Organisational Learning and Development
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(BS3S02)
_____________________
Module
Programme
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BA (HONS)
MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS
Welcome!!
A warm welcome to the Module: Organisational Learning and
Development. The aim of this booklet is to provide you with
detailed information about the module and I hope you will
find the module enjoyable, stimulating and of practical use.
There are three integrated elements that together make up
the module. These are the formal lectures, tutorial programme
and assessments, comprising two pieces of coursework. Each
of these elements is important and needs to be given your
attention.
Organisational Learning & Development
CONTENTS
q About the Module
q The Programme of Learning Units
q Indicative Reading
q The Learning Units
q The Module Assessments
q Essay-writing Techniques
Organisational Learning & Development
ABOUT THE MODULE
The Organisational Learning & Development Module (OL&D)
is an essential component of the core studies for the BA (Hons)
Management and Business programme.
The Module has been designed to encourage students, already
becoming conversant with modern organisational reforms and
change, to develop an open, questing, creative approach towards
their own and others' personal development at work, in response
to these changing, fluid, modern business environments. They
will do this by moving their mental models away from the idea
of the rigid and mechanistic 'training' approaches at work,
and towards their appreciating and developing forms of coping
strategies for change - both personal and strategic - which
are grounded in organisational learning theory. In so doing,
they embrace the fundamental issue that people are - and should
be acknowledged by all as - key within any organisational
structure, and that if companies are to change, ie to learn,
then a focus on individuals learning within these organisations
is fundamental to that changing/learning process.
The Module, therefore, sets out to broaden students' understanding
of the main organisational learning tenets, viewed from both
theoretical and practical (applied) perspectives, having firstly
laid the groundwork on the fast changing business world. This
groundwork involves exploring current images of organisations,
in order to develop sufficient understanding of the need for
strategies for change, including organisational learning.
Authors who may prove invaluable for students' background
reading on all aspects of the Module content - and on whose
work much of the content here has been based and (hereby)
acknowledged and referenced - include:
Argyris & Schon (1996); Dewey (1933); Mabey & Iles
(ed) (1997); Morgan (1997); Mumford (1997); Pearn et al (1995);
Pedler et al (1997); and Senge (1994).
[see, also, the comprehensive Module reading list]
Thus, as wide a range as possible of key organisational learning
tenets has been drawn from those who have, of recent date,
provided excellent food for thought on the subject of organisational
change and organisational learning. For this reason, the Mabey
and Iles text above - Managing Learning - is offered as a
background reading text, covering as it does, 23 different,
but complementary, contributions towards the concept of organisational
learning.
The Module learning programme also involves an element of
direct liaison with professionals who are actively pursuing
current approaches to change by endeavouring to inculcate
organisational learning techniques and strategies into the
culture of their own organisations. During the second half
of the learning programme, therefore, students will be directed
to pursue investigative research involving liaison with companies
chosen by them and/or by the Module Leader, and incorporating
appropriate organisational learning interventions. In addition,
reviews of appropriate case studies will be promoted.
The Module is assessed via two pieces of individual coursework,
namely two essays, weighted 40% & 60% respectively, each
around 2,000 words in length. The first essay should be completed
and presented at around Learning Week 12. The second essay
should be completed and presented at around Learning Week
24. The investigative research work pursued by the students
throughout the second-half of the Module programme will play
a key part in their development of the second, heavier-weighted
essay. Your module tutors will confirm the exact date of assignment
deadlines.
Essay-writing techniques are included at the close of the
Module learning programme, and should be reviewed by the student
as appropriate.
Module title Organisational Learning and Development
Module code PD3S02
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Awards for which module is a core requirement
Aims of the module
To build on a growing knowledge of organisational structure
and behaviour by :-
~ encouraging students to develop an understanding of the
significance of modern
organisational learning environments
~ fostering the concept that 'fluid' organisational reforms
demand an enlightened
approach towards the management and development of people
at work
~ inculcating a challenging approach towards the 'organic
organisation'
~ developing an understanding of the role of personal development
within the
context of a strategic learning environment
Synopsis of module content
The Module encourages students, firstly, to read and understand
organisational life by exploring, inter alia, mechanistic,
organic, changing organisation structures and environments.
This framework of aspects of organisational life leads on
to examination of the concept of a learning organisation,
enhanced by key theoretical perspectives, which develop students'
understanding of insight/inquiry/metaphor/reflection/creativity
& innovation/change management at the workplace. This
exposes main themes on single & double loop learning;
barriers to learning; key learning company characteristics;
learning tools, management of learning; and approaches towards
implementation and evaluation of appropriate organisational
learning interventions and strategies.
Essential to the module is interaction with company specialists/consultants/
facilitators suitably experienced within transitional learning
environments.
Teaching methods
The module will be conducted via lectures and workshops, incorporating
a learning unit programme, backed up with learning activity
promoting both individual and small group activity. Occasionally,
case studies will be incorporated. Students will benefit,
also, via direct consultation in the workplace from the experiences
of professionals active within the wide employee development
sector, who hold a keen interest in learning organisational
approaches and have instigated these in the workplace.
Learning Outcomes Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Whilst acknowledging constant organisational transition :-
~ intellectually explore the contribution that organisational
learning initiatives make to organisational success, and ~
critically appraise both collective and individualistic commitment
and approaches towards innovation and change within the concept
of a learning organisation ~ Demonstrate understanding of
significant changes - and specific aspects of - modern day
organisation environments ~ Explore and show understanding
of key characteristics of current organisational learning
theory ~ Specify and apply, in a range of work scenarios,
appropriate organisational learning interventions
Assessment requirements
Assessment will consist of two essays (between 2,000 and 2,500
words) weighted 40% and 60% respectively. Heavy use will be
made of in-company research for the second, 60%-weighted assessment.
Concise indicative reading list
Argyris C & Schon D A (1996) On Organisational Learning.
Addison-Wesley
Mabey C & Iles P (ed) (1997) Managing Learning. Open University/Thomson
Morgan G (1997) Images of Organisation. Sage
Pearn M, Roderick C & Mulrooney C (1995) Learning Organisations
in Practice.
