This document discusses organizational learning and learning organizations. It defines learning organizations as those that facilitate continuous learning and transformation among its members to anticipate, respond to, and manage change, complexity and uncertainty. Key characteristics of learning organizations include systems thinking, personal mastery, team learning, shared vision, and challenging mental models. The document also discusses knowledge management, describing it as strategies to identify, create, share and apply insights and experiences. An important model presented is the SECI knowledge spiral model, which illustrates how tacit and explicit knowledge are converted within the organization. Finally, the document outlines some challenges to creating learning organizations, such as problems with leadership mindsets and the long-term focus required.

1. ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AS A STRATEGY

2. What are Learning
Organizations?
 Organizations that facilitates the learning of its
members and continuously transforms itself.
 Organization with an ingrained philosophy for
anticipating, reacting and responding to change,
complexity and uncertainty.
 Learning organizations develop as a result of the
pressures facing modern organizations and enables
them to remain competitive in the business
environment.
 Organizations need to maintain knowledge about
new products and processes | Understand what is
happening in the outside environment | Produce
creative solutions using the knowledge and skills of all
within the organization.
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4. Characteristics of Learning
Organizations
 Systems Thinking
 An approach to problem
solving, by viewing "problems"
as parts of an overall system,
rather than reacting to specific
part, outcomes or events
 Learning organizations use this
method of thinking when
assessing their company and
have information systems that
measure the performance of
the organization as a whole
and of its various components
 Personal Mastery
 Commitment by an individual to
the process of learning
 There is competitive advantage
for an organization whose
workforce can learn more
quickly than the workforce of
other organizations
 Acquired through staff training &
development
 Team Learning
 Accumulation of individual
learning | Individuals engage in
dialogue, & discussions (Open
communication & Shared
Understanding)
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5. Characteristics of Learning
Organizations
 Mental Models
 Assumptions held by individuals
& organizations
 Learning organization needs to
challenge these mental models
 Unwanted values need to be
discarded in a process called
‘unlearning’
 Organizations tend to have
‘memories’ which preserve
certain behaviors, norms and
values; it is important to replace
confrontational attitudes with
an open culture
 Shared Vision
 Important in motivating the staff
to learn
 Learning organizations tend to
be flat, and decentralized
structures
January
30, 2015
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6. The Learning Cycle6

7. Single & Double Loop
Learning Systems
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Single Loop Learning
• Organization reviews
performance against
targets & takes corrective
action
Double Loop Learning
• Organization challenges
governing assumptions
• Employees reflect on
behavior, identify ways
they inadvertently
contribute to
organization’s problems,
and then change how
they act

8. What is Knowledge
Management?
 Range of strategies and practices used in an
organization to identify, create, represent, distribute,
and enable adoption of insights & experiences.
 Such insights & experiences comprise knowledge,
either embodied in individuals or embedded in
organizations as processes or practices
 Knowledge Management typically focuses on
organizational objectives such as improved
performance, competitive advantage, innovation,
sharing of lessons learnt, and continuous improvement
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9. Importance of Knowledge
Management in Strategy
 Market places are increasingly competitive and the rate of
innovation is rising
 Competitive pressures reduce the size of the workforce that
holds valuable business knowledge
 Reduction in staffing create a need to replace informal
knowledge with formal methods
 The amount of time available to experience and acquire
knowledge has diminished
 Early retirement & increasing mortality of workforce lead to
loss of knowledge
 Change in strategic direction may result in the loss of
knowledge in a specific area
 Need to manage increasing complexity as small operating
companies are trans-national sourcing operations
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10. Knowledge Management
Spiral
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Tacit Knowledge
Internalized knowledge
that an individual may
not be consciously
aware of, such as how
he or she accomplishes
particular tasks
Explicit Knowledge
Knowledge that an
individual holds
consciously in mental
focus, in a form that can
be easily communicated
to others
Spiraling Knowledge Process (SECI)
Knowledge follows a cycle in which
implicit knowledge is ‘extracted’ to
become explicit knowledge, and explicit
knowledge is ‘re-internalized’ into implicit
knowledge.

11. Knowledge Management
Spiral
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Socialization: Process that transfers
tacit knowledge in one person to
tacit knowledge in another person
| through direct interaction with
customers and suppliers outside
the organization and people
inside the organization
Externalization: Process for making
tacit knowledge explicit | During
face-to-face communication
people share beliefs and learn
how to better articulate their
thinking, though instantaneous
feedback and the simultaneous
exchange of ideas
Combination: sorting, adding,
categorizing and spreading the
information in the organization.
Internalization: Process of understanding and
absorbing explicit knowledge in to tacit
knowledge
held by the individual | Internalization is largely
experiential, in order to actualize concepts and
methods, either through the actual doing or
through
simulations.

12. Challenges of Creating
Learning Organizations
 Problems of Leadership
 Leaders in the organization may already have mental
models that are entrenched and must be overcome in
order to foster the openness and confidence required
 Learning Organizations require leaders to be open to
challenges about their vision and behavior, and to be
prepared to change when necessary
 Learning Organizations require a questioning approach
that is contradictory to the cultural expectations of both
leaders and the majority of organizations
 Most leaders are promoted to their level because of their
expertise at the previous level, they then fall into the
‘Expert Trap’, telling people what to do
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13. Challenges of Creating
Learning Organizations
 Long-Term Vision
 Learning Organizations must have a long-term vision, and
be focused on the learning and development of their
workers in order to achieve development of the whole.
 This requires many to make large changes and in a results
driven, time pressured, business environment, the
decision to look long-term is a hard one to take.
 Training and Development required to move towards
being a Learning Organization takes a lot of time that
companies may not be able or willing to spend at the
moment.
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14. Thank you14