Knowledge

Knowledge Management
Management
Learning
Learning Organizations
Organizations
P Narayan Murthy
Emergence of Learning
Organizations
“Only by venturing into the unknown do we enable new
ideas & new results to take place.” Margaret Wheatley
 Organizations must learn
faster & adapt to the rapid
changes in the
environment….
Otherwise, remember them?
 Many organizations do not
grasp what a learning
organization is.

Six blind men

“No problem can be solved from the same

consciousness that created it; we must learn
to see the world anew.” Albert Einstein
 The New Learning in
Organizations
• Learning is performance-based (tied to objectives/results).
• Importance is placed on learning processes (learning how to learn).
• The ability to define learning needs is as important as the answers.
• Organization-wide opportunities are created to develop knowledge,
skills, & attitudes.
• Learning is part of work, a part of everyone’s job description.
• What organizations know is less important to what & how quickly they
can learn.
The New Learning in Organizations
(cont’d)
• Learning is, in part, a product of an activity, context, & culture in which
it is developed.
• People are more willing & able to learn that which they have helped
create.
• A critical skill is the ability to know what one must know & learn on one’s
own.
• Continuous learning is essential.
• Facilitators can accelerate learning by helping people think critically.
• Learning should accommodate & challenge different learning style
preferences.
• Learning involves a cyclical, iterative process of planning, implementing,
& reflecting on action.
A learning organization has the
capability to:
• Anticipate & adapt more readily to environmental impacts.
• Accelerate the development of new processes & services.
• Become more proficient at learning from others.
• Expedite the transfer of knowledge from one part of the organization to
another.
• Learn more effectively from its mistakes.
• Make greater organizational use of employees at all levels of the
organization.
• Shorten the time required to implement strategic changes.
• Stimulate continuous improvement in all areas of the organization.
 Difference between learning
organizations & organizational learning
• Learning organizations focussed on the
what, & describes the systems,
principles, & characteristic of
organizations that learn & produce as a
collective entity.
• Organizational learning, refers to how
organizational learning occurs, i.e., the Learning Organizati
organizat onal
skills & processes of building & utilizing
ion learning
knowledge.
• Organizational learning is just one
dimension or element of a learning
organization.
 Important dimensions &
characteristics of a learning
organizations

• Learning is accomplished by the organizational system as a whole, almost as if

the organization were a single brain.
• Everyone recognize the critical importance of on-going organization learning
for the current as well as future successes.
• Learning is a continuous, strategically used process – integrated with &
parallel to work.
• Focus on creative & generative learning.
• Systems thinking is fundamental.
• Everyone has access to information & data sources.
• Encourages, rewards, & accelerate individual & group learning.
 Important dimensions &
characteristics of a learning
organization (cont’d)

• Everyone network in an innovative, community-like manner inside &

outside the organization.
• Change is embraced, & unexpected surprises & even failures are viewed
as opportunities.
• It is agile & flexible.
• Everyone is driven by a desire for quality & continuous improvement.
• Activities are inspired by aspiration, reflection, & conceptualization.
• There are well placed core competencies that serve as take-off point
for new initiatives.
• Able to continuously adapt, renew, & revitalize itself.
 The Systems-Linked
Organization Model
“Learning inside must be equal to or
greater than change outside the
organization or the organization is
in decline, & may not survive”.
Reg Revans.
Systems learning organization

model

people
organization

learning

knowledge technology
 Five closely interrelated subsystems
that interface & support one another
• The core is learning which permeates the
other subsystems.
• Each of the other subsystems are
necessary to enhance & augment the
quality & impact of learning.
• The five subsystems are dynamically
inter-related & complement each other.
 Building
Dynamic Learning Throughout
the Organization