McGraw-Hill
Pedler M, Burgoyne J & Boydell T (1997) The Learning Company
: A Strategy
For Sustainable Development. McGraw-Hill
Organisational Learning & Development
PROGRAMME OF LEARNING UNITS
Student-led investigative research will be incorporated into
the study programme during the second-half of the learning
programme
Reference
Learning Unit 1 Morgan (97i)
Reading and understanding organisational life
~ Organisations as machines
Learning Unit 2 Morgan (97i)
Reading and understanding organisational life
~ Organisations as organisms
Learning Unit 3 Morgan (97i)
Reading and understanding organisational life
~ Organisations as brains
Learning Unit 4 Peters/Waterman (82), Senge (94),
The notion of the learning organisation Edwards Deming (86),
Harrison (95),
Revans (82), Argyris/Schon (96)
[ in Pedler (97) ]
Learning Unit 5 Pearn et al (95)
Understanding learning within the company
Learning Unit 6 Pearn et al (95)
Expanding the concept of the learning organisation
Learning Unit 7
Case Study ~ No.1
Learning Unit 8 Pearn et al (95)
Understanding learning company components
Learning Unit 9 Pedler et al (97)Pearn et al (95)
The learning organisation ~ implementing the ideas
Learning Unit 10 Argyris & Schon (96)
Organisational learning ~ the art of inquiry
Learning Unit 11 Harri-Augstein et al (91) Schon (95)
Learning conversations ~ reflection in action
Returning to the 'art of inquiry'
Learning Unit 12
Introduction to the module investigative research
Learning Unit 13
Case Study ~ No.2
Learning Unit 14 Pedler et al (96)
Can both big and small companies learn? Schon (96) [in Pedler,
(97)]
Learning Unit 15 Morgan (97ii)
Organisational learning ~ Developing a metaphorical approach
Learning Unit 16
Review of module investigative research - in preparation for
Assessment 2
Learning Unit 17
Case Study ~ No. 3
Learning Unit 18 Business Basics:BPP Publishing (97)
Organisational learning ~ The innovative approach
Learning Unit 19 Business Basics:BPP Publishing (97)
Organisational Learning ~ Developing a creative approach King
& Anderson (95)
Learning Unit 20
Case Study ~ No. 4
Learning Unit 21
Case Study ~ No. 5
______________________________________________________________________
q Assessment 1 : See separate handout
q Assessment 2 : See separate handout
q Essay-writing Tips
Organisational Learning & Development
INDICATIVE READING
Recommended Background Reading Text:
Mabey C & Iles P (ed) (1995) Managing Learning. Open University/Thomson
Key Learning Unit Texts:
Morgan G (1997)(i) Images of Organisation. Sage [Learning
Units 1,2,3]
Pedler M, Burgoyne C & Boydell T (1997)(i) The Learning
Company.
A Strategy for Sustainable Development. McGraw-Hill [Learning
Units 4,9]
Pedler M & Aspinwall K (1996) 'PERFECT plc'? The Purpose
and
Practice of Organisational Learning. McGraw-Hill [Learning
Unit 10]
Pearn M, Roderick C & Mulrooney C (1997) Learning
Organisations in Practice. McGraw-Hill [Learning Units 6,7,8,9]
Argyris C & Schon D A (1996) Organisational Learning II.
Theory, Method & Practice. Addison-Wesley [Learning Unit
13]
Morgan G (1997)(ii) Imaginisation : New Mindsets for Seeing,
Organising & Managing. Sage [Learning Unit 17]
Schon D A (1995) The Reflective Practitioner. How
Professionals Think in Action. Arena [Learning Unit 14]
Harri-Augstein S & Thomas L (1991) Learning Conversations.
Routledge [Learning Unit 14]
Business Basics (1997) A Study Guide for Degree Students :
Organisational Behaviour. BPP Publishing [Learning Unit 18,19]
King N & Anderson N (1995) Innovation & Change in
Organisations.
Routledge [Learning Unit 18]
Further Reading:
Argyris C (1996) On Organisational Learning. Blackwell
Boud D, Keogh R & Walker D (ed) (2000) Reflection : Turning
Experience into Learning.
Kogan Page
Dixon N (1994) The Organisational Learning Cycle : How We
Can Learn Collectively
Ford C M & Gioia D A (ed) (1995) Creative Action in Organisations
: Ivory Tower
Visions and Real World Voices. Sage
Harrison R (1997) Employee Development. IPD, London
Jones S (1996) Developing a Learning Culture. McGraw-Hill
Lee M (1995) Learning for Work : Short-Term Gain or Long-Term
Benefit?
Personnel Review (UK), Vol 24, No 6
Mumford A (1997) Management Development : Strategies for Action.
CIPD
Pedler M, Burgoyne J & Boydell T (1997)(ii) A Manager's
Guide to Self-Development.
McGraw-Hill
Peters T J & Waterman R H (1982) In Search of Excellence.
Harper & Row
Senge P M (1994) The Fifth Discipline : The Art & Practice
of the Learning Organisation.
Doubleday
NOTE:
~ In addition to the above texts you should also investigate
journal articles, CD-ROMs and appropriate Internet sites (ie,
those sites underpinned by recognised research and publication).
You can receive help with researching these sources from the
Learning Resources Centre at the University.
~ You can read more widely around this subject by taking
full advantage of the case study materials included throughout
this learning programme.
P L E A S E N O T E
Each Learning Unit may be utilised for one or more Learning
Weeks in the Learning Programme that now follows
Where required, please read appropriate notes/case study
in preparation for the following week's Learning Unit workshop
Each Case Study may be utilised for one or more Learning Weeks
in the Learning Programme that now follows
The nature of the learning activity within each of the Learning
Units, ie group and/or individual, will be directed by your
Module Tutor
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Unit 1 [Source text: Morgan, 1997i]
Reading and Understanding Organisational Life (1)
Hello, and a very warm welcome to this Learning Programme.
In this Introductory Unit, prior to taking an in-depth look
at organisational learning principles - the focus of this
module - it is considered appropriate for you to understand/refresh
some of the fundamental images of organisations that have
developed over the 20th century and often still exist today.
