-The
process of transformation-
The process of transformation from traditional to the
learning organization is based on the organization’s readiness to change its vision of the future. Traditional organization is simply
following and adapting to the future surroundings and events, without trying to
understand why are the certain changes necessary or to recognize the potential
of human resources. This organizational behavior decreases the organization’s
value, limits the success, and finally - the existence of the organization. On
the other side, the Learning
organization recognizes the importance of the information, knowledge, and
human resources, and acts as its own creator of the future. That is why the
learning organization is the future of modern businesses and market.
How to become a learning organization?
The organization can become a learning organization only
if it is ready to change. However, changing the whole system, with all the
internal elements and external relations with stakeholders, is not easy and requires
time. This process demands change in the way
of thinking.
The first step in this process is to fully understand
the term of Learning. Nowadays, the term Learning is usually defined only as the
process of getting the information. This is not wrong, but it is also not a complete
explanation. Learning is the process of
adopting new information AND changing the way of thinking.
LEARNING = Collecting the +
Changing the way of information thinking
Learning helps the individuals and organization to
become capable to do new things, not able to do before. Learning is the process
that helps organizations to see the world “with different eyes”. Therefore, the precise explanation of the
learning organization would be:
“The organization
that constantly increase the capability to create its own future.”
Employees in Learning organizations are highly
interested in improving and developing their own potentials and sharing the
vision with their colleagues. Their personal goals are USKLADJENI with the
mission of the organization. Employees of the learning organization are not “slaves”
of their jobs. On the contrary, their activities are dynamic, interesting,
observed as an important part of the greater system.
Since
the employees are the crucial and starting point of the changing process, the
question is: What can one organization do, to build the surrounding for
transforming or changing the way of thinking, and finally to develop into the
learning system?
§
Support education, personal and professional development, of all the
employees;
§
Create a system that doesn’t “punish” the employees because of their
opinion;
§
Develop the surrounding where employees will be comfortable to share
and discuss their ideas;
§
Build the working space comfortable and up to employees’ needs;
§
Acknowledge the effort of each individual in the process;
§
Take risks in order to learn and develop;
§
Create the backup for each action, to get over the eventual mistakes;
§
Avoid quick and easy solutions, and develop long-lasting strategies, etc.
Characteristics
of the Learning organization:
Stages of
the Learning process
The
learning process common for every learning organization includes 4 stages.
Inputs of this process are information, both internal and external, used to
improve and upgrade current processes, strategic decisions, a way of doing
things, decision making, and etc. The results of the learning process can be
measured as the performances of the organization after processing certain
knowledge. The whole learning process represens the unique experience for each
organization, highly important for future plans and programs.
Learning
process
I Stage: Creation of the
knowledge
The
organization collects the information from internal and external sources, process
them and creates their interpretation. True knowledge is much more than the
information itself because it often includes the messages which are not obvious
at first sight.
II Stage: Spreading knowledge through
the organization
The
process of the organizational learning PODRAZUMEVA spreading of the knowledge
through the entire organization, making it available to every employee. This
can be done using formal or informal channels.
III Stage: Memorizing the knowledge
Organizational
memory is a crucial factor in the organizational learning process. Successful
learning organizations have highly developed organizational memory, which
allows them to treat this component as a highly important resource.
Organizational memory includes:
-
written documents such as statutes and rule books, strategies and
plans, monographs, decisions,
-
unwritten rules of behavior such as norms, standards, habbits, style
and other organizational culture elements.
IV Stage: Usage of the gained knowledge
The
organization has to implement the gained knowledge. The result of this stage has
to be:
ü
change of the behavior, both individuals and organization’s
ü
increased performances of the individuals and organization.
At
the end of the last stage, a NEW EXPERIENCE is built and will be used as a
starting point for the future learning process.
Besides
the learning from personal experience, each organization should also observe
the other organizations, and learn from the best practices on the market. This
process is called Benchmarking and allows companies to learn from more developed
companies and organizations.