“Learning is the new form of

labour.” Shoshana Zuboff
Learning subsystems
Levels Types
• Individual • Adaptive
• Group • Anticipatory
• Organization • Deutero
• Action

learning

Skills
• Systems
Thinking
•Mental models
•Personal Mastery
•Team learning
•Shared vision
•Dialogue
 Learning subsystem
• Core of the learning organization.
• Composed of 3 complementary dimensions:
– Levels of learning (individual, group, &
organizational)
– Types of learning (adaptive, anticipatory, deutero,
single & double loop, & action-reflection)
– Skills (systems thinking, mental models, personal
mastery, team learning, shared vision & dialogue)
• A process by 3 Domains
which
individuals Cognitive (intellectual)
gain new
knowledge &
insights that
result in a
Affective Learning
(emotional)
change of
behaviour &
actions. psychomotor (physical)
Habit & skill learning
Knowledge
Slow, calls for practice,
acquisition
opportunities for practice,
Acquiring
& making errors, &
information &
Consistent rewards
knowledge through
various cognitive
Three kinds activities.
of learning But,
learning can only
happen, if the
Emotional learner recognizes
conditioning a problem & is
& learned willing to learn; the
anxiety learner often
Most potent, cannot produce the
continue for a right type of
long timeEdgar Schein,
Harvard behaviour or skill;
 “Learning has very little to do with taking in
information. Learning, instead, is a process that is
about enhancing capacity. Learning is about
building the capability to create that which you
previously couldn’t create. It’s ultimately related
to action, which information is not.” Peter Senge,
The Fifth Discipline

• Learning, ultimately, is a social phenomenon- our

ability to learn & what we can know is determined by
the quality & openness of our relationships with
others.” Michael Marquardt
 Three levels of learning
•Empower people
•Integrate quality &
Quality of work life
organizations •Create free space
For learning

Collaborat
teams e
&
share
gains

•Promote inquiry
•Create continuous
individuals learning opportunities
 Learning organization

• Is a union of individuals (the lower triangle) &

organizations (upper triangle)
• The key is the overlap, which where teams
function & benefit the learning organization.
• The utilization of the combined resources &
energies of the individuals, teams & the
organization creates the learning organization.
 Adaptive

Four Types
of Learning
Anticipat in Deute
ory Organizations ro

Action
 Adaptive learning
action outcome results reflection
data
• Single Loop learning: focused on gaining information
to stabilize & maintain existing systems, emphasis on
error detection & corrections; obtaining direct
solutions to the immediate problem; used in most
organizations
• Double Loop learning: more in-depth & involves
questioning the system itself; looks deeper at norms &
structures; raises questions about their validity;
organizations unwilling to engage in double loop
learning
 Anticipatory learning

vision reflection action

approach
• Learns from expecting the future;
• Seeks to avoid negative results &
experiences;
• “Planning as learning” approach
 Deutero learning

• Learns from critically reflecting upon

its taken-for-granted assumptions;
• “Learning about learning”;
• Members become cognizant about
previous organizational contexts for
learning
 Comparisons
• Adaptive learning is more a coping form
of learning
• Anticipatory & deutero learning are
much more generative or creative - the
organization is greatly empowered since
staff is more proactive, reflective &
creative in their learning
 Action Learning
• Involves working on real problems, focusing on the learning
acquired, & actually implementing solutions
• “There is no learning without action, & no action without
learning”
• L = P + Q; where
• L = learning
• P = programmed instructions (knowledge in current use)
• Q = questioning (fresh insights)
learning disciplines or skills

Personal Team
mastery learning

Systems
thinking

Mental Shared
models vision

Peter Senge, Fifth Discipline

 Systems Thinking

• “It is a discipline for seeing wholes, a framework for

seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect
chains, for seeing underlying structures rather than
events, for seeing patterns of change rather than
snapshots. “
• Small well focussed action can sometimes produce
significant enduring improvements.
• Changes planned or unplanned in one part of the
organization can effect other parts with surprising , often
negative consequences.
 Personal Mastery

• Essential cornerstone of a learning

organization.
• Entails a commitment to continuous
learning at all levels.
• A discipline of continually clarifying &
deepening personal vision, energies &
patience.
 Team Learning

• The process of aligning & developing the

capacity of a team to create the learning &
results that its members seek.
• Involves the need to think insightfully about
complex issues.
• Need innovative coordinated action.
• Must encourage & stimulate learning in other
teams.
 Mental Models

• An image or perspective of an event, situation,

activity or concept.
• A deeply ingrained assumption that influences
how we understand the world & how we take
action.
• Turning the mirror inward, of learning how to
unearth internal or images of the world & then
to bring them to surface.
 Shared Vision

• Provides a focus & energy for learning.

