Learning Organization

June 26, 2012

Group 3 Garima Yadav (FT13220) Gaurav Parikh (FT13221) Gaurav Bhatia (FT13222) Hari Kiran P V (FT13223) Ishani Sircar (FT13224) Jahnavi Reddy Sanamreddy (FT13225) Jonaki Basu (FT13226) Jyoti Aggarwal (FT13227) Jyoti Rastogi (FT13228) Karan Gandhi (FT13229) 1

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Level 1 Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Level 2 Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Technique.................................................................................................................................................. 4 Methodology................................................................................................................................................. 5 Questionnaire ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Building Block 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Building Block 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Building Block 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Respondent Data ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Methodology Followed ............................................................................................................................. 9 Level 1 analysis:..................................................................................................................................... 9 Level 2 analysis:................................................................................................................................... 10 Results ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 Level 1 analysis: Mean analysis. .......................................................................................................... 10 Level 2 analysis: ANOVAs .................................................................................................................... 10 Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 16

Introduction
A learning organization is a place where employees excel at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge. There are three building blocks of such institutions: (1) A supportive learning environment Supportive learning environments allow time for a pause in the action and encourage thoughtful review of the organizations processes. (2) Concrete learning processes and practices, (3) Leadership behavior that reinforces learning. Exploring how well your company learns relative to others reveals both the multidimensionality of the organizational learning process and the specific areas where your company needs to improve. The report presented here can help you assess the depth of learning in your organization and its individual units. This report is generated after two level analyses by choosing a few companies, taking feedback from their employees and concluding which organization exhibits a supportive learning environment.

Level 1 Analysis
We intend to compare companies in different sectors such as IT and non-IT. This will help us analyze how different sectors support learning. We aim to conclude which sector is closest to a learning organization.

Level 2 Analysis
We will further segregate the companies in the level 1 analysis into public and private sector. As these are the major sectors in India, based on the analyses we will be able to generalize which sector is inclined more towards learning.

Technique
We will take feedback from employees working in private sector IT, banking as well as public sector Manufacturing, Education and Telecom and Energy. These feedbacks will be then analyzed to study which organization/sector exhibits the characteristics of a learning organization. The analysis will be done on the below points: 1. Appreciation of differences in the organization Every team functions only because of differences. With our analysis, we hope to be able to shed more light on the dynamics of these differences in an organization. 4

2. Openness to new ideas in the organization Innovation and creativity lead the list of sought after qualities in an employee. Every idea needs acceptance in a team. We hope to understand how an idea flows from initiation to implementation in an organization. 3. Time for reflection more than feedback, reviewing ones work for improvement, the level of stress on employees, time for reflection are a few key factors of our analysis to identify how learning an organization is. 4. How different parts of the organization help in incorporating new learning (processes)? Is it part of only HR or internal communications team, knowledge management team, learning and development or other teams? 5. Education and Training Do new recruits get adequate training? How are new recruits trained? Is it more knowledge transfer based or more of on job experiential training? Is Training valued by employees? 6. Leadership that reinforces learning learning depends majorly on how a manager assists his or her employee enhance his learning curve and in turn effectively turn the organization into a learning organization. Does a manager ask probing questions, invites viewpoints of all, acknowledges performance, provides sufficient resources, and encourages discussion?

Methodology
Questionnaire

Building Block 1

Supportive Learning Environment Appreciation to Differences

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work organization
Neither Highly Slightly Slightly Highly Accurate Nor Inaccurate Inaccurate Accurate Accurate Inaccurate Differences in opinions are welcomed in this unit.

Neither Highly Slightly Slightly Highly Accurate Nor Inaccurate Inaccurate Accurate Accurate Inaccurate Unless an opinion is consistent with what most people in this unit believe, it wont be valued. This unit tends to handle differences of opinion privately or off-line, rather than addressing them directly as a group. In this unit, people are open to alternative ways of getting work done.

Openness to New Ideas *

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your organization
Highly Slightly Inaccurate Inaccurate In this unit, people value new ideas. Unless an idea has been around for a long time, no one in this unit wants to hear it. In this unit, people are interested in better ways of doing things. In this unit, people often resist untried approaches Neither Accurate Nor Inaccurate Slightly Highly Accurate Accurate

Time for Reflection *

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your organization
Highly Slightly Inaccurate Inaccurate Neither Accurate Nor Inaccurate Slightly Highly Accurate Accurate
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Highly Slightly Inaccurate Inaccurate People in this unit are overly stressed. Despite the workload, people in this unit find time to review how the work is going. In this unit, schedule pressure gets in the way of doing a good job. In this unit, people are too busy to invest time in improvement. There is simply no time for reflection in this unit.

Neither Accurate Nor Inaccurate

Slightly Highly Accurate Accurate

Building Block 2

Concrete Learning Processes and Practices Experimentation *

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Neither Highly Slightly Slightly Highly Accurate Nor Inaccurate Inaccurate Accurate Accurate Inaccurate This unit experiments frequently with new ways of working. This unit experiments frequently with new product/service offerings. This unit has a formal process for conducting and evaluating experiments or new ideas. This unit frequently employs prototypes or simulations when
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Neither Highly Slightly Slightly Highly Accurate Nor Inaccurate Inaccurate Accurate Accurate Inaccurate trying out new ideas.

