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8/4/2019 16876228 the Art Practice of the Learning Organization...Quite Gud Almost Done Gud Cccc Must
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2007
YeditepeUniversity
KeremKseolu
[ORGANIZATIONAL
LEARNING]TheArt&PracticeoftheLearningOrganization
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CONTENTS
Abstract....................................................................................................................................................................................4
LiteratureReview................................................................................................................................................................4
WhatisOrganizationalLearning .......................................................... ................................................................. .......5
Definition............................................................................................................................................................................5
CharacteristicsofaLearningOrganization ....................................................... .................................................. 5
DisciplinesoftheLearningOrganization..................................................................................................................6
SystemsThinking............................................................................................................................................................6
BalancingProcesswithDelay...............................................................................................................................6
SelfSustainingvsSelfLimitingGrowth ...........................................................................................................6
ShiftingtheBurden ............................................................... ..................................................................... ...............7
TragedyoftheCommons........................................................................................................................................7
PersonalMastery ............................................................. .................................................................. .............................7
MentalModels..................................................................................................................................................................8
BuildingaSharedVision..............................................................................................................................................8
TeamLearning ........................................................ .................................................................. ....................................... 8
LearningDisabilities ........................................................... .................................................................. .............................9
IAmMyPosition .......................................................... .................................................................. .............................9
TheEnemyIsOutThere...........................................................................................................................................9
TheIllusionofTakingCharge....................................................................................................................................9
TheFixationonEvents.................................................................................................................................................9
TheParableoftheBoiledFrog..................................................................................................................................9
TheDelusionofLearningfromtheExperience..............................................................................................10
TheMythoftheManagementTeam....................................................................................................................10
LawsofLearningOrganizations....................................... .................................................................. ........................ 11
StepsToALearningOrganization............. .................................................................. .............................................. 13
AssessingLearningCulture ............................................................... ..................................................................... . 13
PromotingthePositive ............................................................. .................................................................. ............... 13
SafetyforThinking .......................................................... .................................................................. .......................... 13
RewardingRiskTaking............................................................ .................................................................. ............... 14
HelpingPeopleBecomingResources..................................................................................................................14
PuttingLearningPowerToWork......... .................................................................. .............................................. 14
MappingtheVision ......................................................... .................................................................. .......................... 15
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BringingVisiontoLife .............................................................. ..................................................................... ............ 15
ConnectingSystems......................................................... ................................................................. .......................... 15
GettingtheShowOnTheRoad ......................................................... .................................................................. ... 15
LeadershipinLearningOrganizations .......................................................... .......................................................... 16
LeaderasDesigner.......................................................... .................................................................. .......................... 16
LeaderasTeacher............................................................ .................................................................. .......................... 16
LeaderasSteward ........................................................... .................................................................. .......................... 16
TransformationalLeadership .......................................................... .................................................................. .... 16
CultureandLearningOrganizations ............................................................. ........................................................... 17
LevelofPowerDistance...... .................................................................. .................................................................. .. 17
IndividualismvsCollectivism.......................... .................................................................. ..................................... 17
MasculanityvsFemininity ....................................................... .................................................................. .............. 17
UncertaintyAvoidance ............................................................. .................................................................. ............... 17
ScopeofOrientation ........................................................ .................................................................. ......................... 18
SampleArticleonLearningOrganizations............................................................................................................18
Abstract .......................................................... .................................................................. ................................................ 18
Methodology ........................................................... .................................................................. ..................................... 18
EU............ .................................................................. .................................................................. ................................... 18
UK ...................................................... .................................................................. .......................................................... 18
Variables ......................................................... ................................................................. ................................................ 19
EU............ .................................................................. .................................................................. ................................... 19
UK ...................................................... .................................................................. .......................................................... 19
Model&Findings ............................................................. .................................................................. .......................... 20
EU............ .................................................................. .................................................................. ................................... 20
UK ...................................................... .................................................................. .......................................................... 20
AHolisticModel........................................................... .................................................................. .......................... 21
Findings.......................................................... .................................................................. ................................................ 21
Common............................................................... ..................................................................... .................................. 21
EU............ .................................................................. .................................................................. ................................... 21
UK ...................................................... .................................................................. .......................................................... 22
Conclusion ......................................................... .................................................................. ................................................ 22
References ......................................................... .................................................................. ................................................ 22
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ABSTRACT
This paper outlines the concept of learning organizations. After the definitions of learning
organizations, the disciplines and disabilities of organizational learning are underlined. After
defining the common laws of learning organizations, the steps required to transform an
organizationintoalearningorganizationarediscussed.Effectsofleadershipstyleandcultureon
learning organizations are also within the scope of this paper. Finally, a sample empirical
researchhasbeenanalyzed.
LITERATUREREVIEW
In1975,MarchandOlsenattemptedtolinkupindividualandorganizationallearning.In
theirmodel,theyhavefoundarelationship
between individual beliefs and
organizational action, where individual
actionistheinterveningvariable.Asaresult
of organizational action, environmental
responsemodifiesindividualbeliefandthe
recursivecyclesustainsitself.
In 1978, Argyris and Schon made the
distinguishment between singleloop anddoubleloop learning. In single loop
learning, organizations try to solve current
problems with methods from the past. In
doublelooplearning,entitiesseektochange
deeperaspectsoftheorganizationtosolve
thesourcesofproblems.
In 1993, Kim integrated March and Olsens
approachwithanothermodelfromKofman
into a single model, where he analyzed all
the possible breakdowns in theorganizational information flow leading to
failuresinorganizationallearning.
In 1995, Nonaka and Takeuchi started by
differentiating Tacit Knowledge from
Explicit Knowledge. The term tacit
knowledge is used to define subjective
personal information, while explicit
knowledge defines systematic, formal and
easy to communicate information. They
stated that tacit knowledge can be
transformed into explicit knowledge
(externalization). This process is very
importantforalearningorganization.
In 1999, Flood discussed the concept oforganizational learning of Peter Senge. The
author developed concepts by integrating
themwithkeytheoristssuchasBertalanffy,
Churchman,Beer,ChecklandandAckoff.
In2002,NickBontismadeanempiricaltest
on flow of information across three levels:
Individual, team and organization. Results
showedanegativerelationshipbetweenthe
misalignment of information flow and
organizationalperformance.