• Leads to generative learning.
• People tend to excel & learn, not because they
are forced to, but because they sincerely want
to.
• Foster heartfelt commitment by people
throughout the organization to seek, to
improve, to learn.
 Learning Capacity of
Organizations

• Speed: how fast the organization is able to rotate around the learning
cycle (planning, implementing & reflecting & complete the iteration.
• Depth: the degree to which organizations are able to learn at the end
of each iteration of the cycle by questioning underlying assumptions &
improving their capacity to learn in the future.
• Breadth: how extensively organizations are able to transfer new
insights & knowledge derived from each iteration of the learning cycle
to other issues & parts of the organization.
 Learning & Training
• Training
• Outside in, done by others,
assumes relative stability
• Focuses on knowledge, skills & job
performance accomplishment
• Appropriate for developing
competencies
• Emphasizes improvement
• Not necessarily linked to
organization’s mission &
strategies
• Structured learning experiences
with short-term focus
Learning
• Inside out, seek to do for self,
assumes continuous change
• Focuses on values,attitudes,
innovation & outcomes
• Helps organizations & individuals
learn how to learn and create own
solutions
• Emphasizes breakthrough
• Directly aligned with
organization’s vision &
requirements for success
• Formal & informal, long-term
future-oriented, learner-initiated
 Action Learning: Coaching &
continuous learning framework

planning

learn
learn coac
coac
er
er hh

reflection application
Shared responsibility
Open communication
 Top Strategies to Build
Learning Subsystem
1. Develop Action Learning
Programmes throughout the
organization
2. Increase individual’s ability
to learn how to learn
3. Develop a discipline of
dialogue
4. Create career development
plans for employability
5. Establish self-development
cash programmes
6. Build team-learning skills
7. Encourage & practice
systems thinking
8. Use scanning & scenario
planning for Anticipatory
Learning
9. Encourage & expand
diversity, multicultural &
global mindsets & learnings
10. Change the mental model
relative to learning
 Organization
Transformation for
Learning Excellence

“The prime business of business is

learning.” Harrison Owen
Vision Culture

Organization
organization subsystems

Struct Strate
ure gy
 Vision
• “Stars to steer by”
• Energize the organization
• Exhilarating
• Create the spark & excitement
• Shared by everyone
• Learning must be part of the vision
 Culture
• Distinctive ways of believing, thinking & acting manifested by
symbols, heroes, rituals, ideology & values
• A learning organization encourages & rewards learning
• Responsibility for learning is shared by all
• People trust & care for each other
• People are willing to take risks & innovate
• Financial & human resources are provided for learning
• Different learning styles are recognized & appreciated
• “How can this be done better?” is always asked
• Responsive to changes & chaos
Strategy

• Intertwine & align organization-wide learning with business & personal

success.
• Build learning into all operations & activities.
• Relate staff policies to becoming a learning organization.
• Recognize & reward learning.
• Measure & broadcast impact & benefits of learning.
• Generate a large number of learning opportunities.
• Set aside time for learning.
• Create physical environment & space for learning.
• Maximize learning on the job.
 Workplace learning process
Continuous Uses assignments, business
workplace problems & experiences as
learning model learning opportunities

Plan
Transfer Identify what needs
Record lessons to be learned to deal
learned and share With new & unfamiliar
with others situations
Manag Ask questions
es self Identify & use tools
& resources to gain
as a knowledge

learner Reflect on Plan

Reflect on Restructure problems
Action by incorporating
Obtain and use different
feedback to improve perspectives
performance Act
Continuous Workplace learning process
Uses assignments, business
workplace problems & experiences as
learning model learning opportunities
Plan
Transfer Establish an environment
Record lessons conducive to workplace
learned and share learning
with others
Help Assist others in setting &
meeting goals
Others Help others identify tools &
Learn resources

