Organizational Learning – To Sustain Competitive Advantage

Organizational learning is the means by which organizations develop, enhance, and manage
knowledge and standards within their functions and in their cultures and adjust and improve their
efficiency by making better use of the wide range of skills of their employees. It is critical for modern day
business organization.

Organizational learning is the process by which an organization improves itself over time through
gaining experience and using that experience to create knowledge. The knowledge created is then
transferred within the organization.
Organizational learning is important for all companies, as the creation, retention and transfer of
knowledge within the organization will strengthen the organization as a whole.

In the present dynamic condition of global business environment organizations are always trying have
an edge over other in gaining competitive advantage. One of the main aspects many of them have
concentrated on is organizational learning. Strategists have understood the significance of
organizational learning in generating and maintaining competitive advantage.

It is through organizational learning an organization improves the ability to respond to various business
situations and there by enhance competitive performance by means of generating of new knowledge.
Along with this, organizations have to manage their organizational learning capabilities effectively to
generate superior performance.

Individual Learning
In an organization an individual can be involved in the practice of enhancing functions by means of
improved awareness and knowledge. This is fundamentally the essence of individual learning.

An organization that finds to be in need of organizational learning first of all should create an
environment that promotes individual learning. This individual learning creates individual knowledge
which forms the foundation of knowledge building in an organization. This knowledge building process
will in turn result in organizational learning.

The development of core competences which help the organization to sustain its competitive advantage
is habitually depending on organizational learning. Thus individual learning forms the source from
which organization develops the essential core competences that makes it distinct in the business
environment.
Learning Organization
A learning organization is a firm that intentionally creates frameworks and plans in order to improve
and expand organizational learning. Such an organization will focus on the main aspects of the learning
process with the intention of leveraging the intellect of the organizational members.

Such an organization understands that it is through processes of organizational learning it can generate
new knowledge essential to achieve competitive advantage. Thus such organizations are seeking to
generate new knowledge that is based in organizational learning.

It is possible to assume the exploration of new possibilities and the exploitation of existing certainties in
organizational learning.

1. Exploration comprises of things encapsulated by terms such as investigation, disparity, risk

taking, experimentation, adaptability, detection and innovation.

2. Exploitation comprises of things such as improvement, selection, construction, efficiency,

option, completion and execution.

Both exploration and exploitation are necessary for organizational learning. Comprehending the
alternatives and enhancing the sense of balance between exploration and exploitation is needed for a
learning organization.

Why is organizational learning important?

The importance of organizational learning is shown by the various benefits that occur in organizations
that develop a learning culture:

1. Increased employee job satisfaction

2. Lower turnover rates

3. Increased productivity, profits and efficiency

4. Developing leaders at all levels

5. Enhanced adaptability throughout the organization

When organizations dedicate time and resources to developing a learning culture and implementing
organizational learning, they are more competitive.

This increased ability to react quickly to fast-changing market conditions is just one of the reasons why
organizational learning is important.

An organization that embraces the lessons that can be learned from failure and studies its own
processes will be an organization that contains more knowledge about best practices, and will be much
more able to adapt.
By creating the basis for continuous learning where all employees are teachers and students, there is an
equal exchange of information that allows each person to contribute in a substantial manner.

References:

https://www.valamis.com/hub/organizational-learning#:~:text=Organizational%20learning%20is%20the
%20process,then%20transferred%20within%20the%20organization.

https://www.managementstudyguide.com/organizational-learning.htm