dispersal- Dispersed production and marketing bring new
challenges to the manager.
Technological Transfer- A critical variable in establishing competitive differential
advantage.
Costs- Trade- off of costs may be different in other countries.
Legal Environment- Each country has its own laws, in respect of manufacturing,
company statutes, employment law and marketing, etc.
Planning- Planning is made more difficult in a global market due to:
 Greater risk
 Less knowledge of local conditions
 Lack of market intelligence
 Currency Risk
 Different inflation rates
 Differing worker expectations of the enterprise.
REFERENCES:

Drucker, P. (1955) The Practice of Management, London, Heinemann

Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J. and Boydell, T. (1997) The Learning Company: A Strategy
for Sustainable Development. London: McGraw-Hill.
Sanders, P. (1982) ‘Phenomenology: a new way of viewing organizational research’,
Academy of Management Review, 7, 3: 353–360.
Senge, P. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization. London: Century.
Seymour, W.D. (1959) Operator Training in Industry. London: Institute of Personnel
Management.
Spender, D. (1985) For the Record: The Making and Meaning of Feminist Knowledge.
London: Women’s Press.

Websites:
https://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/leadership-and-the-learning-
organization.php

http://infed.org/mobi/peter-senge-and-the-learning-organization.com

https://www.thebalance.com/globalization-and-its-impact-on-economic-growth-
1978843.com

https://www.bcg.com/publications/.../how-to-create-culture-quality-improvement.aspx

Prepared By:

JENMARK JOHN F. JACOLBE