Learning, A Driver Of Change

Build On The Past

Acquisition of new knowledge is crucial to organisational growth.

   

MONICA CHETAL SHARMA, REDESIGNHR

In 1990, American systems scientist Peter Senge wrote the inspirational and influential book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization, in which he defined the concept of a learning organisation—a company that continuously transforms itself through the learning and development of its members. A learning organisation is a group of people working together collectively to enhance their capabilities to create results they really care about.

Learning organisations are organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, collective aspiration is set free, and people are continually learning how to learn together. To achieve this, Senge suggested the use of five ‘component technologies’.

Systems thinking: This is used by firms to assess themselves and when they have information systems that measure performance of the organisation and its components. Systems thinking states that all the characteristics must be apparent at once in a firm for it to be a learning organisation. If some of these characteristics are missing, then the organisation will fall short of its goal. The characteristics of a learning organisation are acquired gradually, rather than developed simultaneously.

Personal mastery: The commitment by an individual to the process of learning is known as personal mastery. There is a competitive advantage for an organisation whose workforce can learn more quickly than the competitors. Individual learning is acquired through training, development, and continuous self-improvement.