Learning: Learning is acquiring new, or modifying existing, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing

different types of information. Generally, Change refers that to make something different. Organizational change occurs when a company makes a change from its current state to some desired future state. In broader sense, Organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost to the organization while simultaneously maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort. The learning organization: Learning has been seen to be result of the particular effort of trainers and consultants to improve the skills, knowledge and attitudes of managers Learning organizations require changes in peoples roles, in management style and in the way in which human beings are seen as resourceful agents of change. David Garvin defines a leaning organization as "an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights."

According to Richard Karash A Learning Organization is one in which people at all levels, individually and collectively, are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about. Learning Organization is an ideal state, a vision

Traditional Organization Versus the Learning Organization

Element
Shared Values Management Style Strategy/Action Plan Structure Staff Characteristics

Traditional Organization
Efficiency Effectiveness Control Top down approach Road map Hierarchy

Learning organization
Excellence Organizational Renewal Facilitator Coach Everyone is consulted Learning map Flat structure Dynamic networks

People who know (experts) Knowledge is power Mistakes tolerated as People who learn part of learning Generative learning Both financial and non-financial measures Working groups Departmental Cross functional teams boundaries

Distinctive Skills Measurement System Teams

Staff Adaptive learning Financial measures

Reasons To Build A Learning Organization

1 1. Because organization want superior performance.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

2. To improve quality. 3. For customers. 4. For competitive advantage. 5. For an energized, committed workforce. 6. To manage change. 7. For the truth. 8. Because the times demand it.

HOW TO CREATE A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

THE BUILDING BLOCKS Before a Learning Organizations can be implemented, taking into account the following can make a solid foundation: Awareness Organizations must be aware that learning is necessary before they can develop into a Learning Organization. This may seem to be a strange statement but this learning must take place at all levels; not just the Management level. Once the company has accepted the need for change, it is then responsible for creating the appropriate environment for this change to occur in. Environment Centralized, mechanistic structures do not create a good environment. Individuals do not have a comprehensive picture of the whole organization and its goals. A more flexible, organic structure must be formed. By organic, means a flatter structure, which encourages innovations. The flatter structure also promotes passing of information between workers and so creating a more informed work force. Leadership Leaders should foster the Systems Thinking concept and encourage learning to help both the individual and organization in learning. It is the leader's responsibility to help restructure the individual views of team members. For example, they need to help the teams understand that competition is a form of learning. Management must provide commitment for long-term learning in the form of resources. The amount of resources available (money, personnel and time) determines the quantity and quality of learning. This means that the organization must be prepared to support this. Empowerment The locus of control shifts from managers to workers. This is where the term Empowerment is introduced. The workers become responsible for their actions; but the managers do not lose their involvement. They still need to encourage, and co-ordinate the workers. Equal participation must be allowed at all levels so that members can learn from each other simultaneously.

Learning Companies can learn to achieve these aims in Learning Labs. These are small-scale models of reallife settings where management teams learn how to learn together through simulation games. They need to find out what failure is like so that they can learn from their mistakes in the future. These managers are then responsible for setting up an open, flexible atmosphere in their organizations to encourage their workers to follow their learning example. Why Learning Organizations Work: The People Develop A Learning Organization 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. Greater motivation People are appreciated for their own skills, values and work. All opinions are treated equally and with respect. By being aware of their role and importance in the whole organization, the workers are more motivated to "add their bit". This encourages creativity and freethinking, hence leading to novel solutions to problems. All in all there is an increase in job satisfaction. The workforce is more flexible People 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 organization, 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. People are more creative There are more opportunities to be creative in a learning organization. There is also room for trying out new ideas without having to worry about mistakes. Employees' creative contribution is recognized and new ideas are free to flourish. Improved social interaction Learning requires social interaction and interpersonal communication skills. An organization based on learning will ensure members become better at these activities. Teams will work better as a result.