It is acknowledged that some students may be already very
familiar with a range of business organisation environments
from earlier study, yet students may benefit, here, from taking
a 'metaphorical walk' through three of these business environments
to assist your understanding of why and how organisational
learning ideas have arisen.
To consolidate your understanding, you may like to read Chapter
2 of this Unit's text (Morgan, 97i), and/or a sample of this
Chapter 2 in your accompanying Module Reading Notes.
Gareth Morgan, in Images of Organisation (1997) opens with:
"Effective managers and professionals in all walks of
life have to become skilled in the art of 'reading' the situations
they are attempting to organise or manage". These skilled
people develop the knack of reading situations with various
scenarios in mind and are capable of creating actions appropriate
to the understandings thus obtained. They are able to stay
open and flexible, suspending judgments until a clearer, more
comprehensive view of the situation emerges - something less
effective managers cannot achieve, often interpreting situations
from a fixed standpoint, and resulting in rigid and inflexible
actions.
This reading of situations at work, Morgan tells us, can
be helped by utilising the idea of metaphor.
What is metaphor?
The Concise Oxford Dictionary's definition is: "Application
of name or descriptive term to an object to which it is not
literally applicable", eg a ferocious man described as
a tiger.
Morgan suggests that "all theories of organisation and
management are based on implicit images or metaphors that
lead us to see, understand and manage organisations in distinctive
yet partial ways". He says that using metaphor implies
a way of thinking and a way of seeing that pervade how we
understand our world generally. And that we use metaphor whenever
we attempt to understand one element of experience in terms
of another one.
He says, "When we say 'the man is a lion', we use the
image of a lion to draw attention to the lion-like aspects
of the man ". This metaphor frames our understanding
of the man in a distinctive - but only partial - way. In a
partial way because, of course, 'lion-like', in this context,
refers to the man being brave, strong, maybe ferocious, but
not furry, four-legged or sharp-toothed ! Or, indeed, that
the man may be a bore, a pig, a saint, a devil or a recluse.
Understanding and Use of Metaphor
In your first three Learning Units, you will be taking on
board this use of metaphor to understand how organisations
have been, and are, changing within the modern world. Therefore,
in discussing the organisation as a 'machine', and as an 'organism'
and as a 'brain' - each of these metaphors may create valuable
insights about how an organisation is structured to achieve
its goals and targets, but are actually incomplete (eg, using
the 'machine' or 'mechanistic' metaphor to describe an organisation
ignores the human aspects of the organisation, etc)
What Morgan is suggesting, therefore, is that you "engage
in a mode of thinking that generates important insights while
having major limitations. You are likely to be attracted to
certain metaphors and be impatient with others ". Morgan
suggests that you should gain comfort in dealing with competing
viewpoints, for this is one of the key competencies that needs
to be developed as a basis for effective management. Also,
it will aid enormously your understanding of the organisational
learning principles that form the focus of this module.
APPROACHES TO ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
This Learning Unit (along with Learning Units 2 and 3) is
the first of three exploring some recognised approaches towards
business organisation and management. There are many more
approaches than can be covered over these three Units, but
it is considered that these three provide a good foundation
for understanding why organisational learning concepts have
developed over the latter half of the 20th century.
The mechanistic, bureaucratic approach towards business organisation
dominated the first half of the 20th century - and some would
argue still holds high significance today - and it is this
one that will be highlighted first.
'Mechanisation' of Organisations ~ The Machine Metaphor
Gareth Morgan (1997) says "as we enter the twenty-first
century we find bureaucracies and other modes of mechanistic
organisation coming under increasing attack because of their
rigidities and other dysfunctional consequences .... Now that
we are entering an age with a completely new technological
base drawing on microelectronics, new organisational principles
are likely to become increasingly important". Lets take
a look.
Bureaucracy is the term used to describe organisations that
operate as if they are machines. The term 'organisation' implies
a state of orderly relations between clearly defined parts
that have some determinate order, in other words, a set of
mechanical relations. The use of machines, following the industrial
revolution, required that organisations be adapted to the
needs of machines. The changes in organisation accompanying
the industrial revolution reflected an increasing trend toward
the bureaucratisation and routinisation of life generally.
Many skilled, self-employed workers at that time gave up this
autonomy of home working to take up unskilled factory work.
And factory owners realised that the efficient operation of
their new machines ultimately required major changes in the
design and control of work.
Here are a few brief outlines of key proponents of the theory
and practice associated with mechanistic organisation over
the last century or so:
q Adam Smith, Scottish economist, The Wealth of Nations (1776)
~ praised division of labour at work, whereby manufacturers
sought to increase efficiency by reducing the discretion of
workers in favour of control by their machines and their supervisors.
New procedures and techniques were introduced to discipline
workers to accept the new and rigorous routine of factory
production.
q Max Weber, German sociologist, 1940s/50s ~ observed the
parallels between the mechanisation of industry and the proliferation
of bureaucratic forms of organisation. He defined bureaucracy
as a form of organisation that emphasises precision, speed,
clarity, regularity, reliability and efficiency, achieved
through fixed division of tasks, hierarchical supervision
and detailed rules and regulations. And he saw that the bureaucratic
approach had the potential to routinise and mechanise almost
every aspect of human life, eroding the human spirit and capacity
for spontaneous action. In viewing it as undermining the potential
for more democratic forms of organisation, he invoked great
scepticism.
q Henri Fayol, French classical management theorist, 1940s
~ together with others, including F W Mooney (American) and
Col. Lyndall Urwick (British), he set about the development
of modern management techniques, basing his thinking on the
idea that management is a process of planning, organisation,
command, co-ordination and control. Military and engineering
principles were key. Here, then, is the classic hierarchical
structure - a pattern of precisely defined jobs, organised
in a hierarchical manner, through precisely defined lines
of command or communication. In other words, they were designing
the organisation as a machine.