In2003,Imantsmadeadetailedanalysisof
paradoxes for organizational learning in
schools and came up with two observed
mechanisms: Steering information about
teaching and learning, and encouraging
interaction among teachers and workers.
These mechanisms are critical for learning
organizations.
In2004,Commondiscussedtheconceptof
learning organizations in politicalenvironments to improve public policy
making.
In terms of books, Peter Senges The Fifth
Discipline: The Art & Practice of the
LearningOrganizationcanbeconsideredas
the most comprehensive guide about
learning organizations. Another book of
interestisSaunders&KlinesTenStepsTo
A Learning Organization, where an
organizational transformation processtowards a learning organization is being
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discussed in a stepbystep guide. Details
aboutboth of these books can be found in
thereferencessectionofthispaper.
WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL
LEARNING
DEFINITION
Theideaoforganizationallearningisbased
upon destroying the illusion that an
organization is created of separate,
unrelated forces. People in an organization
learn all the time, this is a natural thing.
However,ateamofpeoplewithIQlevelsof
120canmakeadecisionwhichsoundstoan
outsiderasifithasbeenmadebyamindof
level60. Howis that possible? What isthe
differenceofsuchorganizations?
Imagine two basketball teams with similar
members. Each member of the each team
will have their own strengths and
weaknesses.Somepeoplewillbelong(but
slow);somewillbeshort(butagile).Some
will be better shooters, and some will be
betterdefenders.
Now, imagine that team A has just been
founded this morning with kids from
differentneighborhoods.Ontheotherhand,
members of team B are playing together
since a year. They know each others
strengths and weaknesses very well. Each
memberknowswheretheotheronewould
bewaitingforapass,howtheyfake,which
passing sequences are proven to be good,
etc.
Despitethefactthatbothteamsarebuiltby
members of the same strength, team B is
muchmorelikelytowin,right?TeamBisno
longer a group of people thinking
individually.Theyhavelearnedtothinklike
asinglesystem,andtoactlikeone.
Tomakealongstoryshort;teamBhappens
tobecomealearningorganizationbecause
individuals are so well organized, their
cooperationtransformsthemintoonesingle
system that acts and achieves far beyond
individual evaluations and decisions.
People, on the other hand, will experience
being part of something larger than
themselves.
In one sentence, a learning organization is
an organization that has developed the
continuous capacity to adapt and change.
Most organizations engage in singleloop
learning; where errors are corrected
dependent on past routines and present
policies. In contrast, learning organizations
use doubleloop learning; where error
corrections involve the modification of
organizations objectives, policies and
standard routines. Doubleloop learning
challenges assumptions and norms of an
organization; and therefore, it can provide
possibilities of dramatic jumps in
improvement.
Itisimportanttounderstandthatbecoming
alearningorganizationisnotagoaltoreach
and pass. It is an ongoing process of a
lifetime.Justlikepeoplehavetolearnallthe
time,organizationsalsohaveto.
CHARACTERISTICSOFALEARNINGORGANIZATION
Althoughtheywilldiscussinmoredetailin
advance, here are the characteristics of a
learningorganization:
There exists a shared vision whicheveryoneagreeson
People discard their old ways ofthinking and the standard routines
theyusetosolveproblems
There is an opensystems approachamongallmembers
People openly communicate witheach other horizontally and
vertically without fear of criticism
andpunishment
Peoplesublimatetheirpersonalselfinteresttoworktogethertoachieve
organizationssharedvision
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DISCIPLINES OF THE
LEARNINGORGANIZATION
Just like an airplane is built by different
pieces which must be working together to
make it fly, a learning organization isbuilt
by different disciplines which must exist
together. However,havingthese disciplines
in an organization is not enough. It is also
important to make sure that they work
togetherwell.
SYSTEMSTHINKING
Systems thinking is an approach to
integration that is based on the belief that
the component parts of a system will act
differentlywhenisolatedfromthesystem's
environment or other parts of the system.
Thisapproachproposestoviewsystemsin
a holistic manner, and it is one of the key
pointsoforganizationallearning.
If people are expected to act together as a
single organism, they should be able toforecast the global consequences of each
action performed. A member with a (only)
personal or (only) departmental point of
viewcanmakebaddecisions.
Here is an example to systems thinking.
Lets assume that we want to improve the
brakingsystemofacar.Insteadoflookingat
thematerialcompositionofeachelementin
great detail, we need to focus on the
interaction between them; such as brakedisks, sensors, hydraulics, driver reaction
time, tires, road conditions, weather
conditions,etc.
Now,wewillobservesometypicalscenarios
where lack of systems thinking is
dangerous.
BALANCINGPROCESSWITHDELAY
A balancing process is a process where acondition or an action causes a response
that tends to slow or cancel out the initial
action.Asimpleexampletothisideaisthe
attempttobalancethewatertemperaturein
theshower.Whenyouthinkthatthewater
is too cold, you try to balance it by
increasing the flow of hot water. However,thetemperaturedoesntchangeattheexact
momentyouturntheknob.Thereisadelay
betweenthetimeyouturntheknobandthe
temperaturechanges.
Ifyouarenotawareofthisdelay,youwill
keep turning the hot water knob until you
get some temperature change. And when
finallyhotwaterstartstoflow,itwillbeso
hotthatitcandamageyourskin.
This phenomenon is observable in manyplaces; such as job and stock markets,
expanding&downsizingcompanies,etc.
SELF SUSTAINING VS SELF LIMITING
GROWTH
Wealltendtobelievethatgrowthisagood
concept to force in a competitive market.
Which might be true, but with one
prerequisite: Speed of growth must be
balanced.
Consider an electronics company, who
doubled its sales after three years of its
foundation. The managers will probably
want to make a new investment of new
plant to be able to produce more so the
company can grow more. However; the
growth of the company might have some
countereffects:
The bigger the company gets, theharder it will become tokeepcosts
low
When the market is satisfied, salesvolume will decrease and the
companywillendupwithtoomany
people&resourcesinhand
Letsassumethatthecompanyfiredthe excessive people and rented its
investments. When sales volume is
increased once more, the company
maybecaughtoffguardandstarttoreinvestagain.
