WK7 ASSIGNMENT MGT547

Collective Learning

Name

Institution

Date

Collective Learning

For an organization to boast of having a learning culture, it should have values, practices, and systems that are in line with both the individual and organizational objectives Serrat, O. (2017). The system increases the performance, competency and knowledge levels in the organization on a regular basis. In turn, this enhances continuous growth and development, supporting the achievements of organizational goals, competitive advantage, creativity and the capability to adjust to any prevailing changes.

This practice heavily borrows from Peter Senge, a renowned administration and thought a leader who pioneered the art and practice of learning organization by suggesting interrelated principles of a learning culture: The personal Mastery, Systems Thinking, Team Learning, Mental Models, Team Learning, and shared vision Senge, P. M. (2014). An ideal business learning culture allows the workforce to challenge the status quo, critical thinking, and ensure effective and efficient team congruency Caldwell, R. (2012).

The benefits of a learning culture in the organization include: Efficiency gains, operational effectiveness, increased productivity and profit. This feature consequently decreases the employee turnover, loyalty and satisfaction levels among the team. Additionally, the commitment is enhanced. The practice raises the bar of the organizational performance through the creation of an interrupted improvement mindset, shared accountability for the outcomes of individual projects and most importantly shared ownership of every process. This practice develops leaders at all stages, which is crucial in the succession plan of the organizational process. Additionally, it develops an inquiry culture that adapts to capacity building and prevents knowledge hoarding.

In order for the organization to create a sustainable organizational learning culture, the following actions are necessary: The team should begin by analyzing the position of the organization through a self-audit or assessment. This helps to pinpoint the strengths, weaknesses and the areas where there is a gap and the need for change. On top of bringing the whole team on board to be part of the process, the organization should learn by example, beginning with the executive to the junior employees. They should make the learning process a habit throughout the organization; encourage the sharing of knowledge, skills through coaching and mentoring programs. Finally, the team should appreciate that learning is an ongoing and dynamic process and should be part of the institutions DNA.

Failure to adopt an organizational culture comes with its fairs share of challenges. Pitfalls as a result of a weak learning culture include; Lack of teamwork and open door sharing environment constraints and innovative ideas. This characteristic leaves the organization with the old and traditional systems that drags efficiency and performance. The organization cannot competitively adjust in the market since the peers might be using an advanced system of organizational processes. The team feels less challenged and not empowered. This increases turnover and reduces efficiency and poor performance. Failure to adopt a learning organizational culture finds the organization in an awkward position in case of the need to introduce new changes. The process is likely to come across the resistance.

A learning organizational culture is a collaborative approach. The organization should make it a part of their day to day activities. This not only enhances their competitive advantage but makes them ready for the future. The institutional culture breaks down all conventional silos, enabling all spectrums of work in a collaborative framework towards a common goal.

References:

Caldwell, R. (2012). Systems thinking, organizational change and agency: A practice theory

critique of Senge's learning organization. Journal of Change Management, 12(2), 145-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2011.647923

Senge, P. M. (2014). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning

organization. Crown Business. https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-6301(95)90931-1

Serrat, O. (2017). Building a learning organization. InKnowledge solutions (pp. 57-67). Springer,

Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0983-9_11