Reflect on Reflect on Plan

Action Help others
Encourage reflection restructure problems
by incorporating
Provide feedback to different
others on learning Act perspectives
accomplishments
Structure
Streamlined, flat hierarchy
•
Seamless, boundary-less, & holistic
•
Project form of organizing & implementing
•
Networking
•
Small units with entrepreneurial thinking
•
Bureaucracies are rooted out
•
Top Strategies for Organization
Transformation to Learning
1. Hold a Future Search 6. Make learning a part of all
Conference policies & procedures
2. Gain top level management 7. Establish centers of
support excellence & demonstration
3. Create a corporate climate projects.
for continuous learning 8. Use measurement of financial
4. Reengineer policies & & non-financial areas as a
structures around learning learning activity
5. Recognize & reward 9. Create time, space, &
individual & team learning physical environment for
learning
10. Make learning intentional at
all times & in all locations
 Empowering
&
Enabling People
“People are the masters.”
Edmund Burke
 Employees

Managers/
People
Customers
Leaders

people
subsystems
Alliance
Vendors & partners
Suppliers
Community
People need to be empowered &
enabled. Otherwise ….

Empowered Enabled
but not but not
enabled empowered

“mad pilots” “caged eagles”

 Principles & guidelines for
empowering & enabling staff

• Treat them as mature, capable workers & learners

• Encourage freedom, energy & enthusiasm
• Maximize the delegation of authority &
responsibility
• Involve employees in developing strategies &
planning
• Strike a balance between individual & organization
needs
 Striking a balance between
individual & organization needs

Performance Performance
capability Needs Needs of
of the individual the
organization
 Changes In Organizations
From To
Continual change Transformation
Quality Improvement Process engineering
Matrix Network
Performance appraisal Performance management
Technophobia Application of technology
Functions Process
Control Empowerment
Employment Employability
 New Leadership Roles
• Instructor, Coach, Mentor
• Knowledge Manager
• Co-learner & model for learning
• Architect & designer
• Co-ordinator
• Advocate & champion for learning
processes & projects
 New Leadership Skills

• Build a shared vision

• Co-ordinate multiple, task-focused Teams
• Surface & test mental models
• Engage in systems thinking
• Encourage creativity, innovation, & willingness to
risk
• Conceptualize & inspire learning & action
 Top Strategies for
Empowerment & Enablement
1. Institute personnel policies
that reward learning
2. Create self-managed work
teams
3. Empower employees to
learn & produce
4. Encourage leaders to model
& demonstrate learning
5. Invite leaders to champion
learning processes &
projects
6. Balance learning &
development needs of the
individual & organization
7. Encourage & enhance client
participation in
organization learning
8. Provide education
opportunities for the
community
9. Build long term learning
partnerships with vendors
& suppliers
10. Maximize learning from
alliances & joint ventures
Knowledge Management
in Learning
Organizations

“Knowledge is power.” Francis Bacon

Acquisition Creation

Knowledge
knowledge
subsystem
Transfer
Storage &
utilization
External Sources
• Benchmarking from other
organizations
• Attending conferences
• Hiring consultants
• Reading print materials
• Viewing TV, video & film
Internal Sources
Knowledge
• Monitoring economic, social
& technological trends • Tapping into
• Collecting data knowledge of its
• Hiring new staff
• Collaborating with other
Acquisition staff
• Learning from
organizations experience
• Implementing
continuous change
process
Two Important Points
• There is not a one-to-one correspondence
between what is happening & what is collected
due to the numerous filters that influences
what information the organization listens to &
ultimately accepts;
• Acquiring knowledge is not always intentional
but learning organizations build more
intentionality into the acquiring of knowledge.
 Knowledge Creation

• Generative & imperative forဠlearning

organizations
• Should be at the epicenter of an
organization’s corporate strategy
Tacit
knowledge:
The knowledge Explicit-to-
we hold inside, Tacit-to-Tacit Explicit
but have
difficulty in
expressing Four
Four
patterns
patterns
of
Explicit of
producin
producin
knowledge: gg
The formal, creative
creative
systematic & knowled
knowled
easily shared ge
ge
form of
knowledge
Explicit-to-
Tacit-to-
Tacit
Explicit
 Activities an organization can
take to create knowledge

