Student Name: Sumbul Yezdan Student #: 2022004684

Organisational Learning: Roles,

approaches, and effect
1. Introduction:
Learning and development is an essential process of any organisation’s human resource
management that feeds into the long-term organisational performance goals. Every
organisation is a complex system comprised of people, procedures, and resources. Garvin
(1993) highlighted that the organisations also evolve to meet new requirements and changes,
similar to the biological organisms. This adaption is termed organisational learning, and it is
stated as a collective process and a relationship between “learning in the organisation” and
learning by the organisation” by Popper & Lipshitz (1998). Lyman et al.(2022) highlighted
this learning as having a positive impact on organisational knowledge, understanding and
future action.

Various factors affect how organisations become learning organisations and promote
learning. Many scholars have identified multiple concepts of learning organisations and how
organisational learning can occur.

This essay aims first to discuss the importance of learning for any organisation and will
discuss the challenges faced by technological advancements in this regard. Moreover, this
essay also seeks to examine the organisational learning approaches and the role of leadership
in promoting learning.

2. Discussion

Role of learning in an organisation

An organisation that promotes learning through various approaches increases the opportunity
to adapt to the changes. The organisations that promote learning understand how people learn
and devise learning systems and mechanisms to enable continuous learning (Senge, 1990).
Eismann et al.(2021) stated that organisational learning is a constant adaptation process to the
environment and prepares for the future.

Learning in an organisation promotes “System Thinking” (Senge, 1990, p. 69). It is one of

the basic principles of Senge’s perspective of a learning organisation. The systems thinking
approach helps organisation look at the bigger picture rather than focus on just small task a

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division or department perform. (Chajnacki, 2007) explained that this enables people to
understand their job as part of the organisation’s purpose and that system thinking helps them
know that their performance affects the other interconnected processes.

Another critical aspect of learning in an organisation is people; significantly higher

management develops an appreciation for personal knowledge and experience and, as Senge
(1990) termed it, embraces “Team learning” (p.69). the organisation starts building up
practices of collective efforts through respect for diversity and people’s trust (Lyman et al.,
2022).

Through trust, respect, and working in a collaborative setting, people in a learning

organisation develop “Personal mastery”, another principle defined by Senge (1990) as a
pillar of organisational learning. It helps people and organisations assess and prioritise what
is important and how they can achieve it as a team. The people in a learning organisation do
not fear voicing out the gap in their skillset and are open to learning (Aranda et al., 2017).

The learning organisation works on capacity building for people to utilise collective
intelligence to build a “Shared vision” (Senge, 1990, p. 69). This enables organisations to
develop a shared sense of direction and provides an agreed goal for organisational success.
When the vision is agreed upon and cleared, it is received with a higher degree of acceptance
and people get motivated to work towards attaining the goals (Smith, 2001).

Organisational Learning and Role of Leadership

As human beings, we all learn and evolve directly or indirectly throughout our lives.
Organisations are also like living organisms, and they learn and develop. As these
organisations are a collection of humans, systems, and other resources, Senge (1990)
established that organisational learning depends on the collective efforts of people working
for the organisation. While every organisation provides a unique learning experience to the
people working in or for the organisation, the outcome depends on what people want to
produce. Therefore, the management of the individual’s learning and organisational
knowledge, as stated by Sutton (2018), is critical skill organisations need to master.

Successful organisations take advantage of this skill and convert individual learning into a
collective body of knowledge by developing improvement plans, processes, guides, case
studies etc. Senge (1990) indicated that it is the most sustainable way for organisations in this
fast-paced, constantly changing business world. The role of a leader in promoting

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organisational learning is to normalise trailing ideas and error reporting (Leithwood &
Robert, 1995) and support constructive conflict (Lyman et al., 2022). Flood (1999) cited that
understanding Senge’s “Mental model” (p.24) is an essential skill for an organisational leader
to master as this provides a way to transform personal conflicts into learning opportunities.

Another benefit of this learning in any organisation, as stated by Wang and Ahmed (2003), is
a fundamental change in the way organisations operate, appreciation for creative thinking and
competency-based team development. Garvin (1993) also suggested that the organisations
develop a systematic approach toward problem-solving, become more open to experimenting
with new work methodologies, and be more adaptive to learn from people’s and other
organisations’ experiences.

