Slide 1

Alyssa Gracia

Peter Senges Learning Organization

The Learning Organization

Learning organizations are places 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 how to learn together. (Senge 2006, p. 3)

- Adaptive learning (aka survival learning) is the organizations basic needs to survive. It is important and necessary, but it is not enough to create a learning organization.

- Generative learning enhances our creative capacity.

- These two techniques combine to create a learning organization, which is an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future.

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Adaptive Learning

Generative Learning

Learning Organization

Five Basic Disciplines

Personal Mastery

Mental Models

Building Shared Vision

Team Learning

Systems Thinking

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Personal Mastery

Connecting personal and organizational learning

Merging personal vision with current reality

Commitments between the individual and the

organization

Personal mastery is the discipline of continuously indulging deeper into our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively. It is merging our personal vision with current reality in order to make better choices and gain results.

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Mental Models

Mental models are deep-rooted assumptions, generalizations, pictures, or images that influence our viewpoint and how we take action. With mental models it is important to first look at our own assumptions and understanding of the world. It also includes the ability to carry out thought provoking conversations where individuals expose their own thinking effectively, as well as influence the thinking of others.

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Our Viewpoint

Assumptions

Images

Surroundings

Generalizations

Shared Vision

Developing shared images of the future

Genuine Vision

- A sense of commitment to a group is established by developing shared images of the future they seek to create.

- When there is genuine vision people excel and learn because they want to, not because they are told to.

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Team Learning

Group effectiveness > Individual position

When teams are effectively learning they are producing successful results, and the individual team members are growing faster than they could have on their own.

Team learning starts with communication (dialogue) and the ability to rest aside assumptions in order to engage in a process of collective mindfulness, and learning to recognize patterns of interaction that undermine learning.

If teams can not learn, neither can the organization.

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Evolution of Dialogue

Free Flow of Meaning

Discussion

Suspension & Dialogue

According to Senge and his colleagues, team dialogue moves from initiation -> conversation -> deliberation. From deliberation, the dialogue may follow a path to discussion or to suspension and dialogue. Team learning encourages members to think about dialogue as the free flow of meaning accompanied by logical analysis. (Eisenberg/Goodall, 228)

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Initiation

Conversation

Deliberation

Systems Thinking

Learning organizations are

interdependent

and

continuously changing

- The individual begins to understand that the organization is interdependent, recognizes its relationships between key factors (i.e. population, natural resources, food production) and continuously changing. Once the individual acknowledges this they are capable of dealing with the consequences to the action or event. This discipline is based upon a growing body of theory about the behavior of feedback and complexity. It deals with the natural occurrences of a system that lead to growth or stability over time.

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Application: NWSF

Step 1: Personal Mastery

Pass Fail

Organizers did not follow through with commitments

Little respect for participants needs

A relevant amount of time was spent at the NWSF retreat discussing identity politics within the group and trust-building.

Personal mastery was far from mastered. Participants noted many organizers did not follow through with their commitments. Participants also commented that there was little respect for them and their needs.

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Application: NWSF

Step 2: Mental Models

Pass Fail

Committee held personal assumptions

Participants were lectured

Disagreements surrounding diversity

The organizing committee had a particular conception of what it meant to be non-racist and non-classist and they were going to make sure that everyone understood how that worked. These are assumptions made by the committee and their individual viewpoints, they do not take into consideration the viewpoints of others.

Participants also commented that they were not given an opportunity to participate or take part in an open forum, instead they were lectured.

Disagreements arose surrounding diversity and peoples visions of justice, peace, and democracy embodied in practice

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Application: NWSF

Step 3: Shared Visions

Pass Fail

Lack of:

Structure

Decision-making

Reaching Goals

No clear structure for decision-making process. The structure is just an important as the outcome and the committee did not wish to educate the participants. This led to a lack of follow-through and ends not being reached.

Without communication goals, and the means by which they would be reached, were unclear.

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Application: NWSF

Step 4: Team Learning

Pass Fail

Lack of participation inhibits group learning which is hurtful to the organization.

Several participants noted there was no clear structure for a decision-making process. They also commented that there was not an open flow of communication between themselves and organizers. Lack in communication disabled the forum to work together, share ideas, and learn as a team. Group learning would have been more effective than individual ideas being lectured to participants.

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Application: NWSF

Step 5: Systems Thinking

Pass Fail

Geographical area (NW) too broad

Lack of time to reach goals

in large area

References

Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall Jr,, H. L., & Trethewey, A. (2010). Organization Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint (Sixth ed. , pp. 40-232). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Senge, P. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organizations. New York: DoubleDay. Retrieved February 14, 2010