The organisation was conceived as a network of parts: functional
departments (production/marketing/finance/personnel/etc) with
precisely defined jobs and responsibilities, linked through
the scalar chain of command, 'one man, one boss'. By giving
detailed attention to patterns of authority and to the general
process of direction, discipline, and subordination, the classical
theorists were ensuring that when commands were issued from
the top they would travel throughout the organisation in a
precisely determined way to create a precisely determined
effect.
The thrust of classical management theory is that organisations
should be rational systems that operate in as efficient a
manner as possible. However, it is people we are dealing with,
not inanimate cogs and wheels. The classical theorists have
been criticised for making humans fit the requirements of
mechanical organisation, even though they recognised that
it was important to achieve a balance, a harmony, between
the human and technical aspects.
q Frederick Taylor, American engineer (turn of the last century)
~ a much maligned organisation theorist, but also one of the
most influential. Taylor's scientific management principles
have provided the cornerstone for work design throughout the
first half of the twentieth century, and in many situations
through to the present day. These are:
T shift all responsibility for the organisation of work from
the worker to the manager. Managers should do all the thinking
relating to the planning and design of work, leaving the workers
with the task of implementation.
T use scientific methods to determine the most efficient
way of doing work. Design the worker's task accordingly, specifying
the precise way in which the work is to be done.
T select the best person to perform the job thus designed
T train the worker to do the work efficiently
T monitor worker performance to ensure that appropriate work
procedures are followed and that appropriate results are achieved
Taylor advocated time and motion study for analysing and standardising
work activities. Observation and measurement of the most routine
work to find the optimum mode of performance. Fast-food outlets
are the most obvious models of his approach to scientific
management, where work is organised in minute detail on the
basis of designs that analyse the total process of production,
find the most efficient procedures, and then allocate these
as specialised duties to people trained to perform them in
a very precise way. Managers do all the 'thinking', employees
all the 'doing'. On the assembly-line the same approach to
work design is applied. Taylor's ideas make the workers servants
to machines that are in complete control of the organisation
and pace of work. One gets the idea of 'office factories'
! And so, Taylorism lies in the degree to which he was able
to mechanise the organisation of people and work.
Mechanistic Organisations ~ Strengths and Limitations
Strengths Limitations
~ Straightforward tasks to perform ~ Hard to adapt
~ Stable environment ~ Mindless and unquestioning
~ Mass production ~ Dehumanising employees
~ Precision required
To sum up ~
In pursuing the origins of the metaphorically-titled Mechanistic
Organisation, you have looked at bureaucratic approaches to
work organisation; the division of labour; command and control;
dehumanising the human spirit; classical management theory
of precisely defined jobs, hierarchically organised through
defined lines of command; functional departments with precisely
defined jobs and tasks; direction, discipline and subordination;
the production-line approach.
Much of the apathy, carelessness and lack of pride so often
encountered in the modern workplace is not coincidental; it
is fostered by the mechanistic approach.
Next time - a different slant - the organic approach to organisation.
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Activity
To reinforce your understanding of mechanistic organisation,
drawing on your past experience, every-day observations and
perhaps some research into current, appropriate news items
in the media and/or appropriate case studies on work organisation
and management :
· Make a list of points which suggest mechanistic, bureaucratic
organisation within the workplace, eg a superior at work frowning
upon the periods your colleague spends away from his/her desk
· Using this list, write down your own views on how you perceive
the reality of organising and managing people at work today.
Do the 'old' ways still apply? Do you see the glimmers of
new ways … ?
· If you have had actual work experience, give some examples
of typical office scenarios and comment upon them in the light
of your reading of this Learning Unit and/or Morgan's (Ch.
2) expanded version (if you have no work experience, perhaps
you could examine scenarios in appropriate films or 'soaps'
on television).
· Use, perhaps, Taylor's five simple principles as a basis
for your discussion.
· Try to produce at least one A4 sheet
· These explicit thoughts will be a useful reminder - and
a resource - for you as you progress through the ideas on
organisational learning later, and will help when it is time
to prepare for your first assessment.
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Unit 2 [Source text: Morgan, 1997i]
Reading and Understanding Organisational Life (2)
APPROACHES TO ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
This Learning Unit is the second of three exploring some approaches
towards business organisation and management, as preparation
for your in-depth study of organisational learning and development.
You have been introduced to ideas behind the mechanistic approach
to organisation at work, now we look at the idea of the organic
organisation. To increase your understanding, you can read
Chapter 3 of this Unit's text (Morgan, 97i), and/or a sample
of this Chapter 3 in your accompanying Module Reading Notes.
'Biological' Organisations ~ The Organism Metaphor
"Under the influence of the machine metaphor, organisation
theory was locked into a form of engineering preoccupied with
relations between goals, structures, and efficiency. The idea
that organisations are more like organisms has changed all
this, guiding our attention toward the more general issues
of survival, organisational environment relations, and organisational
effectiveness. Goals, structures and efficiency now become
subsidiary to problems of survival and other more 'biological'
concerns." (Morgan, 1997i).
During the 19th and early 20th centuries it was by no means
obvious that employees worked best when motivated by the tasks
they had to perform and that the process of motivation hinged
on allowing people to achieve rewards that satisfy their personal
needs. As has been made evident in the last Learning Unit,
the likes of classical management theorist, Frederick Taylor,
were more likely to view the design of organisations as a
technical problem, where work was seen as a basic necessity
and designed and managed as such. People were encouraged to
comply with the requirements of the organisational machine
by 'paying the right rate for the job' - a process of controlling
and directing employees in their work.
Since the late 1920s, however, views about this kind of organisation
theory began to change, allowing the machine metaphor - organisation
theory locked into a form of engineering preoccupied with
relations between goals, structures and efficiency - to be
complemented by the organism metaphor - organisation theory
concerned with biology, whereby employees are people with
complex needs that must be satisfied if they are to lead full
and healthy lives, and to perform effectively in the workplace.
This seems obvious - employees working best when motivated
by the task they have to perform, this motivation hinging
on allowing people to achieve rewards that satisfy their personal
needs. But until late into the 1920s, this was not obvious.
You may be reminded of the Elton Mayo (1933) experiment conducted
at the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company in
Chicago, researching the relation between conditions of work
and the incidence of fatigue and boredom among employees.