The benefit of being conscious of the experiences and lessons through organisational learning
is that the organisations use it in strategic planning to meet the market requirement and adapt
to environmental changes. Eismann et al. (2021) pointed out that the capability of any
organisation to learn enables it to explore new opportunities available and utilise what has
been known. Senge (as cited in Flood, 1999, p.20) stated it as “Personal mastery” and
explains it as the ability to prioritise the objectives.

As organisational learning is based on people’s experiences, it brings in diversity through

collective knowledge as the members of an organisation bring in rich and unique experiences.
This diversity can be established in an organisation with a conscious effort from leaders who
welcome diversity (Lyman et al., 2022). The organisational leaders can utilise the opportunity
to convert this diversified body of knowledge by combining collective intelligence into team
learning through productive conversations.

The organisational leader develops the vision of thriving on the diverse and unique
experience employees will bring. Hence, the leader strategies to recruit a diverse workforce
and plans towards team development to utilise this diversity for a shared purpose (Eismann et
al., 2021). The role of a leader is to promote learning in the organisation by fostering a safe
work environment. Where employees can develop strong professional relationships with a
sense of fairness, workers are treated fairly in a just culture. As learning in an organisation
requires collective efforts, the role of leadership in promoting education within any
organisation is to develop a collective goal, a systematic and agreed approach to achieve
common objectives (Flood, 1999).

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The leadership in any organisation implements all aspects of organisational learning and
promotes learning in the organisation through knowledge sharing, which requires building an
information-sharing network through technology. The following section discusses the effect
of technology on organisational learning.

Effect of Technology on Organisational Learning

Computer-based communication and organisational management systems help members
throughout the organisation work together. The essential function of the technology in any
organisation is to provide a knowledge-sharing platform to share existing knowledge with
people who need it within the organisation. The initial systems may be built to collect and
store information in files, documents and databases; the current aspect of globalisation where
people are working thousands of miles apart as the same team brings a revolution in the use
of technology by providing the in-person connectivity with the workers through
videoconferencing, multimedia channels, emails, shared applications, shared devices,
electronic whiteboard.

This has changed the whole nature and work requirement, and the current pandemic has
accelerated it (Eismann et al., 2021). While the technological advancements enable
organisations to achieve a more significant market and better skill pool as people from
different geographical locations can work together without being in the same office
physically, it has also posed a learning challenge for the organisations and people. Learning
organisations must adopt environmental changes and plan to meet the demands ( Kang et al.,
2021).

Globalisation has changed management practices, and with the technological advancements,
the management is more focused on planning and coordinating activities. Organisations
quickly need to change their learning processes. They now have to frequently review their
technological compatibility with the rest of the market. Organisations invest in learning and
developing the technology to equip their business with the current market trends.

Organisations can use technological advancements to manage development and learning and
assess their effectiveness. Kang et al.(2021) presented overcoming the education and
forgetting within the organisation through technology. They also concede the point of
technology as a “supporting tool” (p.2) in learning.

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In addition to that, the use of technology can be used to lessen the load on workers in terms of
manual working as well as the load on human and organisational memory by creating
integrated systems that can carry out routine tasks and manage organisational artefacts
without the need of physical copies (Kang et al., 2021). Physical copies of the manuals and
other administrative records can be digitised and save up a lot of storage space and improve
the organisation's carbon footprint.

Data analysis and review of an individual or organisational learning effectiveness through

technology and software become more accessible as data modelling, methods, and techniques
help filter and process all data into information within a shorter timeframe (Sutton, 2018).
The study conducted by Kang et al.(2021) also confirms the positive role played by
technology in organisation learning effectiveness.

Approaches to Implement Organisational Learning

Every person is different, and so is every organisation. Every person learns differently, and so
is every organisation. Organisations and people need to keep their skills and knowledge up to
date to meet the requirements of the ever-changing environment and business demands.

The learning approaches that an organisation implements need to be contextualised to the

individual needs and organisational requirements. Need analysis provides information about
the individual and corporate skill gap to perform a current role or work and prospects (Edwin
et al.,1995). Organisational culture also plays an integral part in planning learning in
organisations. The organisational culture defines whether the learning will be formal or
informal.

