MULUNGUSHI UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES [SBS]

COURSE OUTLINE 2011/12

[BEN 452-ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING]

SEMESTER TWO

1.0 LECTURER: STEPHEN CHIBANGULA

2.0 CONTACT TIME AND PLACE:

Day(s) From To Location

3.0 PRE-REQUISITE: Fundamentals Of Entrepreneurship 1, Innovation & Entrepreneurship &

Strategic Management And Policy

4.0 OVERALL COURSE OBJECTIVES

To demonstrate an understanding of the art and practice of learning organizations in relation to the real
world environment in which it takes place and how it impacts on organizational effectiveness. On
completion of this course, students should be able to:

4.1 Demonstrate an understanding of learning organizations and what sets them apart from others
4.2 Demonstrate an understanding of how our actions create our reality and how we can change it
4.3 Demonstrate an understanding of why systems thinking is the cornerstone of the learning
organization
4.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the core disciplines in building learning organizations

5.0 COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to give an overview of organizational leaning by explaining why systems things
and other core disciplines of learning organizations are not only essential in identifying systemic problems,
but also leverage points on which minimum effort or resources should be applied to correct systemic
problems effectively and therefore foster organizational development. It recognizes that corporate strategy
alone is inadequate in tackling most of the systemic problems organizations suffer from.
COURSE OUTLINE:

5.1 OUR ACTIONS CREATE OUR REALITY AND PRESCRIBE HOW WE CAN CHANGE
IT
5.1.1 “Give Me A Lever Long Enough…And Singled Handedly I Can Move the World”
5.1.2 Does Your Organization Have A Learning Disability?
5.1.3 Are We Prisoners Of The System Or Prisoners Of Our Own Thinking?
5.2 THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE IS THE CORNER STONE OF THE LEARNING
ORGANIZATION
5.2.1The laws of the fifth discipline
5.2.2 A shift of mind
5.2.3 Nature’s temperate: identifying the patterns that control events
5.1.5 The principle of leverage
5.1.6 The art of seeing the forest and the trees

5.3 THE CORE DISCIPLINES IN BUILDING LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS

5.3.1 Personal mastery
5.3.2 Mental models
5.3.3 Shared vision
5.3.4 Team learning
5.4 THE ART OF THE LONG VIEW

6.0 PRACTICALS
Case studies, Role play, and Field trips

7.0 EVALUATION
Two assignments 20
Test /(assignment three for distance students) 20
Final examination 60
Total 100

8.0 R EFERENCES
Senge, P. (1990).The First Discipline- The art & practice of the learning organization. Random
House Australia Pty Ltd. Sydney.

OTHER REFERENCES

 Planning As Learning: At Shell, Planning Means Changing Minds, Not Making Plans by a. P.
Geus.
 Tales From A Non-Conformist Company by Hal Rosenbluth
 To Revitalize Corporate Performance, We Need a Whole New Model of Strategy by Gary
Hamel& C.K. Prahalad
 Taking Flight: Dialogue, Collective Thinking, And Learning Organization by William N. Isaacs
 Teaching Smart People How To Learn by Chris argyris
 Successful Change Programs Begin With Results by Robert h. schaffer & Harvey A. Thompson

10.0 OFFICE CONTACT HOURS

From To Location
Day(s)
School Of Business Studies
Block A, Room A3