Learning Organizations
Megan Squires
and
Melea Rose-Waters
Learning Organizations
October 23, 2012
Megan Squires
And
Melea Rose-Waters
October 23, 2012
What is a Learning Organization?
According to Peter Senge, a learning organization
is…
…where people continually expand their capacity
to create the results they truly desire, where
new and expansive patterns of thinking are
nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free,
and where people are continually learning to
see the whole together.
Who is Peter Senge?
• Engineering degree from Stanford; Masters in Social
Systems Modeling from MIT; PhD in Management
• Founding chair of the Society for Organizational
Learning
• 1990 wrote The Fifth Discipline
• Special Interest focus: decentralizing the role of
leadership in organizations so as to enhance the
capacity of all people to work productively towards
common goals
Learning Organization
The new leadership skills needed to create a learning organization

Systems Thinking – working together as a whole system
◦ Less of a focus on “big picture thinking”
◦ Stop blaming
◦ Detail complexity vs. Dynamic complexity
◦ Recognize areas of high leverage
◦ Avoid symptomatic solutions

Shared Vision – vision owned by all levels, create focus and energy for learning
◦ Encourage personal vision
◦ Communicate and ask for support
◦ The vision is an ongoing process
◦ Extrinsic and intrinsic visions are both valuable
◦ Positive and negative visions

Mental Models – unlearn unwanted values, learn new and valuable ones
◦ Overgeneralizations can be harmful
◦ Inquiry and advocacy skills
◦ Distinguishing espoused theory from theory in use
◦ Recognizing and defusing defensive routines
Creating a Learning Organization
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Foster an “informal” learning environment.
Reward expert skills.
Look within for experts and give them
space to share.
Create a culture that values formal
training.
People make mistakes. It’s not the end of
the world.
SoWo874: A Learning Organization?

Learning must generate valid knowledge; knowledge should lead to
action. (Lipshitz, Popper, and Friedman, 2002)

Learning is a cyclical process
◦ Evaluation of past behavior, the discovery of error or opportunity,
the invention of new behaviors, and their implementation.

Effective organizational learning requires a climate that fosters inquiry,
openness, and trust.

Policies of organizational learning: commitment to learning, tolerance
for error, and commitment to the workforce.
Do you agree or disagree?
Learning Organizations






Provide continuous learning opportunities.
Use learning to reach their goals.
Link individual performance with organizational performance.
Foster inquiry and dialogue, making it safe for people to share
openly and take risks.
Embrace creative tension as a source of energy and renewal.
Are continuously aware of and interact with their environment.
How would these characteristics look in
human services organizations?
Is your agency a learning organization?
Leadership Characteristics

Leaders reflect the same ideas as their
organizations (Lipshitz, Popper, and Friemdan, 2002)
Three inherit traits (Senge, 1990):
-Designers
-Teachers
-Doers


A shared vision of building an organization
Charisma is not a primary focus
Example from Readings



Johnson & Johnson
Contaminated Tylenol scare of 1982 and crisis
management
Robert Wood Johnson’s Policy
◦ Service to customers comes first
◦ Services to employees and management is
second
◦ Service to community comes third
◦ Services to stockholders is last
Another Example
Toyota Recalls of 2010
 Three essential elements (Harvard Business Review, 2011)

◦ Context i.e. constant improvement and
encouraged suggestions from employees
◦ Management processes: Management is
required to establish mutual relationship of
respect with workforce
◦ People: Continuing education of staff
Critical Consumption

Strengths of organizational learning
theory
◦ Evidence shows success of organizations
effective when utilizing theory .
◦ Theory fosters inquiry and dialogue; it is safe
for people to share openly and take risks.
◦ Collaboration throughout levels creates
ownership of organization.
◦ Job safety: layoffs are a last resort.
Critical Consumption (continued)

Weaknesses of organizational learning theory
◦ It can be difficult to bring everyone on board
 Weakest Link
◦ Hubris can interfere
◦ Too abstract
◦ No finite endpoint or precise definition
References
Bersin, J. (2012). Five keys to building a learning organization. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/01/18/5-keys-to-building-a-learning-organization/
Harvard Business Review. (June 24, 2011). What Toyota is still doing right. Retrieved from
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2011/ca20110624_657612.htm
Infed (2012). Peter Senge and the learning organization. Retrieved from
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm
Infed (2012). The learning organization. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-organization.htm
Lipshitz, R., Popper, M., & Friedman, V. (2002). A multifacet model of organizational learning. Journal of
Applied Behavioral Science, 38(78). doi: 10.1177/0021886302381005
Senge, P. (1990). The leader’s new work: Building learning organizations. Sloan Management Review, 32 (1).