Education and Training *

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Neither Highly Slightly Slightly Highly Accurate Nor Inaccurate Inaccurate Accurate Accurate Inaccurate Newly hired employees in this unit receive adequate training. Experienced employees in this unit receive periodic training/updating Experienced employees in this unit receive training when shifting to a new position Experienced employees in this unit receive training when new initiatives are launched In this unit, training is valued. In this unit, time is made available for education and training activities.

Building Block 3

Leadership That Reinforces Learning *

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of the manager(s) to whom you report, using the following scale:
NeverInfrequentlySometimesOftenAlways
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NeverInfrequentlySometimesOftenAlways My manager(s) invite(s) input from others in discussions. My manager(s) acknowledge(s) his/her own limitations with respect to knowledge, information, or expertise. My manager(s) ask(s) probing questions. My manager(s) listen(s) attentively. My manager(s) encourage(s) multiple points of view. My manager(s) establish (es) forums for and provide(s) time and resources for identifying problems and organizational challenges. My manager(s) establish (es) forums for and provide(s) time and resources for reflecting and improving on past performance. My manager(s) criticize(s) views different from his/her own.

Respondent Data
OB Assign1.xlsx

Methodology Followed
Level 1 analysis: For Level 1 Analysis we have taken the means of IT, Non-IT, public and private companies for each learning block. We have tried to compare the means of each learning block for IT vs Non- IT and Public vs Private to infer which type of organization is aligned to which kind of learning. 9

Level 2 analysis: For Level 2 analysis we have taken an ANOVAs of each learning block for IT vs Non- IT and Public vs Private and tried to infer if our hypothesis that the means of the above 2 organizations are equal i.e. if both the organizations are aligned towards similar learning types or not.

Results
Responses to the above questions were obtained and analyzed further. For that the responses have been scaled from 1-5 and for questions with reverse coding from 5-1. Level 1 analysis: Mean analysis. Generic analysis to obtain and compare the mean across all companies ( IT, Non-It, Public, Private) has been done as part of level 1 analysis. BB1- Block 1 Supportive Learning Environment BB2- Block 2 - Concrete Learning Processes and Practices BB3- Block 3- Leadership That Reinforces Learning

Industry/Mean IT Non IT Private Sector Public Sector

BB1 3.77 3.82 3.81 3.77

BB2 3.33 3.51 3.43 3.41

BB3 3.41 3.67 3.48 3.66

From the above table the following can be observed that all the companies have a mean between 3-4. In general all companies have a greater tendency of being a learning organization. For Supportive Learning Environment type of learning, Non-IT companies are more aligned than the IT companies while Private sector companies are more aligned than the Public sector. For Concrete Learning Processes and Practices type of learning, Non-IT companies are more aligned than the IT companies while Private sector companies are more aligned than the Public sector. For Supportive Learning Environment type of learning, Non-IT companies are more aligned than the IT companies while Private sector companies are less aligned than the Public sector.

Level 2 analysis: ANOVAs

Industry wise analysis across all three blocks using ANOVAs has been done in this section. IT vs Non IT

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BB1- Block 1 Supportive Learning Environment SUMMARY Groups IT - BB1 Non-IT - BB1 Count Sum Average Variance 13 49.03333333 3.771795 0.087379 13 49.65625 3.819712 0.129094

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups Total

SS 0.014924045 2.597675614 2.612599659

df

MS F P-value F crit 1 0.014924 0.137884 0.713652 4.259677 24 0.108236 25

From the above it can be inferred that since F value is less than F critical, the hypothesis is accepted that the means for IT and Non- IT firms for supportive learning environment are equal i.e. both type of organizations are equally aligned towards Supportive Learning Environment . BB2- Block 2 - Concrete Learning Processes and Practices SUMMARY Groups IT - BB2 Non - IT - BB2

Count

Sum 10 33.33333 10 35.3125

Average Variance 3.333333333 0.020494 3.53125 0.053602

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups Total

SS 0.195855035 0.666866319 0.862721354

df 1 18 19

MS F 0.195855035 5.286503 0.037048129

P-value F crit 0.03368 4.413873

From the above it can be inferred that since F value is greater than F critical, the hypothesis is rejected that the means for IT and Non- IT firms for Concrete Learning Processes and Practices are equal. For this type of learning Non- IT firms show a greater learning tendency than the IT firms. 11

BB3- Block 3- Leadership That Reinforces Learning SUMMARY Groups Count Sum Average IT - BB3 8 27.26666667 3.408333 Non-IT -BB3 8 29.375 3.671875

