How Organizations Learn: The Developmental Perspective

1. How Organizations Learn: The Developmental Perspective MPA 8002 Organization Theory Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.

2. Organizational life is not conducive to learning … …barriers to learning exist within the organization due to the fundamental, conflicting ways in which individuals have been raised, educated, trained, etc. …which then form the “antecedents” and “theories of practice” that influence “practice episodes” (Sergiovanni, 1986)

3. The concept (DiBella & Nevis, 1998)... • learning orientation …a structure and action that affect how easy or hard it is for learning to occur and the amount of effective learning that takes place Learning orientations (LORs) reflect how learning takes place and the content of learning; organizations have preferences as learning falls along a series of continua; collectively, the LORs represent the organization’s learning style

4. Represents a developmental perspective… ` organization maturity ` ` learning that promotes renewal entrepreneurial idea crisis

5. …which contrasts with a “non-developmental” approach… ` organization maturity ` ` no learning from experience entrepreneurial idea crisis

6. the learning organization represents a phase or stage of an organization’s development which determines the characteristics or style of learning • the learning organization operates in a continuous state of becoming as it adjusts to incremental and transformative changes in environment and technology

7. what gets learned from transformative efforts depends on the stage of organizational development, the perceived value of the information, and the perceived relevance of the experience …the emergence of the learning organization derives as much from evolutionary adaptation to the environment as from revolutionary action responding to management/leadership vision and action

8. organizational learning is a later stage of organizational development …places the organization within the context of its history and the cycle of stages organizations typically confront …points out contextual influences for learning and the need to learn or to relearn from previous experience

9. the challenge for management/leadership is to engender a sense of urgency and to propose a vision that specifies the direction for organizational change which will result in learning (McWhinney et al., 1997)

10. Describing the learning choices… • LORs represent the practices by which knowledge is acquired, disseminated, or used.

11. Principal characteristics of LORs... • reflect where and how knowledge is acquired, disseminated, or used • represent what is learned or considered important to learn • indicate where a work group or team makes its learning investments • described along continua of approaches • determine the organizational learning style

12. The nine learning orientations… • knowledge source • value-chain focus • content-process focus • learning focus • learning mode • knowledge reserve • learning timeframe • dissemination mode • knowledge focus

13. Nine learning orientations... • Knowledge Source: developing knowledge internally vs. acquiring knowledge developed externally • Content-Process Focus: emphasis on knowledge about what products/services are vs. knowledge about how those products/services are developed/delivered • Knowledge Reserve: knowledge is possessed by a person vs. public knowledge

14. Dissemination Mode: knowledge shared formally vs. knowledge shared informally • Knowledge Focus: knowledge is related to the improvement of existing procedures or services vs. knowledge is related to development of new procedures or services • Value-Chain Focus: “design-and-make” functions vs. “market-and-deliver” functions

15. Learning Focus: the development of knowledge pertaining to individual performance vs. development of knowledge pertaining to group performance • Learning Mode: knowledge is generated through experience and reflection upon experience vs. abstract thinking

16. Learning Timeframe: an emphasis on learning that responds to immediate needs vs. learning that may have long-term use

17. Knowledge SourceApproach: Internal/External... • the extent to which an organization prefers to develop new knowledge internally or externally • internal: there is a source of competitive advantage, therefore it must be worthwhile to invest one’s own time and effort • external: there is an advantage in environmental scanning or evaluating from others

18. Knowledge Source Challenge... • Ask: What does the organization do well? …the challenge is to decide whether to build upon what the organization does well or to attempt a transformation

19. Content-Process FocusApproach: Content/Process... • A preference for knowledge related to the definition of products or services as opposed to knowledge about the basic processes that might underlie or support them • content: the focus is upon the deliverables themselves • process: the focus is upon the core capabilities that can be applied to the task of developing or delivering the deliverables

20. Content-Process Focus Challenge... • Ask: How does the organization approach its work? …the challenge is to identify what knowledge fundamentally drives organizational processes

21. Knowledge ReserveApproach: Personal/Public... • the variations in behavior and attitudes as to the repositories of knowledge • personal: knowledge is more private and tacit, gained from education/experience or intuition • public: knowledge is defined more objectively as cultural generalizations that codify learning