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This situation of self limiting growth will
surely have a negative effect on the
company.Acompanyshouldbeawareofthe
natural fact that the market will have mid
termorientedfluctuations.
If you are producing more whendemand is low, and producing less
when demand is high, you have a
selflimitinggrowth
If you are producing less whendemandislow,andproducingmore
when demand is high, you have a
selfsustaininggrowth
Making sure that the company has self
sustaining growth requires a good
understandingofsystemsthinking.
SHIFTINGTHEBURDEN
When a problem occurs within an
organization,therealsourceoftheproblem
isusuallydifficulttoaddress.However,the
symptomsarenot.Therefore,peopletendto
shifttheburdentothesymptomsandcure
them,leavingtherealproblembe.
Atypicalexampleistocurestresscausedbyrole conflicts by drinking or meditation.
Withthesesolutions,yousurelycanmanage
stress in the short term. However; in the
longrun,youaregoingtoneedtosolvethe
roleconflicttocurestress.
Youmustbecautiousaboutthis.Symptom
curing solutions can only be shortterm
oriented.
Solution of this problem is to focus on thefundamental solutions. Symptomatic
solutions can be used to gain time while
workingontherealone.
TRAGEDYOFTHECOMMONS
This phenomenon happens when
individuals use a commonly available but
limited resource on the basis of individual
need.Atfirsttheyarerewardedforusingit.
But eventually, the resource ends up usedup.
A common example of this problem is a
common grass field of 10 farmers, who let
theirsheep,feedonthatground.Iftheylet
theirsheepmultiplywhengrassisplentiful,
theywillendupwithoutanygrass.
Solution of this problem is to manage
commons through education & self
regulation systems, or official regulating
mechanisms.
PERSONALMASTERY
Personal mastery is about becoming
committedtoclarifyinganddeepeningones
personal vision and sustaining lifelong
learning. It is the phrase used for thediscipline of personal growth and learning.
Organizations learn only through
individuals who learn. Since an
organizationslearningcapacitycantexceed
the levelof its members,personal mastery
happens to be one of the key points of
organizationallearning.
As a discipline, personal mastery underlies
two movements. The first one is to keep
clarifying what is important to us. Secondone isto keep learninghow tosee current
realitymoreclearly.
Surprisingly few employees seem to be
experts at personal mastery. They work to
survive and reach certain goals, but only a
fewhaveaninnervisionandkeeplearning
toturnitintoreality.Inmanycases,people
even resist against personal mastery
because of their cynicism. They made the
mistake of turningideals into expectations,
and when they became disappointed, their
visionscouldntsustainanylonger.
To develop a sense of personal mastery, a
seriesof practicesshouldbe applied, which
arethefollowing:
PersonalVision.Theabilitytofocusonultimateintrinsicdesiresinstead
of secondary goals isa cornerstone
ofpersonalmastery.
Creative Tension. Throughout time,ourvisionwilltrytopullourmind
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up, while the reality tries to push
our mind down. Its our
responsibilitytohelpourvisionwin.
Structural Conflict. Our vision willtry to sustain our development,
while our beliefs in powerlessnessor unworthiness tries to keep it
back. Its our responsibility to help
ourvisionwin.
CommitmenttotheTruth.Itmeanscontinually broadening our
awareness. It is not about seeking
the truth; its rather about a
willingnesstorootoutthewayswe
limitordeceiveourselvesfromwhat
is.
MENTALMODELS
Mental models are assumptions,
generalizations and beliefs rooted deep
inside ofus, whichaffects howwe observe
and evaluate the things around us. Very
often, we are not aware of our mental
modelsandhowtheywork.
Thats also the reason why the best ideas
usually fail. The ideas which we believe tobe the best are usually rooted to our own
mental models which may be far from the
reality. Therefore, it is very important to
keep improving our mental models and
bringingthemclosertothereality.
Herearesomekeypointstomakesurethat
our ideas dont rely on our mental models
only:
Make your reasoning explicit. Thismeans,youshoulddescribethepath
through which you arrived at your
view.
Defineyourassumptionsclearly. Encourage others to explore your
viewandpointoutgaps.
Encourage others to providedifferentviews.
Inquire into others views. Youshouldanalyzeotherpeoplesviews
andcomparetheirpathideawith
yourowns.
BUILDINGASHAREDVISION
Every member of an organization has
his/her own goals. However; an
organizationisagroupofpeoplewhocome
together to reach a common goal / vision.Forinstance;Polaroidhadasharedvisionof
Instant Photography. Apple had a shared
vision of Computing for Everyone.
Building and clarifying a shared vision and
keeping the feedback towards members of
the organization flowing is very important
fromalearningorganizationspointofview.
Itisimportanttobuildonesingleorganism
ofmanypeople.Butitsalsoimportanttolet
theorganismknowwheretogo.
A shared vision starts with encouraging
personal visions. A realistic shared vision
can only then be built by detecting the
commonpointsamongpersonalvisions,and
makingthemvisibletoeveryone.Doingthis,
you will end up with a group of people
havingacommonvision.
TEAMLEARNING
Teamlearningisasysteminwhichenergies
of individual members work at cross
purposes to maximize the success of the
team. As mentioned before, a team of
managers with individual IQs of 120 can
have a collective IQ of 60 if their team
learningdisciplineisweak.Whenteamsare
learning, they produce extraordinary
results,andindividualmembersgrowmore
rapidlyaswell.
Team learning is about knowing other
members well. When that happens, each
membercanalmostsensethenextstepin
the process, how other members will act,
and what he/she is going to have to do.
Typical examples to organizations with a
high level of team learning are NBA
basketballteamsandexperiencedjazztrios
whoimprovisealot.
To ensure team learning; sustaining
dialogueanddiscussionamongmembersis
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veryimportant.Whenthathappens,levelof
teamlearningwillincreasewithpractices.
LEARNINGDISABILITIES
There are some common points of view,
which will stop an organization from
becoming a learning one. In this section, I
am going to explain the most significant
ones.
