What Is a Learning Organization?
A Briefing Paper
Nothing Really Fancy
Pt Sne ee pdh cnetfh “a i o aitn oe2 y rao hn e a e reg dvl e t oc o t lrn r n ao” vr0 e sg w e h ws e o e p e e n g g zi a part of the MIT/Sloan School of Management. It has become a tool for corporations and community organizations to create a culture that will sustain continuing improvement of what they do. Rgrn t pr e lrn o aitn Snete t t ea i h h s“a i r n ao, eg st h d g e a e n g g zi ” ad a “ lh tmw s e t d w s o tto e i t t el xeec bt e o’ Al ee am a t o api asm tn h w a eprne uw dn t r no n hg a l i t give a lot of thought to: what happens when a group of people really work at their best? …When you look at any of these kinds of sutn w e pols , yeah, I was a iaos hr ep a ‘ ti e e y Oh pro a r pw od t tadt nyua , a f g u h i h , n h o s ‘ the group that good when they t o d a’ e k Was srd’ hya ‘ no, we kind of learned how to do it aw d i T as it. How a tt ? e s , ae T y Oh s e i t ht d. ’ ’ group of people collectively enhance their capacities to produce the outcome they really wanted to produce. That's what we want to point to with the term 'organizational learning'’1 ” . Which describes exactly what Touchstone I o r has been doing: learning how to do disease n ve n a’ management as they do it.
The Learning Organization
To sustain the effort to become a Center of Excellence in the Management of Serious Mental Illness, Touchstone I o r has begun to create a culture that fosters both organizational and n ve n a’ individual learning. Numerous organizations have found that such a culture calls for certain approaches best described by Peter Senge in his seminal book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization.2 Bcmn a lrn ogn ao”htotul dvl s e i “ a i r itn t cnnay ee p o g e n g a zi a i l o increased excellence calls for specific widespread organizational competencies that lend themselves to innovation. The primary competencies are those of
This and the quotes at the end of the paper come from a recent interview with Peter Senge sponsored by the Society for Organizational Learning that can be found at http://www.solonline.org/organizational_overview/
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Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Doubleday Books, 1990
Systems thinking Staff members tend must see the whole (rather than focus on the parts) and see the organization as a dynamic, interrelated process where each part of the whole affects every other part of the whole. Thus a better appreciation of systems will lead to more appropriate action.3 Personal mastery ‘r n aos a olt og i ida w o O g itn lr n h uhn v ul h learn. Individual learning does a zi e n y r di s not guarantee organizational learning. But without it no organizational learning ocr ( ne 9019 Polwta i l eo personal mastery live in a c s S g 19:3) ep i h he lf u’ e . e h g v continual learning mode. Mental models Moi t o aitnnh rhde i etl ok gor s n t … v gh r n ao it i tico n iw rn ttnc dh n e g zi e g r tn as i a e e internal politics and games playing that dominate traditional organizations. In other words it means fostering openness in thought, structure, and process (Senge 1990: 273-286). Building shared vision The practice of shared vision involves the skills of unearthing shr ‘c r o a dp t e f e iu s t f u ’ af t gni commitment and enrollment rather than h u r t to e eu e e t e h sr n compliance. (Senge 1990: 9) Team learning Sc lrn i i e a‘e rc s fln g n developing the capacities uhe n gs e d s h p e oagi ad a i vw t os in of a team to create the resulti m m e t ldse( ne s s e br ry er S g 1990: 236). t su i’ e Teams can reinforce development of competence through information-sharing and mutual accountability. T e uc s lsbsm n o t “ a i o aitn clrcn i t t ipoe et h sc sueal et fh lrn r n ao” uu ot u som rvm n ef t i h e e n g g zi te r e b in organization-wide competence and consistent delivery of excellence of product—both of which are necessary to successful disease management for serious mental illness.
T e“ e l tr:B c migaL ann C mmu i h R a So y e o n ” e rig o nt y
The initial steps at building a culture to improve outcomes remains easier than sustaining the e oto t l gu. e a e,f rero bii “ a i ogn aos f rfrh o rn Whn s daeya f ud g l r n r i tn” f e n k t s ln e n g a z i throughout the world, Senge described his sense of how to measure the success of the “ a i ogn ao. H aa g it just right: l r n r i t n e gi ets e n g azi ” n
“msge i …yuok t ht ep a t i t acm lh n a :rte I ugsn ’ tg o l aw apol r rn o co ps ad s a hy o e e yg i k e much more effective at doing it? And are they having a much better time doing it? Whe e a aoth r usi r l ipr n t a tee i w cr but e l,’ e l m ot to s h s l e e s t t ay s a k cond question: are t y n y geri t e e I aie fri polcn o l…bthy h ej i l n go t r n t o cs,ep a d ao ute e on a n gh ? m is e t cn ss ii H wd yu ess i b poe eo cnnag wh n a’ utnt o o o gtutn l rcs s fot ulr t ad t a . aae s i o capacity? With a huge spike in performance, you pay the price coming back down w e pola w r ot r ep dn sc a udo polbcm hn ep r on u o pol o’ tk r n,r ep eo e ee , e ti o e ineffective because they are so overtaxed. The most fundamental assessment is longterm sustainable improvement in people accomplishing what they really want to acm lh 4 co ps. i” Wh hm lsw aa t cre m ns ee a t ss in a l ri ogn ao? i ipe htr h oe l etncs r o utn g “ a n r i t n” c i: e e e sy ai en g azi In recent discussions by Senge (reflected in emerging changed practices by numerous public and private entities), the thought is that the practice is all about the formation of culture. H new aie e i it i a fh “ a i cm ui”htvss clrt t ec, ht m rn sh d o te l r n o m n y tale aa uueh s gg e e en g t i t a motivates, challenges, and calls forth a thirst for knowledge and support for growth. A final thought from Senge: “ age hn ig with that [i.e., long-term sustainable improvement] is that Whtos adn l ove polg w Whn lsa ad oe o tko ep aot o t yel ep r . e a isd n dn…Y u a t pol bu hw h f e o l i l e e e aothiw r Aehy xid Aehy a i a ? but r ok rt ece? rt pso t ” e . e t e sn e
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SOL interview with Peter Senge found at http://www.solonline.org/organizational_overview/