22. Knowledge Reserve Challenge... • Ask: Is organizational knowledge found in people or in books? …the challenge involves locating where the organization’s core knowledge is found

23. Knowledge DisseminationApproach: Informal/Formal... • Differences between establishing an atmosphere in which learning evolves informally and one in which a more structured, controlled approach is taken to induce learning • formal: knowledge is institutionalized through objective structures • informal: knowledge is transferred through serendipitous encounters, models/mentors, dialogue, or osmosis

24. Knowledge Dissemination Challenge... • Ask: Are the channels through which organizational knowledge is passed formal or informal? …the challenge requires determining not only how organizational knowledge is disseminated but also if this is the best way to disseminate organizational knowledge at this time

25. Knowledge FocusApproach: Incremental/Transformative… • the acquisition of knowledge is focused upon methods and tools that improve what is already known or being done or is focused upon knowledge that challenges the assumptions about what is already known or done

26. incremental: the organization seeks efficiency by taking small steps to effect the “one best way” • transformative: the organization adopts an experimental view in order to discover new ways

27. Knowledge Focus Challenge... • Ask: Why are we doing this? …the challenge is to ascertain the way knowledge is being used

28. A note about the “value-chain”... • In the for-profit sector, every task is assessed to determine how it “adds value” in the production cycle …because there are only a finite number of areas where an organization can be competent, competitive advantage is gained by adding value at a particular point where other organizations cannot

29. Value-Chain FocusApproach: Design-Make/Market-Deliver… • indicates which core competences and learning investments are valued and supported • design-make: knowledge related to improving the internal factors related to the efficient delivery of goods/services • market-deliver: knowledge related to improving the external factors related to the efficient delivery of good/services

30. Value-Chain Focus Challenge... • Ask: How does each person and each stage “add value”? …the challenge is to determine the degree of efficiency in core processes

31. Learning FocusApproach: Individual/Group… • the value assigned to learning geared to individual skills development or to learning geared to team/group skills development • individual: priority is given to improving the individual’s knowledge base and skills • group: priority is given to improving the team/group knowledge base and skills

32. Learning Focus Challenge... • Ask: What type of learning investment increases return-on-investment (ROI)? …the challenge is to make strategic choices that develop some individual or team/group competencies at the expense of others and, then, to direct more organizational resources to those competencies which promise higher ROI

33. Learning ModeApproach: Experiential/Cognitive • necessary knowledge and skills are generated by reflecting upon actual practice episodes (“craft knowledge”) or by thinking about what ought to be the case (“theoretical knowledge”) • experiential: knowledge and skills are acquired by reflecting upon practice episodes • cognitive: theories of practice provide need knowledge and skills for practice episodes

34. Learning Mode Challenge... • Ask: What kind of knowledge best serves organizational purposes? …the challenge is to isolate the knowledge that contributes best to organizational learning

35. Learning TimeframeApproach: Immediate Use/Long-Term Use… • emphasis is given to the learning that responds to immediate needs or to that which promises long-term utility • immediate: knowledge and skills that solve organizational problems here and now • long-term: knowledge and skills that offer solve organizational issues over the long-term

36. Learning Timeframe Challenge... • Ask: Does the organization have the luxury of time? …the challenge is identify the horizon for learning

37. The nine LORs and building learning capacity… • the nine LORs represent the critical dimensions indicating how organizational learning actually takes place… …although it would be ideal for an organization to incorporate all these learning orientations, rarely do they possess the learning capacity to do so

38. management/leadership must then formulate a learning portfolio and learning strategy to develop the organization’s learning capacity… …but management/leadership must first understand those factors which facilitate organizational learning and identify the degree to which they are present or absent in the organization

39. This module has focused on... the developmental perspective …the structures and actions that affect how easy or hard it is for learning to occur and the amount of effective learning that takes place

40. References • DiBella, A. J., & Nevis, E. C. (1998). How organizations learn: An integrated strategy for building learning capability. Thousand Oaks, CA: Jossey-Bass. • McWhinney, W., Webber, J. B., Smith, D. M. , & Novokowsky, B. J. (1997). Creating paths of change: Managing issues and resolving problems in organizations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. • Sergiovanni, T. J. (1986). Understanding reflective practice. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 1(4), 353-359.