IAMMYPOSITION
This is the tendency to put our own
identities aside and define ourselves with
our position in the organization. This cancause an employee to limit his
responsibilities with the boundaries of his
position. It can cause a blindness of the
production caused by the interaction
between many positions. Instead, people
will see their limited production only and
might consider themselves successful even
ifthegeneraloutcomeisnotasintended.
If people define themselves with their
position only, they will have a hard timeactingtogether.
THEENEMYISOUTTHERE
Peopletendtofindsomething/someoneto
blamewhentheydontsucceed.Marketing
blames manufacturing for low quantity;
manufacturingblamesmarketingforpushy
deadlinesformassiveproduction.
This disability can be considered as abyproductof I Am My Position disability.
When people dont consider the whole
system and the way it works, it becomes
very easy to find something to blame for
theirfailures.
THEILLUSIONOFTAKINGCHARGE
Takingchargeisthetermtotakeinitiative
and act early before things get out of
control. However, this proactive approach
can lead to bigger problems sometimes.
Consider a company outsourcing its
software development needs to another
company. A proactive IT manager can
foresee that thedevelopmentrequirements
willraisedramaticallyinthefollowingyears
because of the new ERP system they areplanningtobuy,andcandecidetohiretheir
owndeveloperstocutexpenses.
Thismaysoundlikeagoodidea.However;
while celebrating the illusion that he took
chargeofthesituation,hewillmissthefact
that the best programmers in the market
are working as consultants or freelancers.
Thedevelopershecanhirewillprobablybe
inexperienced or inadequate. In this case,
lack of systems thinking will cost the
company greatly in terms of software
qualityandproductivity.
Dont forget that in many cases,
proactivenessisreactivenessindisguise.
THEFIXATIONONEVENTS
Thisdisabilityisaboutthetendencytofocus
on shortterm events instead of longterm
developments. Consider a fresh productionmanager of an icecream company who
orders ingredients based upon the weekly
orders of distributors. If he focuses on the
weekly schedules only, he will probably
missthepointthatsummerisapproaching
and ice cream orders will rise so quickly
thathewonthaveenoughtimetoprocure
ingredientsfromsuppliers.
Likemanyothers,thecureforthisdisability
is to promote systems thinking. Long term
orientationisalsouseful.
THE PARABLE OF THE BOILED
FROG
Thisdisabilityisaboutthefamousstoryof
the boiling frog. If you throw a frog into
boilingwater,hewilljumpoutimmediately.
However,ifyouputhimintocoolwaterand
boil the water gradually, he will be boiled
without resistance. The reason of thisphenomenonlieswithinthenervesystemof
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the frog. A frogs anatomy is built to make
surethatitwillreactuponsuddenchanges.
If its environment changes slowly, the frog
isnotabletonoticeit.
This parable happens in organizational life
as well. It is a natural result of short time
orientation and lack of systems thinking.
One good example of this parable is the
American automobile industry, where
Japanese companies slowly and gradually
tookoverthemarketfromasharelevelof
4% to 40% throughout 1962 2005. If
Japan would have entered the market and
gainedashareof40%inoneyear,American
companieswouldhavereactedimmediately.
However,theygotboiledovertime.
THE DELUSION OF LEARNING
FROMTHEEXPERIENCE
It is certain that one of the best learning
methodsislearningfromdirectexperience.
If we do it by ourselves, we learn solidly.
The most important prerequisite of this
methodisgettingfeedback.Weneedtosee
theconsequencesofouractionstolearnif
wediditrightornot.
However, when we are acting in an open
system, it is very hard to see the global
resultsofourdecisionsandactions.Primary
consequences usually lie in the distant
future or a distant part of the system. The
thingswelearninsuchanenvironmentcan
beright,buttheycanbewrongaswell.Just
because something seems to work right in
ourownlearninghorizon,doesntmeanthat
it was correct generally. For example, realconsequences of decisions in R&D will be
visibleaftersales.Justbecauseahairdryer
seemstoweighlessafterchangingthetype
of plastic of the cover, the R&D scientist
shouldnt hurry to learn that the new
plastic type is better. After a year, the
marketshareofthehairdryercandecrease
becauseitfeelscheap.
THE MYTH OF THE MANAGEMENT
TEAM
Themanagementteamisbuiltofmanagers
from different departments of the
organization.Theresponsibilityofthisteamis to make sure that departments are
interactingcorrectly,andthecommongoals
are being approached. This involves
eliminationofdisabilitiesmentionedabove.
However, the management team is built
from humans, and like any other team,
management teams can also fail on basic
points.Likeinotherteams,amemberofthe
management team can try to avoid things
which will make him look bad. In normal
situations, management teams usually
perform well. But under pressure, the
quality of discussions and decisions will
decrease.
Usually, solving an urgent problem is the
subjectofamanagementteammeeting,and
a good solution will be rewarded. On the
other hand, questioning the companys
current policies will not. It is obvious that
the second approach is more important
from the learning organization point of
view.
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LAWS OF LEARNING
ORGANIZATIONS
In this section, we are going to see the
commonlawswhichmakeanorganizationa
learningorganization.
T O D A Y ' S P R O B L E M S C O M E F R O M Y E S T E R D A Y ' S " S O L U T I O N S . "
A solution to settle a problem of the past
may affect the organizations current
situationinanegativeway.Considerashoe
companymakingabigseasonaldiscountto
compete with the new company entering
the market. The manager may have saved
theday;butafterthediscountis over,sales
may decrease because many customers
decided to rather wait for the next big
discountinsteadofpayinglotsofmoneyto
thefamousbrand.
Did the sales manager really solve the
problem of the new competitor?Or did he
just postpone the problem to the future?From the learning organization point of
view, longterm effects of each alternative
solutionshouldbeconsideredcarefullywith
abroadvision.
T H E H A R D E R Y O U P U S H , T H E H A R D E R T H E S Y S T E M P U S H E S B A C K
The more effort you expend trying to
improve matters, the more effort seems toberequired.Adramaticexampleofthislaw
is the government aid program of USA for
the poor cities. The more the government
provided financial aid, the more aid was
needed. The reason behind this
phenomenon was simple: People, who
managed to save enough money simply
moved to better cities. At the same time,
lowincome people from better cities
started to move to the aided cities to take
advantageoftheaids.