Whilst other aspects of the work situation were looked at
- eg, the attitudes and preoccupations of employees, and factors
in the social environment outside work - the studies are most
famous for identifying the importance of social needs in the
workplace and the way that work groups can satisfy these needs
by restricting output and engaging in all manner of unplanned
activities. In other words, a 'formally-operated' organisation
existing alongside an 'informal' one based on friendship groups
and unplanned interactions and activities.
Quite clearly not what was put forward by the classical management
theorists, but who, certainly, would now need to take on board
that work activities are influenced as much by the nature
of human beings as by formal design. New theories of motivation
suggested that individuals and groups, like biological organisms,
operate most effectively only when then their needs are satisfied.
q Abraham Maslow (1943) ~ promoted the idea of human beings
as psychological organisms struggling to satisfy needs for
full growth and development - motivated by a needs hierarchy
progressing through the physiological, social and psychological.
Bureaucratic organisations that sought to motivate employees
through money, or by providing a secure job, confined human
development to the lower levels of the need hierarchy. Jobs
and interpersonal relations could be redesigned to create
conditions for personal growth that would simultaneously help
organisations achieve their aims and objectives. Maslow's
hierarchy of needs:
Self-actualising ~ Commitment - major part of life
Ego ~ Achievement, recognition, responsibility -
Social ~ Allows interaction, sports, parties, etc. -
Security ~ Pension, health-care, tenure, career path -
Physiological ~ Salary, pleasant working conditions -
q Frederick Herzberg (1959),Douglas McGregor (1960), Chris
Argyris (1964) ~ these organisational psychologists soon demonstrated
how bureaucratic structures, leadership styles and work organisation
could be modified to create 'enriched', motivating jobs that
would encourage people to exercise their capacities for self-control
and creativity. Thus came the ideas of 'meaningful' jobs,
personal autonomy, responsibility, as well as participative,
democratic and employee-centred styles of leadership to counteract
the dehumanising (scientific management) work orientation.
Human resource management thus arose to ensure employees were
seen as valuable resources, contributing in rich and varied
ways to the organisation's activities. Human resource management
is now high focus, supporting fully the design of work to
increase productivity and job satisfaction, while improving
work quality and reducing employee absenteeism and turnover.
"When we choose a technical system (whether in the form
of an organisational structure, job design or particular technology)
it always has human consequences, and vice versa" (Morgan,
1997i). The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in England
concurs:
"This has been particularly well illustrated in many
Tavistock studies, such as that conducted by Eric Trist and
Ken Bamforth on technological change in coal mining in England
in the late 1940s. The attempt to mechanise the mining process
through the introduction of …… assembly-line coal cutting
to the coal face created severe problems by destroying the
informal fabric of social relations present in the mine. The
new technology promised increases in efficiency yet brought
all the social problems now associated with the modern factory,
compounded many times by much worse physical conditions. The
resolution of the problems rested in finding a means of reconciling
human needs and technical efficiency." (Morgan, 1997i).
This and other Tavistock studies (see Trist & Bamforth
(1951) in booklist) have shown that in designing or managing
any kind of social system, whether it be a small group, an
organisation or a society, the interdependence of technical
and human needs must be kept firmly in mind.
In exploring the parallels between organisms and organisations,
it is possible to produce different theories and explanations
that have very practical implications for organisation and
management. So, what are the strengths and limitations of
the 'organism' metaphor?
Organismic Organisation ~ Strengths and Limitations
Strengths Limitations
~ Links between and with environment ~ Organisation's visions,
ideas,
~ Ongoing processes, not collection of norms & beliefs
are fragile
parts ~ Parts often work against
~ Attention to needs that must be each other - playing politics
satisfied for survival ~ Can choose to compete,
collaborate, ignore
To sum up ~
Modern organisation theorists have looked to nature to understand
organisations and organisational life. The ideas identified
provide an excellent illustration of how a metaphor can open
our minds to a systematic and novel way of thinking. By exploring
the parallels between organisms and organisations in terms
of organic functioning, relations with the environment, relations
between species, and the wider ecology, it has been possible
to produce different theories and explanations that have very
practical implications for organisation and management. Very
useful - when you come to review the concept of organisational
learning and development. Read on ……
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Activity
To strengthen your understanding of the organism metaphor,
take a look again at Abraham Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs'
of individuals at work (above) and tackle the following:
q Observe and describe two individuals you have encountered
at work, and write down your assessment of their particular
'needs hierarchy' (you might include yourself !)
q Try to choose people who differ significantly in this regard
so that you can then compare and contrast their needs and
aspirations, giving details if possible of where they have
succeeded in their aims and where the disappointments have
occurred. What do you conclude from these observations, and
will/does this affect your own desires, demands and aspirations
for your current/future work situation?
q If you have limited experience of people at work, write
perhaps about two individuals amongst your family or friends
who work, or individuals you have observed on television,
in a 'soap' perhaps, or maybe a politician or two. Or, you
could discuss a couple of people you have met regularly during
your daily routine - at the local supermarket, say, or in
your dealings with business personnel. As a last resort, you
could discuss characters from books you have read.
q It is very important that you give as full a critique of
your two individuals as possible, as this (1) will broaden
your understanding of the 'biological' approach towards organisation
and management and (2) will provide useful reference for later
module activities.
q Discuss, at a plenary session with your tutor, why you believe
it is important to understand an individual's needs, habits,
likes, dislikes, modus operandi, etc, in the workplace.
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Unit 3 [Source text: Morgan, 1997i]
Reading and Understanding Organisational Life (3)
APPROACHES TO ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
This is the third and final Learning Unit exploring some
of the different approaches towards business organisation
and management. Now that you have been given some insight
into the machine and organism metaphors, we turn to the idea
of organisations as brains. This Unit, together with the previous
two, now brings your understanding of organisational life
to the point where you can consider this module's key theme
- organisational learning.
To increase your understanding, you may like to read Chapter
4 of this Unit's core text, Morgan (97i), and/or a sample
of this Chapter 4 in your accompanying Module Reading Notes.