Variance 0.094206349 0.167131696

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups Total

SS 0.27781684 1.829366319 2.10718316

df

MS 1 0.277817 14 0.130669 15

F P-value 2.12611095 0.166875

F crit 4.60011

From the above it can be inferred that since F value is less than F critical, the hypothesis is accepted that the means for IT and Non- IT firms for Leadership That Reinforces Learning are equal i.e. both type of organizations are equally aligned towards Leadership That Reinforces Learning. Public vs Private BB1- Block 1 Supportive Learning Environment SUMMARY Groups Count Sum Public - BB1 13 48.95455 Private -BB1 13 49.575

Average Variance 3.765734266 0.094988345 3.813461538 0.123814103

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups Total

SS 0.014806302 2.625629371 2.640435672

df 1 24 25

MS F P-value F crit 0.014806302 0.135339452 0.716183568 4.259677 0.109401224

From the above it can be inferred that since F value is less than F critical, the hypothesis is accepted that the means for public and private firms for Supportive Learning Environment are equal i.e. both type of organizations are equally aligned towards Supportive Learning Environment. 12

BB2- Block 2 - Concrete Learning Processes and Practices SUMMARY Groups Count Sum Average Variance Public -BB2 10 34.13636 3.413636 0.098921 Private - BB2 10 34.325 3.4325 0.018063

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups Total

SS 0.001779184 1.052851756 1.05463094

df

MS F P-value F crit 1 0.001779 0.030418 0.863493 4.413873 18 0.058492 19

From the above it can be inferred that since F value is less than F critical, the hypothesis is accepted that the means for public and private firms for Concrete Learning Processes and Practices are equal i.e. both type of organizations are equally aligned towards Concrete Learning Processes and Practices. BB3- Block 3- Leadership That Reinforces Learning SUMMARY Groups Count Sum Average Variance Public - BB3 8 29.31818182 3.664773 0.164072 Private - BB3 8 27.825 3.478125 0.088471

ANOVA Source of Variation Between Groups Within Groups Total

SS 0.139349496 1.767798941 1.907148438

df

MS F 1 0.139349 1.103572 14 0.126271 15

P-value 0.31128

F crit 4.60011

From the above it can be inferred that since F value is less than F critical, the hypothesis is accepted that the means for public and private firms for Leadership That Reinforces Learning are equal i.e. both type f organizations are equally aligned towards Leadership That Reinforces Learning. 13

Median Analysis: Industry/Median IT Non IT Private Sector Public Sector BB1 4 4 4 4 BB2 4 5 4 5 BB3 3 4 4 5

The median analysis of the different blocks for the various industry types has been mentioned above. We have done our survey on 5 pointer scale. So converting it to a scale of 100 for comparison with the benchmark given in the article for learning organization we get the following answers. Median score in scale of 100 Industry/Median IT Non IT Private Sector Public Sector BB1 80 80 80 80 BB2 80 100 80 100 BB3 60 80 80 100

Benchmark score Building Blocks and Their Subcomponents Bottom quartile Second quartile Median Third quartile Top quartile

Supportive Learning Environment Learning 3161 6270 environment composite Concrete Learning Processes and Practices Learning 3162 6373 processes composite Leadership That Reinforces Learning Composite for 3366 6775 this block

71

7279

8090

74

7582

8397

76

7782

83100

Median Analysis: IT industry has Supportive Learning Environment in the top quartile and Concrete Learning Processes in the 3rd quartile and Practices Leadership That Reinforces Learning in the first 14

quartile. Hence more efforts must be put towards Practices Leadership That Reinforces Learning. Non IT industry haveSupportive Learning Environment , Concrete Learning Processes and Practices Leadership That Reinforces Learning all in the top quartile. So continued efforts is needed to maintain the same. Private sector industries have Supportive Learning Environment in the top quartile while Concrete Learning Processes and Practices Leadership That Reinforces Learning in the third quartile. So continued efforts is needed to maintain the same or for improvising further. Public sector industries have Supportive Learning Environment , Concrete Learning Processes and Practices Leadership That Reinforces Learning all in the top quartile. So continued efforts is needed to maintain the same.

Summary
The three building blocks of a learning organization are 1) Supportive learning environment 2) Concrete learning processes and practices 3) Leadership that enforces learning Supportive learning environment in an organization is when the organization is open to accepting new ideas, when workload and stress does not get in the way of reflection and when differences of opinions among people are handled in a smooth manner. Concrete learning processes and practices are the different ways in which the organization experiments with new ways of working, the way training is valued in an organization and whether new employees are provided adequate training. Leadership that reinforces learning stresses on the way the leadership of the organization deals with the subordinates-how it encourages them to think and probe, how it listens attentively to them and then solves their problems. Both IT and Non IT organizations are equally aligned towards Supportive Learning Environment. Non IT firms show a greater learning tendency than the IT firms towards concrete learning processes and practices. Both type of organizations are equally aligned towards Leadership That Reinforces Learning. Both Private and Public types of organizations are equally aligned towards Leadership that reinforces learning, Supportive Learning environment and Concrete learning processes and practices.

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Appendix
The excel sheet containing the data and analyses is attached herewith.

OB Assign1.xlsx

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