Aclassicalstorybetweenthewindandsun
demonstrates this principle very well. The
sun and wind were arguing about their
powers.Thewindpointedamanandblew
strongly to blow off his coat. But the
stronger it blew, the tightly the manwrappedhiscoataroundhimself.Lateron,
it was the suns turn. The sun just shined
warmer and brighter, and very soon, the
mantookhiscoatbyhimself.
B E H A V I O R W I L L G R O W B E T T E R B E F O R E I T G R O W S W O R S E
The key word of this law is eventually.
Symptomatic cures upon problems will
make things look better for a while; buteventually, problems will arise again. In a
typical example, a software developer may
bypass the testing process to deliver a
delayed project in time. From the
management point of view, the developer
will be praised because of the undelayed
deployment. However; over time,
application failures because of lack of
testingwillgivethedeveloperahardtimeat
his performance appraisal. Perhaps worse
than the scenario where he would admitthattheprojectdelayed.
T H E E A S Y W A Y O U T U S U A L L Y L E A D S B A C K I N
This law reminds us of the drunken man
whoissearchinghiskeys(whichhelostat
some dark corner) under the streetlight
because it is more luminous. Insisting on
familiarsolutionstosolveourproblemswill
notalwayscarryustothebestscenario.
Anextremeexampletothislawcouldbea
carpenter who is trying different type of
hammerstogetanailoutofacabinet.What
hereallyneedsisapairofpincers.
T H E C U R E C A N B E W O R S E T H A N T H E D I S E A S E
Alcoholism may start as simple as socialdrinking: A way to solve the problem of
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workrelated stress. However, continuous
drinkingcanleadtoa muchbiggerproblem
inthe long run: stress caused because ofa
diseased liver. In organizations lacking the
approachofLearningOrganizations,short
term solutions can be worse than theproblemitselfifnotchosencarefully.
F A S T E R I S S L O W E R
The story behind this law is old: The slow
turtle wins the race against the fast (but
careless)rabbit.
In all natural systems, growth has an
optimal rate and all organisms follow this
rule inevitably. However; most of theorganizations today push to grow as much
andfastaspossible,withoutconsideringthe
consequences of growth. When growth
becomes excessive, the organization will
have a hard time coordinating itself and
slowitselfdown.Atsuchascenario,evenits
survivalmightbeatriskbecauseofraising
costs.
Asa managerialprinciple,itisa betteridea
to remove the factors limiting growthinsteadofpushinggrowth.
C A U S E A N D E F F E C T A R E N O T C L O S EL Y R E L A T E D I N T I M E A N D S P A C E
During our childhood, the source of the
problem is never too far away from the
problem itself. As some children grow up
and become managers, this approach of
themstillexists.Ifthereisaprobleminthe
production, theycheck theproduction line.Ifsalespeoplecantmeettheirtargets,new
salespeoplearehiredinstead.However;ina
complex open system, real reasons of
organizational problems may be far away
from the problem itself in terms of both
timeandspace.
S M A L L C H A N G E S C A N P R O D U C E B I G R ES UL TS .. .B UT T HE A RE AS O F H IG HE ST L E V E R A G E A R E O F T E N T H E L E A S T O B V I O U S
Sofar,ithasbeenstatedthatmostobvious
solutionsdontalwaysbringthebestresults.
However; sometimes, a very small (but
insignificant) change can cause a very big
improvement. This systems thinking
conceptiscalledasleverage.
There are no simple rules to find high
leveragechanges. But asthe first step, one
can start learning to see underlying
structuresratherthanevents.
Forinstance,whenschoolofficialsmakethe
decision to introduce educational reforms,
simply sitting down with teachers oneon
oneattheoutsetandeasingtheirconcerns
abouttheimpactthesereformswillhaveon
theirlivescangoalongwaytowardpavingthe way for a smooth transition to new,
moreeffectiveteachingmethods.
Y OU C AN H AV E Y OU R C AK E A ND E AT I T T O O B U T N O T A L L A T O N C E
From the systems point of view, some
dilemmas are not dilemmas at all. For
instance; many production managers will
tellthattheconceptsoflowcostandhighquality are oxymorons which means,
they cant exist together. However, the
process of decreasing costs and increasing
quality can go together over time. A close
exampleisIKEAforinstance.Someitemsin
Ikeas catalogue of 2008 are cheaper than
thecatalogueof2007.IKEAstatedthatthis
happened because they were able to
decrease the price because of the high
volume of sales and new production
methods.D IV ID I NG A N E LE PH AN T I N H AL F D OE SN O T P R O D U C E T W O S M A L L E L E P H A N T S
Open systems have integrity. It is not
possible to take a part of a system and
expectittofunctionwellisolated.
Organizations, like living organisms, have
integrity. Their character depends on the
whole. To understand most managerialissuesyoumustviewthewholesystemthat
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generated the issue. Of course; seeing
whole elephants doesnt mean that every
organizationalissuecanbeunderstoodonly
bylookingattheentireorganization. Some
canbeunderstoodbylookingonlyatmajor
functions, while others require looking atcritical systemic forces within a functional
area.Thekeyistheprincipleofthesystem
boundarywhich says the interactions
that must be examined are those most
importanttotheissueathand,regardlessof
parochialorganizationalboundaries.
However, this is difficult in practice. Most
organizational designs keep people from
seeingimportantinteractions.
STEPS TO A LEARNING
ORGANIZATION
In this section, we will see the steps
requiredtotransformanorganizationintoa
learningorganization.
ASSESSINGLEARNINGCULTURE
If the culture of the organization doesntsupport learning, it is impossible to
transform it into a learning organization.
Therefore, making learning part of the
cultureshouldbethefirst(andperhapsthe
mostfundamental)steptowardsalearning
organization.
The biggest barrier in building a learning
cultureisfearintheorganization.Ifpeople
are generally afraid of anything (the boss,
beingfired,lossoftheirposition,etc),itwillbe very hard for them to assess the
qualificationsneeded.Eliminationoffearin
the organization should be the first step
towardsalearningculture.
Anotherbarrieristhefactthatsomepeople
hatechange.Ifpeopleareensuredthatthey
will be given the tools and education
required and the uncertainty is minimized,
resistanceagainstchangecanbeminimized.