Formal learning will have structured training sessions, and monitoring and measuring training
effectiveness through some key performance indicators or formal verification of
competencies. While informal learning in any organisation can be established through
discussions and knowledge sharing via leadership talks, project updates or group sessions
(Aranda et al.,2017; Edwin et al.,1995; Popper & Lipshitz,1998).

Individual learning within an organisation can be established with training need analysis to
help understand the individual’s requirements for the current role and near-future needs.
Sutton (2018) stated “social learning” (p.225) as one of the approaches where the individual
learns through observation. People observe their role models and understand the role model's
skills, behaviour, and attitude. “Experiential Learning” (p.226) is also stated by Sutton (2018)

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as one of the most successful methods in situations where hands-on training is required to
perform an activity. Continuous professional development is another approach to learning
within the organisation where the learner involves in ongoing professional development to
stay abreast with the organisational requirement (Edwin et al.,1995; Sutton, 2018).

Hence, to implement the learning in any organisation, it is crucial to assess the organisational
culture, individual and organisational requirements, the systems that can facilitate the
understanding, how learning will be implemented, and the methods to measure effectiveness.

3. Conclusion
The essay was an effort to highlight the role of learning in an organisation and how
leadership can promote organisational learning.

Leadership plays an integral part in promoting learning in organisations. A leader must

develop a sense of belonging among people working in the organisation by creating a proper
flow of communication, idea sharing, clear responsibilities and accountability. A leader needs
to understand the skillset and experience people bring to the organisation and take advantage
of that. Leaders should act as role models, provide the organisation's vision, lead from the
front, and assist workers through resource provision and removing the barriers.

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4. References
Kang, H., Turi, J. A., Bashir, S., & Alam, M. N. (2021). Moderating role of information
system and mobile technology with learning and forgetting factors on organizational
learning effectiveness. Learning and Motivation, 76, 1-14.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2021.101757

Aranda, C., Arenello, J., & Davilla, N. A. (2017). Organisational leraning in target setting.
The Journal of the Academy of Managemment, 60(3), 1189-1211.

Chajnacki, G. M. (2007). Characteristics of learning organizations and multi-dimensional

organizational performance indicators: A survey of large, publicly-owned companies.
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%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fcharacteristics-learning-organizations-multi%2Fdocview
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Edwin, N. C., Anthony, D. J., & Janet, G. M. (1995). Understanding Organizations as

Learning Systems. Sloan Management Review, 36(2), 73-85.

Eismann, K., Posegga, O., & Fischbach, K. (2021). Opening organizational learning in crisis
management: On the affordances of social media. Journal of Strategic Information
Systems, 30, 1-23. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2021.101692

Flood, R. L. (1999). Rethinking the fifth discipline : Learning within the unknowable. Taylor
& Francis Group.

Garvin, D. (1993, July-August). Building a learning organization. Harvard Business Review,

78-91. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1993/07/building-a-learning-organization

Leithwood, K., & Robert, A. (1995). Making Schools Smarter- A system for monitoring
school district in California. Crown Press.

Lyman, B., Parchment, J., & George, K. C. (2022, April). Diversity, Equity, Inclusion:
Crucial for Organizational Learning and Health Equity. NurseLeader, 193-196.
Retrieved from www.nurseleader.com

Popper, M., & Lipshitz, R. (1998). Organizational Learning Mechanisms: A Structural and
Cultural Approach to Organizational Learning. The Journal of Applied Behavioral
Science, 34(2), 161-179. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886398342003

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Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization. London: Currency Doubleday.

Smith, M. K. (2001). Peter Senge and the learning organization. The encyclopedia of
pedagogy and informal education. Retrieved 2022, from www.infed.org:
https://infed.org/mobi/peter-senge-and-the-learning-organization/

Sutton, A. (2018). People, Management & Orgznizations. London: Macmillan.

Wang, C. L., & Ahmed, P. K. (2003). Organisational Learning: a critical review. The
Learning Organization, 10(1), 8-17. doi:http://10.1108/09696470310457469

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