• Action Learning
• Systematic Problem Solving
• Experimentation
• Learning from past experiences
Knowledge Storage Knowledge Retrieval:
& Retrieval • Either controlled (by memory
or records of individuals or
groups) or automatic
Knowledge stored should • Processes must be designed
be: to ensure that the retrieval of
• structured & stored so information occurs accurately
that the system can find &
deliver it quickly &
correctly
• Divided into categories
on a learning-needs basis Functional & effective Knowledge
• Organized so that it can Storage systems are categorized
be delivered in a clear & around:
concise way to the user • Learning needs
• Accurate, timely, & • Work objectives
available to those who • User Expertise
need it • Function/Use of information
• Location – where & how the
information is stored
 Intentional Transfer
1. Individually written
communication
2. Training
3. Internal conferences
Knowledge 4. Briefings
5. Internal publications
Transfer & 6. Tours
Utilization 7. Job rotation/transfer
8. Mentoring
• mechanical
• electronic &
• interpersonal
movement of
information &
knowledge

Unintentional Transfer
1. Job rotation
2. Stories & myths
3. Task Forces
4. Informal Networks
 Limiting factors in transfer of
knowledge

• Costs
• Cognitive capacity of receiving unit
• Message delay due to priorities of
sending knowledge; and
• Message modification or distortion of
meaning either intentionally or
unintentionally
 Learning “Less than 10% of the learning
Transference ever transferred to the job”
that occurs in the classroom is

Strategies
Broad & Newstrom

Before the course: During the course: After the course:

(guidelines for what to (what skills & tools to (follow-on activities)
expect from the course & practice)
how to prepare for it)
Manager Familiarize oneself with Protect learner from Develop opportunities to
the course & discuss work-related use new behaviours
planned use of learning interruptions immediately on the job

Learner Confer with the manager & Maintain an ideas-&- Regularly assess
previous trainees on course application notebook to performance & give
objectives, content, note key concepts & “stokes” for progress
process & job application applications to the job

Trainer Confer with supervisors on Help learners for mutual Contact learners to
possible barriers to support groups to learn provide support & help
transfer of training back together & help each with problems in
on the job & identify ways other back on the job transferring new skills to
to reduce or eliminate. the job
 Top Strategies for Knowledge
Management
1. Create expectation that 6. Train staff in storage &
everyone is responsible for retrieval of knowledge
collecting & transferring 7. Encourage team mixing & job
knowledge rotation
2. Systematically capture 8. Develop a knowledge base
relevant knowledge external to around values & learning needs
the organization
9. Create mechanisms for
3. Organize learning events to collecting & storing learning's
capture & share knowledge
10. Transfer classroom learning
4. Develop creative & generative to the job
ways of thinking & learning
5. Encourage & reward
innovations & inventions
Harnessing Technological Power
for Organizational Learning

“Organizations that know how to harness

technology to enhance their learning capacity
will possess a decided competitive advantage.”
Micheal Marquardt
Technology subsystems

IT Technology-
Based learning

technology

Electroni
c
Perform
ance
Support
System
(EPSS)
 Information Technology

• Present new strategic opportunities

for organizations to learn
• It enables organization to automate,
informate & transform themselves
 New rules of management, change,
development & learning

• Information can appear simultaneously in as many

places as needed
• A generalist can do the work of an expert
• Organizations can simultaneously reap the benefits of
centralization & decentralization
• Decision-making is part of everyone’s job
• Field personnel can send & receive information
wherever they are
• Plans can be revised instantaneously
 IT & flow of knowledge

• Improves the ability of people to communicate with

one another because it blurs the boundaries & increase
the possible relationships beyond hierarchies
• Makes it easier for people to communicate directly
with one another across time & space
• Reduces the number of management levels needed &
yet provide an enhanced potential for span of control
• Contributes to the flexibility
 Impact of IT on organizations

• IT changes the way work is done

• IT enables integration of business functions
• IT causes shifts in the competitive climate
• IT presents new strategic opportunities
• IT demands basic changes
• IT forces transformation
 Technology-based learning
• Includes computers, multimedia, interactive video,
& distance learning
The corporate learning environment will be:
• Modular
• Multi-sensory
• Portable
• Transferable
• Interruptible
Electronic performance support
systems (EPSS)