PROMOTINGTHEPOSITIVE
The next step is to change behaviors of
people so they learn to think positively.
Withoutdenyingreality,theyneedtoswitch
to the glass half full point of view from
glasshalfempty.
Oneinterestingexampletothisstepcomes
from a McDonalds restaurants. A female
employee wanted to make a smallpositive
change in her customers lives. Therefore,
she started to make a small contact with
them. Whenever she needed to return
change,sheheldhercustomershandbriefly
inherlefthandwhilegivingthechangewith
her right hand. It was a very small, gentle
and quick human contact. However, the
effectwasgreat:Peoplestartedtolineupin
front of her even when other clerks are
more available. After other clerks noticed
whatshewasdoing,theystartedtodothe
same thing and this restaurant was
transformed after a while. The atmosphere
was improved; and as a result of that,
interactions among the employees also
becamemorewarmandcaring.
Sinceinteractionamongemployeesisoneof
theprerequisitesofalearningorganization,
a positive climate proves itself to be aworthysteptowardsit.
SAFETYFORTHINKING
Thethirdstepistoensurethatideascanbe
expressedfreelyintheorganization.Weall
heardofinnovativethinkerswhowerefired
bytheiremployers,onlytobeginsuccessful
business of their own. A much more
common story is shared among manypeople who just gave up coming up with
good ideas. The price of this story is
immeasurable, which is consistent of lost
creativityandstunnedcareers.
There are three requirements to build a
thinkingsafeenvironment:
Toagreeuponastructuresupportedby the organization, about how the
organization is going to behave in
termsofnewideas
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To make sure that people willnurture and support each other
success
Tomakepeopleweartheirproblemsolvinghatsallthetime
A good example of the thinkingsafe
companies is Google, where employees are
freetoworkonprojectsoftheirownin20%
of their times. People are not only
encouraged to think, but they are also
encouragedtoimplementtheirnewideasin
pilot environments. Successful ideas are
thenimplementedintorealproductsofthe
company.
REWARDINGRISKTAKING
In todays partially unpredictable business
environment;takingmeaningful,reasonable
and moderate risks is becoming a
prerequisite of survival. Without intelligent
risks,survivalisimpossible.
In some cases, a new implementation of a
softwareistestedformonths.Thisprocess
includesvalidationsaswell.However,such
processes will cause the company 10.000sof $s per month. If the company takes a
little risk and relies on the capacity of the
softwarecompanytosoftwareproblemsas
they arose, the total cost of ownership
woulddecreasedramatically.
Tomakethisriskreasonable,riskofdata
loss can be minimized by taking daily
backups, for example. Risk taking is not
beatingyourheadagainstthewall.
Building a culture where risktaking issupported and mistakes are tolerated;
people will find a space to improve
processes of the organization. Otherwise,
mostofthemwilljuststicktothesafeside
anddonothingelse.
HELPING PEOPLE BECOMING
RESOURCES
The fifth step involves a change in thevisionsofemployees.Theyshouldseeeach
other and themselves as resources, not job
descriptions.Thebarrieragainstthistypeof
view are the excessive bureaucratic
structures. It wouldnt be fair to say that
bureaucracy should be eliminated totally.
However, it shouldnt be blocking possiblecommunication and coordination among
people.
Justlikenewideasaresupportedinaframe
of reasonable risks, people should also be
supportedtoeachotherbecausenoideacan
be implemented successfully with the
effortsofonesingleperson.
PUTTING LEARNING POWER TO
WORK
This step involves insurance of continuous
learning in the organization not only in
formal ways, but also in informal ways.
Learning should not only occur in
classrooms and formal trainings. Teaching
andlearningrealtime,whenandwherethe
workoccurs,shouldalsobeencouraged.
Although this sounds easy, there are three
barriers which will stop people fromsustainedlearning:
Thelogicalbarrier.Thisariseswhena crucial piece is missing from the
presentation of something we need
to learn, which makes it impossible
for us to understand. Most
teacherswillbeunawareofthose
gaps.
Weneedtoknowwhyweneedtoknow. This barrier arises when
students cant see the relevance
betweenthenewinformation.They
shouldbeinformedwhytheyshould
learn,andhowtheycanusethenew
informationtochangethings.
The ethical barrier. If we want tolearn something well, it must pass
ourpersonalethicalstandards.
Uponeliminationofthesebarriers,learning
willshowitstruepower.
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MAPPINGTHEVISION
In the section Building A Shared Vision,
the importance of a common vision wasalready underlined. The common vision
appears as the seventh step toward a
learning organization. When set clearly, a
sharedvisionandasharedsetofgoalswill
build a collective intelligence, in which
genuineeffortscanbeobserved.
Theimportantpointis;thecommonvision
should belong to everyone, and everyone
should be able to find common points
between the common vision and theirpersonalvisions.
BRINGINGVISIONTOLIFE
Havinga visionisnice.Butavisionwithout
actualimplementationisuseless.Therefore,
the next step in building a learning
organization is to make the required
implementations. Employees, who means
the organization, should observe actual
changes towards the vision. This
reinforcement will motivate them to do
more.
A very long term oriented vision
reinforcement beyond the patience of
employeeswillnothelpanyone.Thepathto
thevisionshouldbebuiltsothatemployees
shouldbeabletogetfeedbackcontinuously.
CONNECTINGSYSTEMS
In an organizational environment, many
people will use the term system in
different meanings, but most of them will
lacktherealmeaningofit.Whattheymean
by system is usually an illusion built by
bureaucratic imagination. This illusion will
slow things down and make everything
complicated.
Systems theory is supposed to help us see
how different elements work together to
makesomethinghappen.Ifyouchangeone
element,thewholesystemwillbeaffected.
Meaningandimportanceofsystemstheory
has already be underlined in the previous
chapters. As a step towards learning
organizations, it is important to make sure
that systems thinking is more than a
simpleentryinthecorporatepolicy.People
shouldbethinkingandactinglikea system,
inevitablyanopensystem.
GETTINGTHESHOWONTHEROAD
Thislaststepisactuallynotarealstep.It
impliesthatweshouldmakesurethatallof
thepreviousstepsarebroughttogether,andthattheyaresustainedthroughoutthetime.
