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The Learning organization concept occurred recently through the work and research
of ×    and his colleagues. It encourages organizations to shift to a more
interconnected way of thinking. Organizations should become more like communities that
employees can feel a commitment to. They will work harder for an organization they are
committed to. This concept of Learning Organization was popularized by him through his
book The Fifth Discipline.

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 is the term given to a company that facilitates the learning
of its members and continuously transforms itself. Learning Organizations develop as a result
of the pressures facing modern organizations and enables them to remain competitive in the
business environment.

  


³Organizations 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 learn together.´
± ×  
 

³an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously
transforms itself.´ ± ×   


Learning Organization is one that acquires knowledge and innovates fast enough to
survive and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. Learning organizations

(1) Create a culture that encourages and supports continuous employee learning, critical
thinking, and risk taking with new ideas,

(2) allow mistakes, and value employee contributions,

(3) Learn from experience and experiment, and

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(4) Disseminate the new knowledge throughout the organization for incorporation into day-
to-day activities.

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Organizations do not organically develop into Learning Organizations; there are

usually factors prompting their change.

è‘ It has been found that as organizations grow, they lose their natural capacity to learn
as company structures and individual thinking becomes rigid.
è‘ hen problems arise in the company, the solutions that are proposed often turn out to
be only short term (single loop learning) and re-emerge in the future.
è‘ To remain competitive, many organizations have restructured, which has resulted in
fewer people in the company. This means those who remain need to work more
effectively.
è‘ To create a competitive advantage, companies need to be able to learn faster than their
competitors and also develop a customer responsive culture.
è‘ In addition to the above modern organizations need to maintain knowledge about new
products and processes, understand what is happening in the outside environment and
produce creatively using the knowledge and skills of all employed within the
organization.

This requires co-operation between individuals and groups, free and reliable
communication, and a culture of trust. These needs can be met through embracing the tenets
of the Learning Organization.

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a Learning Organization exhibits five main characteristics, systems thinking,

personal mastery, mental models, a shared vision and team learning.

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The idea of the Learning Organization originally developed from a body of work
called systems thinking. This is a conceptual framework that allows people to study
businesses as bounded objects. Learning Organizations employ this method of thinking when
assessing their company and will have developed information systems that measure the

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performance of the organization as a whole and of its various components. Systems thinking
also states that all the characteristics listed must be apparent at once in an organization for it
to be a Learning Organization. If one or more of these characteristics is missing then the
organization will fall short of its goal.

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×ersonal mastery is the commitment by an individual to the process of learning. There

is a competitive advantage for an organization whose workforce can learn quicker than the
workforce of other organizations. Individual learning is acquired through staff training and
development, however learning cannot be forced upon an individual if he or she is not
receptive to learning. Research has shown that most learning in the workplace is incidental,
rather than the product of formal training, therefore it is important to develop a culture where
personal mastery is practiced in daily life a Learning Organization has been described as the
sum of individual learning, but it is important for there to be mechanisms by which individual
learning is transferred into organizational learning.

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Mental models are the terms given to ingrained assumptions held by individuals and
organizations. To become a Learning Organization, these mental models must have to been
challenged. Individuals tend to adopt theories, which they intend to follow, and theories-in-
use, which is what they actually do. Similarly, organizations tend to have µmemories¶ which
preserve certain behaviours, norms and values. In the creation of a learning environment it is
important to replace confrontational attitudes with an open culture that promotes inquiry and
trust. To achieve this, the Learning Organization will have mechanisms for locating and
assessing organizational theories of action. If there are unwanted values held by the
organization, these need to be discarded in a process called µunlearning¶, which is referred to
as µtriple loop learning.¶

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The development of a shared vision is important in incentivising the workforce to

learn as it creates a common identity that can provide focus and energy for learning. The
most successful visions build on the individual visions of the employees at all levels of the
organization and the creation of a shared vision is likely to be hindered by traditional
structures where a company vision is imposed from above. as a result, Learning

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Organizations tend to have flat, decentralized organizational structures. The topic of shared
vision is often to succeed against a competitor, these however are transitory goals and there
should also be long term goals that are intrinsic within the company.


