Image

,

Conclusion

I have painted the landscape of organizational learning for you. Your next step is to focus on the details: to learn more about those aspects of organizational learning that will prove most immediately helpful in your work.

Organizational learning is acquiring and applying knowledge at the individual, small-group, and whole-organization levels in order to build the capacity of the organization to achieve its strategic goals. Organizational learning is not simply a catalog of training programs, although training is a very important aspect of learning. Opportunities for learning and change are enormous in any complex organization, and they will become more obvious to you when you adopt a mental model of work as learning—when you accept the notion that you are in the business of organizational learning.

The keys to effective organizational learning? Reflection and feedback. These are what allow individuals and groups to learn from information. We are bombarded by information throughout the workday. Valuable learning occurs when we can take in this information, reflect on its meaning and value, use it in our work, and receive feedback from others regarding its effects. Your job is to create conditions in which reflection and feedback become part of the normal work processes of your organization.

I hope this short book has provided you with concepts, approaches, and even a few tools to help you help your organization learn. You no doubt realize that some of the strategies I have described can be implemented on your own, whereas others will require assistance from experts. Remember: A good manager knows when (and where) to get help.

You have a critical role to play in organizational learning. As a manager, you can create the conditions that motivate, support, and enhance everyone’s learning. Get started by filling out the self-audit below.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING SELF-AUDIT

Instructions: Answer these questions for your organization. Discuss your responses and their implications with co-workers.

1.  Are managers who support learning rewarded?

 Yes No

2.  Is there reflection and feedback at the end of meetings?

 Yes No

3.  Are learning opportunities provided as part of all meetings and gatherings of employees?

 Yes No

4.  Can employees direct their own learning?

 Yes No

5.  Does every job include some form of on-the-job training?

 Yes No

6.  Do training events have planned preparation and follow-up components?

 Yes No

7.  Are the principles of adult learning applied to training programs?

 Yes No

8.  Are employee knowledge, skills, and attitudes linked to the strategic goals of the organization?

 Yes No

9.  Do employees receive frequent formal and informal feedback on their job performance, and do they discuss what they need to learn in order to improve their performance?

 Yes No

10.  Do employees have individualized learning plans?

 Yes No

11.  Do managers have a mentor or coach who can help them implement their individualized learning plans?

 Yes No

12.  Are managers clear about their coaching role with the people they supervise?

 Yes No

13.  Is experimentation and risk-taking Yes No for the purpose of learning supported, and not punished?

 Yes No

14.  Does the organization encourage and facilitate knowledge-management and best-practices transfer?

 Yes No

15.  Do teams plan for group learning?

 Yes No

16.  Are there opportunities for whole-organization learning?

 Yes No

17.  Are the physical space of the office and the service and production areas designed for learning and productivity?

 Yes No
..................Content has been hidden....................

You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.
Reset
18.223.196.211