Brainlike Organisations ~ The Brain Metaphor
What if we think about organisations as living brains?
Is it possible to design 'learning organisations' - organisations
that have the capacity to be as flexible, resilient, and inventive
as the functioning of the brain? Is it possible to distribute
capacities for intelligence and control throughout an organisation
so that the system as a whole can self-organise and evolve
along with emerging challenges?
Consider these conceptions :-
q The brain ~ a sophisticated library or memory bank for
data storage and retrieval
q The brain ~ an information processing system
Why not add your own ……… ?
How about a holographic concept?
Dennis Gabor (1948,in Morgan 1997) ~ invented holography
- using lenseless cameras to record information in a way that
stores the whole in all the parts. Interacting beams of light
create an 'interference pattern' that scatters the information
being recorded on a photographic plate, known as a hologram,
which can then be illuminated to recreate the original information.
If the hologram is broken, interestingly, any single piece
can be used to reconstruct the entire image. Everything is
enfolded in everything else, just as if we were able to throw
a pebble into a pond and see the whole pond and all the waves,
ripples and drops of water generated by the splash in each
and every one of the drops of water thus produced. Holography,
therefore, demonstrates that it is possible to create processes
where the whole can be encoded in all the parts, so that each
and every part represents the whole. The memory is distributed
throughout the brain and can thus be reconstituted from any
of the parts.
When it comes to brain functioning, it seems that there is
no centre or point of control. The brain seems to store and
process data in many parts simultaneously. Pattern and order
emerge from the process, it is not imposed. Holography suggests
the 'all over the place' character of brain functioning, but
there is also a strong measure of system specialisation; so
it would seem that the brain is both holographic and specialised.
To understand the brain, it is necessary to embrace this
kind of paradox, acknowledging:-
"
· How logical reduction and creative expansiveness may be
elements of the same process
· How high degrees of specialisation and distributed function
can coexist
· How high degrees of randomness and variety can produce a
coherent pattern
· How enormous redundancy and overlap can provide the basis
for efficient operation, and
· How the most highly coordinated and intelligent system of
which we are aware has no predetermined or explicit design
"
(Morgan, 1997i)
This is very difficult to understand. However, let's liken
the above to issues emerging from the field of artificial
intelligence (AI), where brain-like machines are used to demonstrate
ways of actually reconciling principles of centralised and
decentralised intelligence. Rodney Brooks (MIT) describes
key design principles of his 'mobot' (mobile robot):
"There is no central controller which directs the body
where to put each foot or how high to lift a leg should there
be an obstacle ahead. Instead, each leg is granted a few simple
behaviours and each independently knows what to do under various
circumstances. For instance, two basic behaviours can be thought
of as - 'if I'm a leg and I'm up, put myself down', or 'if
I'm a leg and I'm forward, put the other five legs back a
little'. These processes exist independently, run at all times,
and fire whenever the sensory preconditions are true. To create
walking, then, there just needs to be a sequencing of lifting
legs (this is the only instance where any central control
is evident). As soon as a leg is raised it automatically swings
itself forward, and also down. But the act of swinging forward
triggers all the other legs to move back a little. Since those
legs happen to be touching the ground, the body moves forward."
Morgan asks: "Could it be that sophisticated forms of
intelligence emerge from the 'bottom up', as the result of
the integration of more modest capacities and intelligences?"
Is what we see and experience in the brain as a highly ordered
stream of consciousness really the result of a more chaotic
process where multiple possibilities are generated as a result
of activity distributed throughout the brain? No centralised
intelligence? As a system, the brain engages in a set of incredibly
diverse activities that eventually emerge as a coherent pattern.
So, back to the original question - what if we think of organisations
as living brains?
For Morgan's more detailed views on brains as organisations,
you can read these for yourself in Chapter 4 of his text.
However, some important pointers are given to raise your awareness
and propel you into thinking more openly about the idea of
organisations learning.
Organisations are information systems :
q Bureaucrats make decisions by processing information with
reference to appropriate rules
q Strategic managers make decisions by developing policies
and plans that then provide a point of reference for the information
processing and decision making of others
q Computers automate complex information flows
Organisations are now synonymous with the decisions, policies
and data flows that shape day-to-day practices. They are communication
systems, they are decision-making systems, they are information-processing
brains!
To sum up ~
Organisations are rapidly evolving into global information
systems that are becoming more and more like electronic brains.
What once seemed to rest within the domain of science fiction
- peopleless factories coordinated by peopleless offices,
producing services on demand - is rapidly becoming reality.
While human intelligence is still the driving force, networked
computing is able to realise organisational possibilities
that not so long ago were no more than a dream
In this world, where rapid change and transformation are
becoming the norm, organisations face new challenges. In addition
to planning and executing tasks in an efficient rational way,
they face the challenge of constant learning and learning
to learn.
Let's try to make a first, tentative link to the idea of
learning organisations. How can complex systems be designed
that are capable of learning in a brainlike way?
Read on ……
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Activity
Dennis Gabor (1948, in Morgan 1997), above, invented the
use of lenseless cameras to record information in a way that
stores the whole in all the parts. This is holography, where
the whole can be encoded in all the parts, so that each part
represents the whole.
Drawing on your previous understanding/knowledge of business
organisations (and any work experience), and also on the information
in the Learning Unit above, describe the breakdown of a large
organisation, such as Barclays Bank, the Patent Office, or
perhaps a county council, in holographic terms. Discuss how
the whole might be encoded in all the parts (eg, examine the
departments, people, processes, etc). For instance, are all
departments actually run the same way? Or contain the same
workers? etc
There is no limit here, don't worry if you find it difficult
to get your teeth into. Whether you have written a little
or a lot, this will still prove useful during your onward
path through the module.
Typical business departments include:
~ Production
~ Marketing
~ Accounts
~ Personnel / Human Resources
~ Sales
~ Purchasing
~ Distribution
~ Design
~ Etc, etc
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Unit 4 [Source Text: Pedler, 1997(i)]
The Notion of the Learning Organisation
To aid your learning throughout this Module, in particular
your introduction to the concept of organisational learning,
please read Sections 1 and 2 of Part I of The Fifth Discipline,
by Peter M Senge (1998) - a sample of which is contained in
your accompanying Module Reading Notes - which provides useful
foundation. Also, the background reading text Managing Learning
by Mabey & Iles (ed, 1995) contains 23 articles by different
authors, which together provide a rounded picture of 'organisational
learning'.