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Team learning is the accumulation of individual learning. The benefit of sharing

individual learning is that employees grow more quickly and the problem solving capacity of
the organization is improved through better access to knowledge and expertise. Learning
Organizations have structures that facilitate team learning with features such as boundary
crossing and openness. Team learning requires individuals to engage in dialogue and
discussion, therefore it is important that team members develop open communication, shared
meaning and understanding. Learning Organizations also have excellent knowledge
management structures, which allow creation, acquisition, dissemination, and implementation
of this knowledge throughout the organization.

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The need to adopt this model comes from a diversity of reasons which are as follows.

è‘ ant for superior performance and competitive advantage

è‘ For customer relations
è‘ To avoid decline
è‘ To improve quality
è‘ To understand risks and diversity more deeply
è‘ For innovation
è‘ For our personal and spiritual well being
è‘ To increase our ability to manage change
è‘ For understanding
è‘ For energized committed work force
è‘ To expand boundaries
è‘ To engage in community
è‘ For independence and liberty
è‘ For awareness of the critical nature of interdependence
è‘ ecause the times demand it
è‘ It gives people hope that things can be better

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 è‘ It provides a playground for creative ideas
è‘ It provide a safe place to take risks with new ideas and behaviours and the challenge
needed to stretch beyond perceived limits
è‘ It values everyone¶s opinion and amount that people can contribute is not determined
by position in the organization

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a Learning Organisation encourages its members to improve their personal skills and
qualities, so that they can learn and develop. They benefit from their own and other people's
experience, whether it be positive or negative.


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×eople are appreciated for their own skills, values and work. all opinions are treated
equally and with respect. y being aware of their role and importance in the whole
organisation, the workers are more motivated to "add their bit". This encourages creativity
and free-thinking, hence leading to novel solutions to problems. all in all there is an increase
in job satisfaction.

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×eople learn skills and acquire knowledge beyond their specific job requirements.
This enables them to appreciate or perform other roles and tasks. Flexibility allows workers
to move freely within the organisation, whilst at the same time it removes the barriers
associated with a rigidly structured company. It also ensures that any individual will be able
to cope rapidly with a changing environment, such as those that exist in modern times.

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There are more opportunities to be creative in a learning organisation. There is also

room for trying out new ideas without having to worry about mistakes. Employees' creative
contribution is recognised and new ideas are free to flourish.

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Learning requires social interaction and interpersonal communication skills. an

organisation based on learning will ensure members become better at these activities. Teams
will work better as a result.

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Learning Organisations provide the perfect environment for high performing teams to
learn, grow and develop. On the other hand these teams will perform efficiently for the
organisation to produce positive results.


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a team is composed of highly specialised members who can not and are not expected
to know everything about a job. In this case the sharing of common knowledge is quite
important for the completion of a job. ithin learning organisations in general, and teams in
particular, information and knowledge flows around more freely. This makes for higher
productivity within teams and between teams as they build on each other¶s strengths. Trust
between team members increases and hence they value each other¶s opinions more.

    

In any organisation people depend on each other for the completion of their jobs.
Learning Organisations will increase this awareness, and improve relations between people at
a personal level. y knowing more about other people's roles, needs and tasks, members can
manage their time better and plan their work more efficiently. This dependency is decreased
as learning is enhanced, letting people get on with their own job better as they rely less on
others.

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an active learning organisation will have at its heart the concept of continuous
learning. Therefore it will always be improving in its techniques, methods and technology.

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The old hierarchical communication barrier between manager-worker has devolved

into more of a coach-team member scenario. Leaders support the team, not dictate to it. The
team appreciates this which in turn helps them to be highly motivated.

all workers have an increased awareness of the company's status, and all that goes on
in other departments. Communication between and across all layers of the company gives a
sense of coherence, making each individual a vital part of the whole system. orkers
perform better as they feel more a part of the company; they are not just pawns in a game.


  



a company's first priority is its customer's needs. a Learning Organisation cuts the
excess bureaucracy normally involved with customer relations allowing greater contact
between the two. If the customer¶s requirements change, learning organisations can adapt
faster and cope more efficiently with this change.




