Modern organization is transformed by a shift from physical to mental work. One reason for this is a rapid growth of new technology. At the same time has the period achieved knowledge can be relied on as valid decreased.

Business critically relies on knowledge, but it has become increasingly more difficult to maintain a normal knowledge growth. Mainly because of the complex nature of mental knowledge and understanding. This makes knowledge a property if the individual and thereby makes the organization exposed to turnover and personal movements.

Many consultants and organizations have recognized the commercial significance of organizational learning – and the notion of the ‘learning organization’ has been a central orienting point in this. Writers have sought to identify templates, or ideal forms, ‘which real organizations could attempt to emulate’. In this sense the learning organization is an ideal, ‘towards which organizations have to evolve in order to be able to respond to the various pressures [they face]. It is characterized by recognition that ‘individual and collective learning are key.

What's the Managers' Role in the Application of Learning in Organization?

Senge argues that the leader's role in the Learning Organization is that of a designer, teacher, and steward who can build shared vision and challenge prevailing mental models. He/she is responsible for building organizations where people are continually expanding their capabilities to shape their future -- that is, leaders are responsible for learning.

What is the Role of Information Systems in the Application of Learning in Organization?

Although, Huber explicitly specifies the role of IS in the Learning Organization as primarily serving Organizational Memory, in my view, IS can serve the other three processes (Knowledge Acquisition, Information Distribution, and Information Interpretation) as well. One instance of use of IS in Knowledge Acquisition is that of Market Research and Competitive Intelligence Systems. At the level of planning, scenario planning tools can be used for generating the possible futures. Similarly, use of Groupware tools, Intranets, E-mail, and Bulletin Boards can facilitate the processes of Information Distribution and Information Interpretation. The archives of these communications can provide the elements of the Organizational Memory. Organizational Memory needs to be continuously updated and refreshed. The IT basis of OM suggested by Huber lies at the basis of organizational rigidity when it becomes "hi-tech hide bound" and is unable to continuously adapt its "theory of the business".

There is a saying, “if we always do what we always did, we will always get what we have always got”. Without learning there is no improvement an d without improvement organizations stagnate. In reality all organizations do learn. All organizations train their employees. All organizations develop new concepts and methods to cope with the changing business scenario. However, too many organizations learn painfully slowly; they train and develop their employees to new situations long after the most successful organizations.

Why is learning so important?

Things are changing so fast today, that it is difficult to keep up with the pace. People who can’t keep up with the changes may find themselves “downsized” or some other euphemism for out of work. A business that can’t change in tune with the global market place probably has no future.

What’s the answer? The answer is learning.

It’s one of the few, if not the only competitive advantages available today. Moreover, it is the healthiest response in a world of rapid change. The question is no longer if we will use available technology, from voice mail to computers. The question today is how quickly, efficiently and effectively can the people in the organization become proficient in using the technologies.

Organizations and individuals who are able to learn with the greatest ease and speed will be most successful in future. “Even if we are on the right track, we will get run over if we just sit there”. Today, a person cannot expect the current level of knowledge and expertise to serve him/her for years ahead. That assumption will result in unemployment and disillusionment. With knowledge and technology advancing so quickly, we don’t have years to “get up and speed”. The secret, then, is identifying the need to learn, and then setting ourselves to the task quickly and efficiently.

Learning is not the same thing as acquiring knowledge any more than data is the same as information. As Peter Senge wrote in ‘The Fifth Discipline’- real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human. Through learning we recreate ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we repercieve the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning.

Senge is right- there is a deep hunger for learning. It is painful for individuals to stand by and watch their company inhibit learning. It is frustrating when employees can’t apply what they know. It is discouraging when organization makes unnecessary mistakes. Standing by and watching this happen will damage people’s spirits. Creating a learning organization can restore that spirit to ‘respirit’ the workplace.

What investment is required?

Having anything of value requires an initial investment from us. If we want good health, we need to exercise, eat sensibly, maintain a positive attitude and get adequate rest.

What it will take?

Ø      Time: if we want ours to be a learning organization, then our commitment is to allocate time for learning how much time is enough? It will vary depending on each person’s specific role.

Ø      Money: expect to spend money on training, training materials, time away from the job while learning, and on internal and external experts. What percentage of our organization’s payroll is allocated to training? The industry average is 1.2 percent. A minimum recommended standard is 2%-4% if we are serious about becoming a learning organization. (Motorola invested 1.5% in 1985; it saw such a return on its investment that by 1994 its commitment was up to 4%).

Ø      Communication: there will be an intensified need to keep people informed so that learning is conveyed from one part of the company to other.

What it will do?

Ø      Product change: not all the changes will be easy or enjoyable. We may discover habits in ourselves or traditions in our organization that need to be changed. It will often be unclear initially whether the changes are beneficial. With changes may come stress, and we can expect resistance to the changes. As individuals learn, however, they will put pressure on organization change.

Ø      Test our ability to find balance: it is challenging for an organization to pursue learning simultaneously while getting its usual work done. Too much focus on the process of learning, and the business slips; too little focus on the learning, and the business slips. The point of balance is often elusive. Clarity of purpose is essential.

Who is responsible for learning?

Both the organization and its individual members have responsibility for learning. But for each of them, the responsibilities are different.

The organization is responsible for providing learning opportunities and a structure that supports learning. Equally important, it needs to remove barriers to learning- learn how to get out of the way!

Even the best designed learning structure, however, cannot make someone learn. The individuals within the organization will need to use the opportunities made available to them. It is the individual who is responsible for translating knowledge into learning on a day-to-day basis.

When organizations support learning, it makes it easier for individual employees to learn. But even if learning is not a priority in the organization, that does not absolve the individuals of their learning responsibilities. Each day, each experience, can be a learning experiment.

In learning organization, learning flows like a river through every department, and location doing its work. As it moves from one department from another, it is enriched and carries along much more than it started with. Learning can happen anytime, anywhere, with anyone. It becomes the responsibility of each person, not just the “training department”. Knowledge flows both ways, and individuals continue to learn from the company while the company also learns from its employees.

A developing learning organization is set apart from other organizations in these ways:

ü      Understands that its future is dependent upon the abilities of its entire people.

ü      Provides opportunities for the personal development of those people.

ü      Recognizes that people learn in different ways.

ü      Encourages its entire people to learn, innovate and contribute to its future.

The prize that awaits a developing learning organization is simple- SUCCESS!

“The learning organization is built on curiosity, forgiveness, trust and togetherness”