Learning Unit 4 builds on the groundwork of the first three
Learning Units, which extended understanding of certain approaches
towards organisation and management in today's companies,
chiefly through Gareth Morgan's (1997i) views on metaphor
in the reading and understanding of organisational life. Whilst
he suggests a number of metaphorical approaches to organisational
learning in his book, his ideas on mechanistic, organism and
brainlike organisations provide an excellent foundation for
developing an understanding of the concept of organisational
learning.
To consolidate your understanding of this Learning Unit,
you may like to read Chapter 20 in the Pedler text, 1997(i),
and/or a sample of this Chapter 20 in your accompanying Module
Reading Notes.
Graeme Salaman and Jim Butler, in this quote from 'Why managers
won't learn' in Managing Learning (Mabey & Iles, 1997)
provide an excellent foundation upon which to begin building
an understanding of organisations learning :
"Times are changing. 'New times' do not just affect
social and political life, they also have a major impact on
organisations and those who work for them. The certainties
of the past disintegrate: 'all that is solid melts into air'.
Markets are changing - diversifying and differentiating; levels
and forms of competitive pressure are changing; in many industries
government-induced regulation is disappearing. Information
technology increases the speed of communication and enables
incredibly detailed control of work operations, thus in turn
generating product differentiation. Organisations themselves
are changing - and the ways they are changing are changing.
"For the new certainty is change, and organisations
and their employees must now be prepared to change and be
able to change. In order to change appropriately they must
be able to analyse themselves, their processes, structures
and their environments, be able to identify preferred and
appropriate responses, and be able to implement them. In a
word, organisations must be able to learn, and to learn from
their learning. On the basis of this learning, choices will
be made: choices of structure, of process, of organisation,
of product, of market, relationship with staff, with subcontractors
and with clients. And these choices themselves must be the
subject of constant review and revision. A barrier to learning
is thus a barrier to survival."
In embracing Salaman's and Butler's view, it is easy to understand
that learning is now a 'given' within the wide organisational
environment. The rest of this Module is devoted, therefore,
to an in-depth review of the opinions of key players in the
research and development of organisational learning. Here
- before introducing you to the very early 'campaigners' for
a new, more fitting approach to coping with change, and thus
managing learning at work - is a useful introduction :
Pedler et al (1997ii), in A Manager's Guide to Self Development,
said, at the start of their book:
"Most of us, if asked to think about how we have learned,
think of our experiences when attempts have been made to teach
us. If, on the other hand, we are asked about problems we
have solved, we think about difficult situations we have faced
and managed to overcome. However, in solving problems we don't
just deal with the immediate difficulty, we discover a solution
which we can use again in some form, and we may also become
better at solving problems generally. Problem solving is,
to a large extent, learning.
"In the managerial world, dealing with live problems,
rather than being taught, is the major source of significant
learning. When it comes to a 'crunch' decision - for example
selecting a new senior manager - what really matters is track
record - whether the person has dealt successfully with a
number of difficult situations. Information on what has been
taught, through involvement on formal management development
programmes, does not usually carry much weight.
"The implication for the ambitious is clear: get a slice
of the action, deal with it in a way that is clearly successful,
and be seen to have done it (the visibility factor)"
They round off their point by saying:
"The manager's job is to learn on behalf of the organisation.
Operating systems are increasingly self-regulating, and the
manager's contribution is focused on how these can be improved
. . . or working out what the next generation of systems should
be, and working towards those . . .
"An organisation which encourages and develops these
qualities in its people can be called a Learning Company -
literally a group of people who learn in company, not only
as individuals, but also as a whole organism . . . for . .
. the Learning Company requires its people to manage themselves
and to learn for themselves, their colleagues and for the
company as a whole"
Pedler et al's view provides a useful introduction to the
Module themes. In their book, The Learning Company (1997(i)
they acknowledge those "who have shaped and are shaping
the field of organisational learning theory". Let's look
at some of these to broaden the picture a little :
WRITERS' THOUGHTS ON LEARNING ORGANISATIONS
TOM PETERS AND ROBERT WATERMAN (1982) will be well-known to
many managers and HR specialists for their influential views
on management in the 1980s. The key text was In Search of
Excellence, often a company bible, setting the scene for achieving
company excellence and maintaining it. They saw excellent
companies as those which:
"experiment more
encourage more tries and
permit small failures,
interact with customers
encourage internal competition and
maintain a rich informal (information) environment"
These companies could not articulate what they were up to,
they just knew it worked.
Peters' and Waterman's position on learning organisations
is held by many still, but their emphasis on customers, to
the exclusion of other stakeholders, is limiting.
W. EDWARDS DEMING (1986) was one of the most radical gurus
pushing the idea of TQM (Total Quality Management) to the
fore, ie, creating constancy of purpose for improvement of
product and service, with the aim of becoming competitive,
staying in business and providing jobs. It is sufficient to
say that as well as recognising the need for continuous improvement
and other now well-known tenets on TQ, he emphasised that
TQ requires fundamental shifts in the way we manage and organise.
REG REVANS (1982), the mathematician, turned his attention
to the theory and practice of action learning and onwards
to the Learning Organisation. He has been concerned with empowering
the manager struggling with intractable problems. Action learning,
to Revans, means bridging the gap between ideas and actions,
between thinking and doing, action and learning as parts of
each other. He coined the phrase "helping each other
to help the helpless" as part of his philosophy. This
philosophy involves:
- Honesty about self What is an honest man? What do I need
to do to become
one?
- Seeing action, not thought Not enough to know what is actually
good; you must also
as the defining characteristic be able to do it
of human beings
- For the purpose of doing "All meaningful knowledge
is for the sake of action, and all
some good in the world meaningful action for the sake of friendship"
(Macmurray, 83)
The distrust of experts and the commitment to the learning
of the individual-within-the-company as the route to salvation,
marks out Revans as one of the most visionary commentators
on organisational learning.