 
 

Over time a company builds up a pool of learning, in the form of libraries, and human
expertise. This pool of knowledge within learning organisations is larger than average. New
problems and challenges can be met faster using this increased resource.






 

as more people in every level of a company engage in continual learning a valid

contribution can come from any member of the company, and from any part of the company.
eing innovative and creative is the responsibility of the whole workforce and allows
learning organisations to adapt to changes in the state of the market, technology and
competition efficiently.

Moreover, this creativity gives rise to an increased synergy. The interaction between
high performing teams produces a result which is higher than was planned or expected of
them.

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There are many reasons why an organization may have trouble transforming
themselves into a learning organization.

The first is that an organization does not have enough time. Employees and
management may have other issues that take priority over trying to change the culture of their
organization. The team may not be able to commit the time it takes.

another problem is that an institution does not have the appropriate help or training.
For an organization to be able to change, it needs to know the steps necessary and the
problems that it needs to solve. as a solution, a mentor or coach who is well versed in the
learning organization concept may be necessary.

also, the change may not be relevant to the organizations needs. Time should be spent
on the actual issues of the organization and its daily issues. To combat this challenge, a
strategy must be built. The organization should determine what its problems are before
entering into the transformation. Training should be kept linked to business results so that it is
easier for employees to link it to everyday issues.

Some organizations can find it hard to embrace personal mastery because as a concept
it is intangible and the benefits cannot be quantified. additionally, personal mastery can be
seen as a threat to the organization, i.e. if individuals do not engage with a shared vision,
personal mastery could be used to advance their own vision.

In some organizations a lack of a pro-learning culture can be a barrier to learning. It is

important that an environment is created where individuals can share learning without it
being devalued and ignored, so more people can benefit from their knowledge and the
individual becomes empowered.

Resistance to learning can occur within a Learning Organization if there is not

sufficient buy in at an individual level. This is often encountered by people who feel
threatened by change or believe that they have the most to lose. The same people who feel

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threatened by change are likely to have closed mind sets are not willing to embrace
engagement with mental models.

Unless implemented coherently across the whole organization, learning can be viewed
as elitist and restricted to more senior levels within the organization. If this is the case,
learning will not be viewed as a shared vision. If training and development is compulsory, it
can be viewed as a form of control, rather than a form of personal development. Learning and
the pursuit of personal mastery needs to be an individual choice, therefore enforced take up
will not work.

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In the future the following areas will become increasingly more important:

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There will be more emphasis on learning and hence more investment in improving
individuals, teams and the organisation. There will be more emphasis on the ability to learn
and take on board new ideas and methods. Training will be provided by people within the
company who actually do the work. Training will no longer be a separate activity but an
integral part of the teams in the company.

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The price per performance ratio of technology will increase greatly. The value of
technology compared to labour will improve by an even greater amount. Technology will
become more cross functional and transparent.




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The increased access to the information highway will make information more
available and to a wider audience. arriers to learning, such as lack of information and the
availability of material will be reduced. Learning Organisation will harness this form of
information and use it to their advantage. Employees regardless of their status will have
access to information that previously only their managers had.

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In the future, organisation will be based on knowledge and not just physical assets
such as land or products. The most important employee will be a `knowledge worker' and
employees will be judges on their ability to learn.

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The increased use of technology and the increased efficiency of individuals will lead
to some necessary redundancies; whether this leads to an overall increase in unemployment is
more debatable. The true `knowledge worker' will be able to adapt his/her skills to re-
employment.

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×revious organisation cultures which are based on position or hierarchy will

disappear. The culture of an organisation will be based on learning and the skills of
individuals.


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a learning culture will help customers and clients understand each other's needs
better. It will allow a greater degree of co-operation between customer and clients.

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Kolb's learning theory sets out four distinct learning styles, which are based on a four-
stage learning cycle-a 'training cycle'. In this respect Kolb's model is particularly elegant,
since it offers both a way to understand individual people's different learning styles, and also
an explanation of a cycle of experiential learning that applies to us all.

Kolb includes this 'cycle of learning' as a central principle his experiential learning theory,
typically expressed as four-stage cycle of learning, in which 'immediate or concrete
experiences' provide a basis for 'observations and reflections'. These 'observations and
reflections' are assimilated and distilled into 'abstract concepts' producing new implications
for action which can be 'actively tested' in turn creating new experiences.

