Vinit Shah – 21566278 (MBA)

Leading People & Teams – BA70036E

Learning Organization – A key concept towards sustainability

The longevity of any organisation is highly reliant on its aptitude to adapt to environmental changes,
undertake adjustments and enhance its processes (Odor H.O., 2019). The potential of an organisation to
learn has been attributed to a basic source of competitive advantage, which is why Odor H.O. (2019) stated
that organisational learning contributes to an organisation’s competitive edge as well as adaptability to
change. Odor H.O. (2019) defines organisational learning as the process of developing open-minded
inquiry and qualified interpretation, as well as the development of fresh insights, through which learners
construct new cognitive structures. The ultimate outcome of organisational learning is described as
learning organisation, which is multifaceted and intricate to perceive. Organisational learning culture has a
significant effect on organisation’s engineering prowess, which is directly related to long-term
organisational) performance (Odor H.O., 2019). As a result, it is advised that all organisations that wish to
stay competitive emphasis on becoming a learning organisation (Odor H.O., 2019). According to
Ziemiańczyk & Bal (2017), the concept “learning organisation” was coined in the early nineties through the
work and research of Peter Senge.
In addition to that, a learning organisation is one that emphasises "learning" as an important component of
its values, objectives, and goals, as well as all of its operations. Learning organisations have some beneficial
effects on organisational competitiveness as well as individual attitudes and behaviours (Kanten et al.,
2015). Organisational competitiveness promotes the capacity to enter new markets, outperform other
market participants, attract investment, and flourish. According to Kuşcu et al. (2015), when people expand
their learning capacity, they may improve the entire capacity of the business to learn as long as the firm is
receptive and able to put suitable mechanisms in place to facilitate, encourage, and reward the use of
what is learnt. It is critical to consider both the static and dynamic components of competitiveness because
enterprises must not only compete today but also maintain a competitive edge over time (Falciola et al.,
2020). As a result, we apply competitiveness notion in which enterprises must be able to supply customer
demand while also being able to do so sustainably, as well as being able to stay linked to the most recent
market relevant information (Falciola et al., 2020). An educated and skilled workforce is critical to
organisations’ ability to foresee or respond to change, and it is a significant predictor of economic growth
(Falciola et al., 2020).
According to Kanten et al., 2015, learning organisations have a considerable influence on people'
commitment to the organisation, job happiness, turnover intention, work engagement levels, and
innovative behaviours. Kanten et al., (2015) also suggests that learning organisations have a favourable
impact on both work embeddedness and individual adaptive performance, and they play a complete
mediator role in the interactions between organic organisational structure and job embeddedness. Kanten
et al., (2015) interprets job embeddedness as the set of forces that prevent people from quitting their
work. Job embedding is seen as a positive situation for both companies and people. Because people who
are more embedded are more likely to work harder, do their tasks better, are less likely to be tardy, and
are more likely to be involved in beneficial organisational commitment and have greater individual
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 Vinit Shah – 21566278 (MBA)

adaptive performance (Kanten et al., 2015). Organizations that choose to be learning organisations
encourage employees to gain new skills and information, allowing them to motivate and build their
careers. As a result, learning organisations are expected to have a positive influence on employees' work-
related beliefs and actions (Kanten et al., 2015).
Economic progress and competitiveness are rising in countries all around the world. Companies make
judgments, manage their operations, and build or invent new goods and manufacturing processes based
on scientific and technology research to ensure competitive benefit such as technological competitiveness
based on changing integration and consumption into markets (Khunsoonthornkit & Panjakajornsak, 2018).
Many governments, particularly affluent and stable ones, place a premium on research and development.
Khunsoonthornkit & Panjakajornsak (2018) found out that North America had the highest proportion of
GDP dedicated to research & development which was 34.90%. A learning organisation is one that has the
concept and determination to develop long-term approaches and accomplishments, as well as to combine
and exchange viewpoints with partners in order to advance the company. Its corporate culture aims to
promote learning awareness and development in accordance with the firm's strategies, as well as to
absorb and modernize the organisation (Khunsoonthornkit & Panjakajornsak, 2018).
Apart from this, Industry 4.0 demands significant improvements in human resource management and
activities such as education (Stachová et al., 2019). Businesses will profit from new knowledge in the near
future, which will need to be consistently integrated into the organisation’s internal environment.
However, this will necessitate collaboration with the outside world, as well as the consequent new
educational possibilities founded on collaboration with external associates, organisations, and educational
establishments (Stachová et al., 2019). Employee training is required in every business, although its nature,
degree, and complexity may differ depending on the firm's unique demands. It reduces the gap between
employees' current competencies and the needs imposed on them (Stachová et al., 2019).
In conclusion, organizations embrace learning as a philosophy in order to gain a sustained competitive
advantage and organizational success in today’s working environment (Kanten et al., 2015). Employee
beliefs, values and norms are brought to play in a learning organisation via the establishment of purposeful
circumstances, strategies and procedures that promote the ongoing learning of personnel, teams and the
company as a whole (Kools & George, 2020). The speculative, worldwide, and dynamic working
environment compels organisations attention on learning and designing appropriate frameworks to help
employees cope with these situations (Kanten et al., 2015). Hence, long-term success and profitability of
an organisation are inextricably tied to its ability to continually develop and implement new knowledge,
and ultimately to function on the pattern of a learning organisation (Ziemiańczyk & Bal, 2017).

References

Falciola, J., Jansen, M. and Rollo, V. (2020) “Defining firm competitiveness: A multidimensional
framework,” World Development, 129, p. 104857. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104857.

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Kanten, P., Kanten, S. and Gurlek, M. (2015) “The effects of organizational structures and learning
organization on job embeddedness and individual adaptive performance,” Procedia Economics and
Finance, 23, pp. 1358–1366. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/s2212-5671(15)00523-7.

Khunsoonthornkit, A. and Panjakajornsak, V. (2018) “Structural equation model to assess the impact of
learning organization and commitment on the performance of research organizations,” Kasetsart
Journal of Social Sciences, 39(3), pp. 457–462. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2018.07.003.

Kools, M. and George, B. (2020) “Debate: The learning organization—a key construct linking strategic
planning and Strategic Management,” Public Money & Management, 40(4), pp. 262–264. Available
at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2020.1727112.

Kuşcu, Z.K., Yener, M. and Gürbüz, F.G. (2015) “Learning organization and its cultural manifestations:
Evidence from a global white goods manufacturer,” Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 210,
pp. 154–163. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.354.

Odor, H.O. (2019) “A LITERATURE REVIEW ON ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING AND LEARNING

ORGANISATIONS,” International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 11(3), pp. 266–
280.

Stachová, K. et al. (2019) “External Partnerships in employee education and development as the key to
facing industry 4.0 challenges,” Sustainability, 11(2), p. 345. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020345.

Ziemiańczyk, U. and Bal, A.K. (2017) “Learning organisations as a part of the process of building the
competitiveness and innovativeness in rural areas,” International Journal of Business and Emerging
Markets, 9(1), p. 19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1504/ijbem.2017.080791.