Casual Friday

Organizational Learning

According to Tom Peters (2003, p17) many of the new challenges facing business and corporations are similar to current military challenges, and in the words of General Shinseki, "If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less." Fluidity, flexibility and adaptability have become essential attributes to survival and growth in the 21st century. This applies to people, groups, and organizations alike. The study of individuals and groups in organizations has therefore become interesting and valuable to corporations and business leaders who face the reality of changing or dying. This study has been defined as Organizational behavior by Shermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn (2003, p.3).

Organizational learning is more than training people within a corporation. It is a systemic view of the organization that has the capability to be more than just the sum of its parts. Shermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn (2003, p.5), define it as the process of acquiring knowledge and using information to adapt to changing circumstances. The acquisition of this knowledge comes from within the organization and also from the environment it finds itself in. The application of this information then hinges on the ability of organizations and sub-groups to understand and shift to become well-suited to its surroundings. This necessitates the organization to be an open system that can develop and adapt like any organism. According to Pedler, Burgoyne and Boydell (1991) a learning company is an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself. This allows an organization to not only adapt but be creative.

When comparing the U.S. census data between 1990 and 2003 it is noticeable that disposable personal income has almost doubled and that cellular telephone subscriptions have grown at an exponential rate. This will allow many people to work remotely and on the go without harming accessibility. This combined with a "Gold Collar" workforce that want more flexibility and opportunities to work from home or a coffee shop has the capacity to impact the way we view a workforce today. New businesses can start without need for an office space, thus lowering overheads. The lean competitive edge of these new companies will be able to recruit from the established corporations because of the flexibility offered; they will be able to deliver services faster and at lower prices. This increasing growth in cellular communication will also allow more consumers to access information and buy products from their cell phones and PDA's. This in itself will change the buying trends and patterns we know in business. This is a time when corporations need to be learning organizations to respond quickly and effectively before losing the ground they have gained in previous years.


References:

Schermerhorn, J.R., Jr., Hunt, J.G. & Osborn. R.N. (2003). Organizational Behavior (8th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Robertson, I.T., Callinan, M. & Bartram, D. (2002). Organizational Effectiveness, The Role of Psychology. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J. & Boydell, T. (1998) The Learning Company: a Strategy for Sustainable Development. New York: McGraw hill.
Peters, T. (2003). Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age. New York: Dorling Kindersley Ltd.

U.S. Census Bureau (2004). USA Statistics in Brief. Retrieved April 7th, 2004 from

posted by Mark Dowds @ Sunday, January 09, 2005