 Teams and Groups Work Better Learning Organizations provide the perfect environment for high performing teams to learn, grow and develop. On the other hand these teams will perform efficiently for the organization to produce positive results. Knowledge sharing A team is composed of highly specialized members who cannot 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. Within learning organizations 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 others strengths. Trust between team members increases and hence they value each others opinions more. Interdependency In any organization people depend on each other for the completion of their jobs. Learning Organizations will increase this awareness, and improve relations between people at a personal level. By 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. The Company Benefits An active learning organization will have at its heart the concept of continuous learning. Therefore it will always be improving in its techniques, methods and technology. Customer relations A company's first priority is its customer's needs. A Learning Organization cuts the excess bureaucracy normally involved with customer relations allowing greater contact between the two. If the customers requirements change, learning organizations can adapt faster and cope more efficiently with this change. Innovation and creativity 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. Being innovative and creative is the responsibility of the whole workforce and allows learning organizations 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

Benefits:
The main benefits are;

Maintaining levels of innovation and remaining competitive Being better placed to respond to external pressures Having the knowledge to better link resources to customer needs Improving quality of outputs at all levels Improving Corporate image by becoming more people oriented Increasing the pace of change within the organization

Peter senges model of Learning

Peter Senge and the learning organization Peter Senges vision of a learning organization as a group of people who are continually enhancing their capabilities to create what they want to create has been deeply influential. We discuss the five disciplines he sees as central to learning organizations and some issues and questions concerning the theory and practice of learning organizations.

The learning organization According to Peter Senge (1990) learning organizations are organizations 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. The basic rationale for such organizations is that in situations of rapid change only those that are flexible, adaptive and productive will excel. For this to happen, it is argued, organizations need to discover how to tap peoples commitment and capacity to learn at all levels. According to Peter Senge, a learning organization exhibits five main characteristics: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, a shared vision, and team learning.
1. Systems thinking:

It is a theoretical basis. The idea of the learning organization developed from a body of work called systems thinking. This is a framework that allows people to study businesses as bounded objects. Learning organizations use this method of thinking when assessing their company and have information systems that measure the performance of the organization .It is the discipline that integrates others and combining them into a coherent body. System thinking states that all the characteristics must be actual at once in an organization for it to be a learning organization. If some of these characteristics are missing then the organization will fall short of its goal.
2. Personal mastery:

The commitment by an individual to the process of learning is known as personal mastery. It is a lifelong discipline. People with a high level of personal mastery are acutely aware of their ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas. And they are deeply self-confident There is a competitive advantage for an organization whose workforce can learn more quickly than the other organizations. Individual learning is acquired through training and development; however learning cannot be forced upon an individual who is not interested to learning. Research shows that most learning in the workplace is incidental. Therefore it is important to develop a culture where personal mastery is practiced in daily life.

3. Mental models: The assumptions held by individuals and organizations are called mental models. To become a learning organization, these models must be challenged. Individuals tend to adopt theories, which are what they intend to follow, and theories-in-use, which are what they actually do. Similarly, organizations tend to have memories which preserve certain behaviors, norms and values. this involves each individual reflecting upon, continually clarifying, and improving his or her internal pictures of the world, and seeing how they shape personal actions and decisions. 4. Shared vision:

The development of a shared vision is important in motivating the staff to learn. It creates a common identity that provides energy for learning. The most successful visions build on the individual visions of the employees at all levels of organization. Therefore, learning organizations tend to have flat, decentralized organizational structures. The shared vision is often to succeed against a competitor, however Senge states that these are transitory goals and suggests that there should also be long term goals that are essential for the company. 5. Team learning: It is the process of aligning and developing the capacities of a team to create the results its members truly desired . It builds on personal mastery and shared vision but these are not enough. People need to be able to act together. When teams learn together, Peter Senge suggests that, there will be good result for the organization.The accumulation of individual learning constitutes Team learning. The benefit of team or shared learning is that staff grows more quickly and the problem solving capacity of the organization is improved through better access to knowledge and expertise. Team learning requires individuals to engage in dialogue and discussion and team members must develop open communication, shared meaning, and shared understanding. Learning organizations typically have excellent knowledge management structures, allowing creation, acquisition, distribution, and implementation of this knowledge in the organization.