Kolb says that ideally this process represents a learning cycle or spiral where the learner
'touches all the bases', means a cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting.

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Immediate or concrete experiences lead to observations and reflections. These reflections are
then assimilated, i.e absorbed and translated, into abstract concepts with implications for
action, which the person can actively test and experiment with, which in turn enable the
creation of new experiences.

Kolb's model therefore works on two levels - a four-stage cycle:

1.‘ Concrete Experience - (CE)

2.‘ Reflective Observation - (RO)
3.‘ abstract Conceptualization - (aC)
4.‘ active Experimentation - (aE)

and a four-type definition of learning styles, (each representing the combination of two
preferred styles, rather like a two-by-two matrix of the four-stage cycle styles, as illustrated
below), for which Kolb used the terms:

1.‘ Diverging (CE/RO)

2.‘ assimilating (aC/RO)
3.‘ Converging (aC/aE)
4.‘ accommodating (CE/aE)

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Kolb explains that different people naturally prefer a certain single different learning style.
Various factors influence a person's preferred style: notably in his experiential learning theory
model (ELT) Kolb defined three stages of a person's development, and suggests that our
propensity to reconcile and successfully integrate the four different learning styles improves
as we mature through our development stages. The development stages that Kolb identified
are:

1.‘a
 - birth to adolescence - development of basic abilities and 'cognitive structures'.
2.‘Ô
 
 - schooling, early work and personal experiences of adulthood - the
development of a particular 'specialized learning style' shaped by 'social, educational, and
organizational socialization'.
3.‘`
 - mid-career through to later life - expression of non-dominant learning style in
work and personal life.

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hatever influences the choice of style, the learning style preference itself is actually the
product of two pairs of variables, or two separate 'choices' that we make, which Kolb
presented as lines of axis, each with 'conflicting' modes at either end:

Concrete Experience - CE (feeling) -----V-----abstract Conceptualization - aC (thinking)

active Experimentation - aE (doing)-----V----- Reflective Observation - RO (watching)

a typical presentation of Kolb's two continuums is that the east-west axis is called the
×rocessing Continuum-how we approach a task, and the north-south axis is called the
×erception Continuum (our emotional response, or how we think or feel about it).

These learning styles are the combination of two lines of axis (continuums) each formed
between what Kolb calls 'dialectically related modes' of 'grasping experience'-doing or
watching, and 'transforming experience'-feeling or thinking:

The word 'dialectically' is not widely understood, and yet carries an essential meaning,
namely µconflicting¶. Kolb meant by this that we cannot do both at the same time, and to an

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extent our urge to want to do both creates conflict, which we resolve through choice when
confronted with a new learning situation. e internally decide whether we wish to do or
watch, and at the same time we decide whether to think or feel.

The result of these two decisions produces the preferred learning style, hence the two-by-two
matrix below. e choose a way of 'grasping the experience', which defines our approach to
it, and we choose a way to 'transform the experience' into something meaningful and usable,
which defines our emotional response to the experience. Our learning style is a product of
these two choice decisions:

1.‘-ow to approach a task - ie., 'grasping experience' - preferring to (a) watch or (b) do , and
2.‘Our emotional response to the experience - ie., 'transforming experience' - preferring to (a)
think or (b) feel.

In other words we choose our approach to the task or experience ('grasping the experience')
by opting for 1(a) or 1(b):

u‘ 1(a) - though watching others involved in the experience and reflecting on what happens
('reflective observation' - 'watching') or

u‘ 1(b) - through 'jumping straight in' and just doing it ('active experimentation' - 'doing')

and at the same time we choose how to emotionally transform the experience into something
meaningful and useful by opting for 2(a) or 2(b):

u‘ 2(a) - through gaining new information by thinking, analyzing, or planning ('abstract

conceptualization' - 'thinking') or

u‘ 2(b) - through experiencing the 'concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world' ('concrete
experience' - 'feeling')

The combination of these two choices produces a preferred learning style.