Instead of telling what everyoneshould be
doingintheidealcase,theleader(s)ofthe
organizationshavetomakesurethatthese
ideal cases are actually implemented as
muchaspossible.
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LEADERSHIP IN LEARNING
ORGANIZATIONS
Amongallotherfactors,styleofleadership
playsaverysignificantroleinthecreation
of a learning organization. Classical
understanding of leadership will not be
enough. The leader of a learning
organization willhold multiple roles at the
same time, which we will cover in this
section.
LEADERASDESIGNER
Manypeoplewouldtendtodefinealeader
asthecaptainoftheship.However;what
goodresultcantheordersteer30degrees
west bring if it takes 6 hours to turn the
wheel? This would be the fault of the
designeroftheship,right?
Before considering becominga captain, the
leader in an organization should consider
becoming the designer of the organization.
It is fruitless to be the leader in anorganizationthatispoorlydesigned.
A typical case of Leader as Designer
principleoccursatERPimplementations.In
agoodERPimplementationproject,youwill
see managers and the IT staff working
together in the same room, designing and
tailoring the digital infrastructure of
business. A project, where managers dont
touch anything in the designing phrase,
wouldbefruitlessbecause afterthegolive,they would have a hard time trying to
managetheirbusinesssystemwhichwasnt
designedbythem.
LEADERASTEACHER
Standard teachers focus on what they are
teachingandhowtheydoit.Greatteachers,
on the other hand, create a space for
learningandinvitepeopleintoit.
Another role of the leader in a learning
organization is to build a learning climate
and sustaining it. This means, the leader is
notexpectedtoteacheverythingbyhimself
(it isveryhard, if not impossible,to find a
leaderwhoknowsitallanyway).Theleaderis expected to encourage and reward
learning in the organization. Learning
shouldbecomeoneofthecommonpractices
intheorganization.
LEADERASSTEWARD
The servant leader is servant first, leader
after. It is different from the classical
approach where people tend to become
leadersfirst,andserveafterwards.
Stewardship of leaders involves the desire
ofservingotherpeopleandbecominguseful
to them. This approach is based upon the
ideathatiftheleaderfocusesonsatisfying
the real needs of employees, they will
become much more productive, and things
will work out fine. After all, it is the
employees who do all the work, not the
leaders.
Thisleadershipstylealsoinvolvesservinga
largerpurposethantheleaderhimselfsince
all genuine commitment is to something
larger than oneself. The something is
ideallytheorganizationalmission/vision.
TRANSFORMATIONALLEADERSHIP
Wehaveinspectedthedifferentrolesofa
leaderinalearningorganization.Butwhat
about the leadership style? Contemporarystudies make a distinction between two
leadership styles: transactional and
transformational leadership. It is an easy
guess that learning organizations require
transformationalleaders.
Concept of transformational leadership has
the assumption that people will follow a
person who inspires them; and that the
inspirer can achieve great things if he/she
has the vision and passion by injectingenthusiasmandenergytothefollowers.
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Such leaders successfully develop and sell
their visions, and make sure that everyone
sharesthem.Wehavealreadydiscussedthe
importanceofasharedvision.Therefore,a
visionaryleadershipstylewillbethebestfit
toalearningorganization.
CULTURE AND LEARNING
ORGANIZATIONS
In this chapter, we will discuss the
relationship between culture and learning
organizations. Dimensions of Geert
Hofstedes cultural studies will be our
startingpoint.
LEVELOFPOWERDISTANCE
The first step in creating a learning
organizationistoassessalearningculture.
We have seen that the most significant
barrieragainstthisrequirementisfear.
In cultures with high levels of power
distance,especiallywhenleaderswithhigh
levelsofauthorityareinquestion,aclimate
of fear may arise. This will surely have anegativeeffectonorganizationallearning.
Communication is another key concept in
learningorganizations.Highpowerdistance
will affect vertical communication in a
negativeway.
Another key point is change. In cultures
with high power distance, change will be
implemented by the top management
vertically. In cultures with low power
distance, change will be implemented
cumulatively and horizontally. In terms of
change, cultures with low power distance
willhavetheiradvantage.
Considering these facts, we can say that a
moderatetolow level of power distance is
needed to build a healthy learning
organization. In cultures with high power
distance, people can try to soften the
barriers by creating common social
environments.
INDIVIDUALISMVSCOLLECTIVISM
Systemsthinkingrequirespeopletoseeand
evaluate everything as a whole. Empirical
study has shown that people from
individualistic cultures understandmicroeconomics better, while people from
collectivist cultures understand
macroeconomics better. Based upon this
information,wecanassumethatcollectivist
peopleareusedtoliveandactinasystem
of other people; therefore, they are more
used to think about causeeffect relations
systemwide.
An organization with individualistic
members should try to improve their
members systems thinking with open
discussions and transparent decision
makingprocesses.Iftheyobservesystems
thinking based decisionslong enough, they
willgetusedtothinkandactthatway.
On the other hand; members of
individualistic cultures tendto believe that
they can take initiative and change things,
whilecollectivistpeopletendtobelievethat
theycantchangeanythingandeverythingis
predetermined. When change is involved,individualistic people will have their
advantage because if someone doesnt
believe that he/she can do something,
he/sheprobablycantdoit.
MASCULANITYVSFEMININITY
Positivity is an important point in learning
organizations; which is provided better in
cultures with high femininity. Therefore;creatingapositiveclimatewillbeeasierin
suchcultures.
UNCERTAINTYAVOIDANCE
Incultureswithhighuncertaintyavoidance,
peoplewilltendtoescapefromchangeand
risktaking;whicharekeypointsoflearning
organizations. Therefore, cultures with low
uncertainty avoidance will have a big
advantageinthisscope.
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For refreshment, you can reread the
sections Assessing learning culture and
Rewardingrisktaking.
SCOPEOFORIENTATION
Alearningorganizationwillfavorlongterm
orientation instead of shortterm solutions
which cure symptoms only. It is easy to
guess that cultures with long term
orientationwillbuildlearningorganizations
much easier than cultures with short term
orientation.
For refreshment, you can reread the
sections Fixation on events, The parable
of the boiling frog and Shifting theburden.