CHRIS ARGYRIS AND DONALD SCHON (1996) It is they who first
asked 'What is an organisation that it may learn?' How are
we to organise in order to learn? What is
learning? They worked on the theory of single and double loop
learning. Single loop learning is referred to simply as 'error
detection and correction' and double loop learning, found
only rarely, as much deeper enquiry and questioning, implying
conflict and power struggles. This learning challenges current
operating assumptions and changes existing norms and practices.
Its current use is in encouraging reflective thinking in organisation
members. Both single/double loop learning and reflective practice
will be studied at later points in the learning programme.
ROGER HARRISON (1995) says 'defence mechanisms are part of
who we are. Defensive behaviours help us adapt to a changing
world and seeking to destroy them does not make us more effective'.
He says leaders usually underestimate the prevalence of fear
and anxiety in their organisations and that anger and resentment
are rising due to a widespread sense of betrayal of trust.
He says that organisations are primarily in need of healing
before they can learn, change and adapt - hence exhaustion
and burn-out among those in organisations suffering from 'mandated
change' requires organisational healing
PETER SENGE (1998) produced a best-seller, The Fifth Discipline,
building on Argyris and Schon's theory, which highlights organisational
learning in relation to business thinking. He says we should
practise the 5 disciplines:
Personal mastery Self development, clarifying personal visions,
focussing energies, developing patience and objectivity
Sharing mental models We all have our own view of the world,
our own perceptions/
assumptions. These should be shared as one organism, as a
collective to create a shared vision
Shared vision A shared picture of the future, to foster genuine
commitment, not compliance. This way, people excel and learn
because they want to, and not because they are told to
Team learning Teams are the fundamental learning units in
modern organisations. It starts with dialogue, ie thinking
together, freeflowing of meaning through a group
Systems thinking This 5th discipline integrates them all
- the discipline for seeing wholes rather than parts, for
working with patterns and relationships in the subtle interconnectedness
of living systems
Senge is quite adamant that we could be literally killing
ourselves because we are unable to think in 'wholes'. And
he said organisations suffer from 7 learning disabilities
(recognise any?) :
- I am my position Narrow focus on MY job, not the whole
- The enemy is out there Blaming others when things go wrong
- The illusion of taking charge Taking charge is a reaction
to outside events; true
proactiveness comes from seeing how we contribute to our
own problems
- The fixation upon events Focussing on short-term events
means not noticing the
slow, gradual processes, such as this next 'disability' :-
- The parable of the boiled frog Where subtle changes in
the environment are not
detected until it is too late (put frog in hot water, it
leaps out; but put frog in cool water, and slowly heat it,
it stays, basking in the warmth, even to the point that it
perishes!
- The delusion of learning We learn best from experience,
but because we act in
from experience isolation, our actions have unintended consequences
of which we know nothing and therefore we do not learn
- The myth of the Teams appear cohesive, function well on
routines, but have
management team have internal conflicts and can fall apart
under pressure
Senge tells us to get out of the reactiveness trap and become
responsive to trends. Also, no one person is to blame for
what is the joint production of many individual actions.
Armed with the basic knowledge for development of your own
ideas on organisational learning, influenced by the above
'pioneers', you are now well placed to consider the finer
details of this hotly-debated approach. Here is a quote from
Nancy Dixon (a student of Revans and Argyris) showing her
own perspective on organisations learning. It is a good jumping-off
point for the Learning Units ahead. Enjoy.
NANCY DIXON (1994)
Organisational Learning ~ "the intentional use of learning
processes at the individual, group and systems level to continuously
transform the organisation in a direction that is increasingly
satisfying to its stakeholders"
To sum up ~
This introduction to organisational learning has drawn out
some key points, including:-
~ Changing times mean changing organisations, and all employees
must be prepared and
equipped to change.
~ Organisations must be able to learn, therefore, and learn
from their learning, both for
and with the organisation.
~ High regard must be paid, by those who manage and lead,
to the needs of the individual
at work, as well as the needs of the whole organisation.
~ Careful attention must be paid in the inculcation of participative
approaches at work.
Organisational Learning & Development
Learning Activity
You have been made aware of the importance of the role of
the individual within the organisation, ie needs, faults,
relationships, welfare, development, as well as their own
understanding of their position and importance within the
company as a learning environment, as it shifts and changes
in the economic current. So, it is important for you at this
early stage to understand that people are key players in the
development of suitable approaches towards organisational
learning. To this end, it is perhaps very important to understand
how individuals learn - particularly at work - so that you
are more ready to take on board ideas on whole company learning.
When it comes to acquiring skills and knowledge, and sharing
them with others, it is useful to understand that people like
to learn in different ways - working in their own time using
self-instruct materials, learning as part of a group, maybe
combining these and other ways. Therefore, managers, human
resource specialists and other facilitators of learning need
to understand the diversity of learning preferences within
an organisation when fitting the learning support to their
employees' development needs.
Honey & Mumford (1986) have produced their own ideas
on how people learn, and have developed a way for people to
assess their own learning style(s), via a questionnaire, that
the employee and/or the 'learning facilitator' can utilise
to assess learning style and thus to develop appropriate developmental
strategies. There are many versions of this approach used
widely in the human resource management field, here Honey
& Mumford's questionnaire is utilised to aid your awareness
of the diverse population of organisations and the equally
diverse population of individuals within them, and how they
might learn - and be encouraged to learn.
This Learning Activity, therefore, invites you at this early
stage in developing your views on organisations learning,
to check out the diversity of learning styles of people at
work by making an analysis of your own.
ACTIVITY 1
q Complete the attached Learning Styles Questionnaire as
directed.
q Check out your scoring using the sheet attached in order
to discover your learning style(s)
q Study the four outline descriptions of Honey & Mumford's
Learning Styles on the attached sheet.
q Having reviewed your own learning style(s), write out your
views on these styles, as a reference for later work in the
learning programme, eg:
? do they 'fit' you?