• The learning tool of the 21st century

• Use computers to capture, store & distribute
knowledge throughout the organization, helping
workers to reach the highest level of performance
in the fastest possible time, with the least
personnel support
• The goal of EPSS is to “provide whatever is
necessary to generate performance & learning at
the point of need”
 Components of EPSS

System Link to Competency

informat external profile
ion applications

Monitoring,
assessment Expert knowledge
On-line
& feedback base
documenta
system
tion

Integrate
Electronic On-line help
d
integrated training
reference & job
system aids
 EPSS & the organizational
learning process
EPPS can support learning directly on:
• Performance-centred design
• Performance
• Individual learning
• Generation of new knowledge
• Knowledge capture
 Top Strategies for Technology
Application
1. Encourage & enable all staff to
connect into the information
highway
2. Develop multi-media technology-
based learning centers
3. Create or expand video instruction
4. Use technology to capture
knowledge & ideas from people
within & outside the organization
5. Acquire & develop competencies in
groupware & self-learning
technology
6. Install EPSS
7. Plan & develop a just-in-time
learning system
8. Build internal courseware
technology & capability
9. Develop awareness &
appreciation of technology as
a powerful tool for
organization-wide learning
10. Increase technological
responsibilities of
Management & Human
Resources Staff
 Steps in Becoming

A Learning Organization
A Learning Organization
• There is no single, guaranteed way for
becoming a learning organization
• One never is fully a learning
organization
• Change always continues & therefore
the need for learning is never finished.
• Learning organizations practice &
perform the disciplines of learning in all
five sub-systems
Steps in the ladder of organizational
learning
16. Continuous adaptation, improvement & learning

15. Learn more about learning organizations

14. Encourage, expect & enhance at all levels

13. Acquire & apply best of technology

12. Capture learning & release knowledge

11. Extend organizational learning to the entire business chain

10. Empower & enable employees

9. Cut bureaucracy & streamline the structure

8. Establish Organization-wide strategies for learning

7. Transform the organizational culture to one of continuous learning

6. Leaders demonstrate & model commitment to learning

5. Recognize the importance of systems thinking & action

4. Communicate the vision of a learning organization

3. Assess capability in each of the 5 sub-systems

2. Connect learning with business operations

1. Commit to becoming a learning organization

 Building, Maintaining &
Sustaining the Learning
Organization
“The toughest thing about being a success is
keeping on being a success.” Irving Berlin
 1. Where within the
organization do we Four
begin the effort?
significant
Questions

4. How do we
2. How do we
maintain the
successfully
new learning
continue the
organization?
transformation?

3. What are the facilitating

factors that encourage the
building of a learning
organization?
1. Where within the organization do
we begin the effort?
• Begin at any entry point that has the
potential to affect others!
– Top management
– Human Resources Department Whatever you do, don’t
– Joint management-union initiative wait around & hope
– Task Forces something magical
– Consciousness-raising development happens on its own.
programme Take the initiative &
– Strategic planning cycle start climbing the
– Diagnosis of Learning Organization profile ladder!
– Organization Conference
– Focus on one of the key organization’s
issues
– Start with one department
2. How do we successfully continue
the transformation?

• Establish a strong sense of urgency

• Form a powerful coalition
• Create the vision
• Communicate & practice the vision
• Remove obstacles that prevent others from acting on the new vision
• Create short-term wins
• Consolidate progress achieved & push for continued movement
• Anchor changes in the organization’s culture
 3. What are the facilitating
factors that encourage the building
of a learning organization?
• Scanning Imperative
• Performance gap
• Concern for movement
• Experimental mindset
• Climate of openness
• Continuous education
• Operational variety
• Multiple advocates or champions
• Involved leadership
• Systems perspective
 4. How do we maintain the new learning
organization?
Caterpillars, Pupas & Butterflies –
Transition to a Learning Organization

organization knowledge

learning

technology people

caterpillar pupa

butterfly
 Learning organizations are
where success is more
possible, where quality is
more assured, & where
energetic & talented people
want to be.