SAMPLE ARTICLE ON
LEARNINGORGANIZATIONS
In this section, we are going to inspect a
journal about learning organizations. The
article in question is Factors Influencing
Learning in Work, and is written by Sally
Sambrook.
ABSTRACT
This article reports on factors influencing
learning. The research has been conducted
in two different companies (European and
UKbased).TheUKbasedprojectfocusedon
computerbased learning, while the
European project focused on the role of
human resources department on lifelong
learning.ThejournalresearchedELearning
findings because of the increasing
popularityofELearningsystemslately.
This article aims of shifting the focus of
trainingtothefocusoflearning.
The European project examined the
followingpoints:
Sociological aspects, such asorganization of work and changingfunctionalroles
Psychological issues related tolearning
The British project examined the following
points:
Pedagogical issues related to thequalityoftheelectronicmaterial
Investigating concepts of ELearning; such as instructional
design, accessibility, learner
centeredness
METHODOLOGY
EU
TheEuropeanprojectemployedqualitative
methods to explore questions in 28 case
studieswithfourorganizationsfromeachof
thesevencountries.Researchersconducted
semistructured interviews with managers,
HRDprofessionalsandemployees.
Atthesecondstage,thefindingsofthefirst
stage were tested with a questionnaire
surveyof140organizationsacrossEurope,
targetedatseniorHRDprofessionals.
UK
TheUKstudyinvolved159employeesfrom
the North Wales area. There was a wide
spread of age and experience among
participants. Five different ELearning
materialswereselected,offeringarangeof
subjects and required level of IT skills.
Participantswerefreetoselectthematerial
they liked. They worked on their selectedmaterial in their own time, and they were
asked to complete the Learner Evaluation
ToolintheLikertstyle.
This tool comprised 91 statements in five
categories:
Generalissues Accessissues Designissues Issues related to the quality of
learningexperience
Learningoutcomes
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They were also asked to write their
comments. Our article is focused on these
comments. The comments were analyzed
usingcontentanalysis.
VARIABLES
EU
Thevariablesinthisarticlevariedinthree
different levels: organizational, functional
and individual. These included the
organizationofwork,organizationalculture,
availableresourcesandskills&attitudes&
motivationsofmanagersandlearners.
The variables affecting learning in
organizationsarethefollowing:
MotivationThemeo Levelofmotivationo Roleclarityo Level of selfconfidence
(responsibility)
o Rewardso Enthusiasminlearningitselfo Confidencetolearn
HRDThemeo Roleclarityo Perception level of HRD
(support function vs.
strategicpartner)
CultureThemeo Strengthoflearningcultureo Managerialsupport
PragmaticsThemeo Amountoftimeo Amount of resources &
investment
UK
TheUKprojectidentifiedindividualfactors
asITskills,confidence,fearandmotivation.
Here are the most significant factors
defined:
Userfriendlyness: The extent towhichthematerialiseasytouse
Presentation: Clear and accurate,nomistakessuchasspellingerrors
Graphics: Number and quality ofimages
Interest: Whether the materialgeneratesinterestorboredom
Information: The amount andquality of information (too little or
overload)
Knowledge: The extent to whichnewknowledgeisgained
Understanding: Whether thematerial is easy of difficult to
understand Level: Whether the material is too
basicortoodeep
Type of learning: Whether deeplearningorrotelearning
Language: Whether the languagewastoodifficulttofollow
Text: The amount of text and thebalancewithgraphics
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MODEL&FINDINGS
EU
UK
HRD&
Resources
Strengthof
learning
Managerial
support
Motivation
LearningTraining
User
friendl
LearningTraining
Presentatio
n
Graphics&
Text Information
Knowledge
Understand. Level
Typeof
learnin
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AHOLISTICMODEL
FINDINGS
COMMON
Theremarkablethingaboutbothresearches
is that the moderating variables aresubjective rather than objective. For
instance;oneparticipantmayfindthesame
trainingtooshallow,whileanotheronecan
find it too deep. Therefore, managers must
be careful about analyzing the level of the
participantsofthetrainingfirst.
EU
Organiza)onal
Func)onalIndividual
ICTLearningMaterials
UserfriendlyGraphicsetc
LearningMaterials
Presenta)onStructureetc
Learning
TypeoflearningOutcomesetc
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Findings from the EU research could be
constructed into three categories:
Organizational,functionalandindividual.
UK
FindingsfromtheUKresearchcouldeasily
be constructed into three categories:
Learning, learning materialsand computer
basedlearningmaterials.
Learning
o Knowledgeo Understandinglevelo TypeOfLearning
LearningMaterialso Presentationo Interesto Informationo Language
Computerbasedlearningmaterialso Userfriendlyo Texto Graphics
CONCLUSION
In this paper, the idea of learning organization was discussed. After general definitions of
organizationallearning,thedisciplinesoflearningorganizationsandlearningdisabilitieswereinspected.Lawsof learningorganizationsandstepstowardsa learningorganizationwerealso
discussed. At the last part, we have seen the leadership styles and cultural dimensions
influencingalearningorganization.
Asaconclusion,wecansaythatbecomingalearningorganizationisnotagoalinitself;itisa
pathtowardsanidealmodelwhichcanprobablyneverbefullyreached.Because;ifyouthink
thatyourcompanyhasreachedthisgoal,youprobablystartedtostoplearning.Thisprocesswill
requiresustainedtransformationandchangeintheorganization,whichcanonlybemadebya
transformationalleaderanditsopenmindedemployeeswhokeepcommunicatingineveryway
possible.
REFERENCES
Chawla, S., Renesch, J. (1995) Learning Organizations: Developing Cultures for Tomorrows
Workplace.NewYork:ProductivityPress.
Kline,P.,Saunders,B.(1998)TenStepstoaLearningOrganization .Utah:GreatRiverBooks.
Robbins,S.P.(2005)OrganizationalBehavior.NewJersey:PearsonEducationInc.
Sambrook, S. (2002) Factors Influencing Learning in Work, Journal of European Industrial
Training,24(2/3/4),pp.209219.
Senge, P.M. (2006)TheFifthDiscipline: TheArt & Practice of the Learning Organization. New
York:Doubleday.
http://www.changingminds.org
http://www.wikipedia.org