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It's often easier to see the construction of Kolb's learning styles in terms of a two-by-two
matrix. The diagram also highlights Kolb's terminology for the four learning styles;
diverging, assimilating, and converging, accommodating:
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 Doing (active atching(Reflective
Experimentation - aE) Observation - RO)

Feeling (Concrete
accommodating (CE/aE) Diverging (CE/RO)
Experience - CE)

Thinking (abstract
Conceptualization - Converging (aC/aE) assimilating (aC/RO)
aC)

Thus, for example, a person with a dominant learning style of 'doing' rather than 'watching'
the task, and 'feeling' rather than 'thinking' about the experience, will have a learning style
which combines and represents those processes, namely an 'accommodating' learning style,
in Kolb's terminology.

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Knowing a person's learning style enables learning to be orientated according to the preferred
method. That said, everyone responds to and needs the stimulus of all types of learning styles
to one extent or another - it's a matter of using emphasis that fits best with the given situation
and a person's learning style preferences.

-ere are brief descriptions of the four Kolb learning styles:

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" , 0) - These people are able to look at things from
different perspectives. They are sensitive. They prefer to watch rather than do, tending to
gather information and use imagination to solve problems. They are best at viewing concrete
situations several different viewpoints. Kolb called this style 'Diverging' because these people
perform better in situations that require ideas-generation, for example, brainstorming. ×eople
with a Diverging learning style have broad cultural interests and like to gather information.
They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative and emotional, and tend to be strong in
the arts. ×eople with the Diverging style prefer to work in groups, to listen with an open mind
and to receive personal feedback.

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u‘ 
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 "# ,01 - The assimilating learning preference is
for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. These
people require good clear explanation rather than practical opportunity. They excel at
understanding wide-ranging information and organising it a clear logical format. ×eople with
an assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and
abstract concepts. ×eople with this style are more attracted to logically sound theories than
approaches based on practical value. These learning style people is important for
effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, people with
this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think
things through.

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 "# ,0 1 - ×eople with a Converging learning style can
solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to practical issues. They prefer
technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects. ×eople with a
Converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They can
solve problems and make decisions by finding solutions to questions and problems. ×eople
with a Converging learning style are more attracted to technical tasks and problems than
social or interpersonal issues. a Converging learning style enables specialist and technology
abilities. ×eople with a Converging style like to experiment with new ideas, to simulate, and
to work with practical applications.

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   ,  0 1 - The accommodating learning style is
'hands-on', and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people's analysis,
and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and
experiences, and to carrying out plans. They commonly act on 'gut' instinct rather than logical
analysis. ×eople with an accommodating learning style will tend to rely on others for
information than carry out their own analysis. This learning style is prevalent and useful in
roles requiring action and initiative. ×eople with an accommodating learning style prefer to
work in teams to complete tasks. They set targets and actively work in the field trying
different ways to achieve an objective.

as with any behavioural model, this is a guide not a strict set of rules. Nevertheless
most people clearly exhibit clear strong preferences for a given learning style. The ability to
use or 'switch between' different styles is not one that we should assume comes easily or
naturally to many people.

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 Simply, people who have a clear learning style preference, for whatever reason, will
tend to learn more effectively if learning is orientated according to their preference. For
instance - people who prefer the 'assimilating' learning style will not be comfortable being
thrown in at the deep end without notes and instructions. ×eople who like prefer to use an
'accommodating' learning style are likely to become frustrated if they are forced to read lots
of instructions and rules, and are unable to get hands on experience as soon as possible.

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‘hether we like it or not, the years ahead will be an era of change and competition.
The only thing one can predict about the future is change. Thus emphasizing the importance
of organizations accepting the model of ³Learning´ to meet the future requirements, sustain
its present position and achieve overall growth in the future.

Thus keeping the future requirements in mind where a ³knowledge worker´ would be
the asset of a company, where investments in learning would be the need of the hour and
when there would be a change in the organizations culture to that based on learning and
skills, it will be those organizations who have accepted the KOLS learning cycle who will
be at a beneficial position than its counter parts as they would be in a position to understand
the requirements of society and deliver as required.

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ebsites referred to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_organization

http://www.brint.com

http://www.innoenterprise.com

http://www.skyrme.com/insights/3lrnorg.htm

http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm

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