Transitioning to the Learning Organization
Joan Giesecke and Beth McNeil
Abstract
Peter Senge popularized the concept of the learning organization,
and several libraries have tried, with varying degrees of success, to adopt
the learning organization model. This article explores why organizations
consider attempting to become learning organizations, includes an overview
of the theory of learning organizations, presents steps to becoming a learning
organization, and describes examples of learning organization efforts
at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries and other libraries.
Learning Organizations
To survive in the continuously changing information environment,
libraries must find ways to become agile, flexible organizations. Rigid rules,
entrenched bureaucracies, and stable hierarchies will not help these organizations
survive new technologies, tight budgets, competition, and changing
expectations of patrons and users. Stifling bureaucracies can result in employees
who are unmotivated, lack the skills needed to adjust to changes, are
content to follow orders, lack problem solving skills, and develop an us vs.
them mentality. To advance, libraries need to move away from being knowing
organizations that emphasize one best way to do things by following rules
and regulations. They need to move past being understanding organizations
where organizational culture and values dominate decision-making so that
change is unlikely to occur. They need to advance past thinking organizations
that emphasize fixing and solving problems without questioning why the
system broke. Instead, they must become organizations that create a climate
that fosters learning, experimenting, and risk taking. Instead of emphasizing
command and control processes, libraries need to adopt strategies that
will help the organization move forward and develop proactive responses to
change. They need employees who appreciate change, accept challenges,
can develop new skills, and are committed to the organization’s mission,
goals, and objectives.
The concepts of the learning organization can provide leaders, managers,
and staff with the tools they need to develop organizations that can
succeed in turbulent times. Learning organizations encourage their members
to improve their skills so they can learn and develop. The staff become
more flexible as they acquire knowledge and are more able to move around
the organization. Interunit barriers are lessened as staff share experiences,
knowledge, and skills. Creativity can flourish as staff are encouraged to
take risks and try new things. Traditional communication barriers are also
lessened as communication is encouraged between units and between staff
levels. A rigid hierarchy no longer exists and no longer prevents change.
New problems and new challenges can be met faster and resolved more
quickly. And, most importantly, for today’s librarians the customer or patron
is the first priority for the organization. Good customer service becomes
the foundation for all the organization needs to do.
Defining the Learning Organization
What is a learning organization? A learning organization is an organization
skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge and
at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. Without
accompanying changes in the way that work gets done, only the potential
for improvement exists. Learning organizations translate new knowledge
into new ways of behaving. In a learning organization, managers and staff
encourage work-related learning, the exchange of information between employees
to create new ideas and knowledge, and continuous improvement.
Staff test experiences and use those experiences to improve the organization.
Flexibility becomes a core value of the organization as staff accept
and adapt new ideas and seek ways to enhance products and services. In a
learning organization, people are appreciated for their skills, values, and
work. Staff opinions are sought and are treated with respect. Exchanging
information and sharing ideas and experiences throughout the organization
is encouraged. People learn new skills they can apply to their jobs. They
use these skills to enhance services and improve the organization. There
are more opportunities for staff to be creative, to learn from mistakes, to
take risks, and to reach new levels of expertise. In a learning organization,
learning takes place at the individual, group, and organizational levels.
People in organizations experience two types of learning: maintenance
learning and anticipatory learning. Maintenance learning is discovering
better ways to do current procedures and tasks. Maintenance learning is
56 library trends/summer 2004
important in that it ensures that procedures and processes are efficient and
being done the best way possible. Maintenance learning has a short-term
focus, however, and often misses changes in the environment.
A learning organization encourages anticipatory learning. Here individuals
acquire new knowledge and incorporate the new knowledge into
the workplace so that the organization can reach its vision. Anticipatory
learning is participatory, a joint venture in which individuals in a unit, department,
or the organization as a whole explore alternatives, share ideas,
and consider how new knowledge helps the organization reach its goals.
To succeed, today’s libraries need to emphasize anticipatory learning so
that the organization can adjust to changing environments and reach the
vision of the library of the future.
Why is it so difficult to foster learning in an organization? To answer
that question, it is helpful to review the work Organization Learning, by
Chris Argyis and Donald Schön (1978). In their theory on organizations,
they describe learning as detecting and correcting errors (Senge, 2003,
p. 47). Error correction is a very personal process. To correct an error, an
individual must admit that he/she made a mistake. A manager has to admit
that he/she is not infallible. The manager risks losing credibility. In most
of our organizations, mistakes are viewed as personal failings to be fixed.
Many performance evaluation systems emphasize error rates and limiting
the number of mistakes, further creating a culture where denying errors
is in the individual’s best interest.
To succeed and grow, however, organizations must change this culture
so that successes are emphasized and rewarded. Errors become opportunities
to find better ways to accomplish tasks. Failures can become opportunities
to learn and improve rather than career-ending events.
Learning, then, is about action. It is about taking the information we
gather and using it to create knowledge management systems and statistical
databases and then using that knowledge to improve the organization.
Learning is about moving from data gathering to using data to effect needed
changes. Effective learning is about communication, communicating about
errors and failures, analyzing why systems fail, and using that information
to make changes. In learning organizations individuals move from fearing
mistakes to using problems and errors as information to inform decisionmaking,
improve processes, and create success.
The Fifth Discipline
Peter Senge, in his book The Fifth Discipline (1990a), outlines five component
technologies or disciplines that are the foundation for building a
learning organization. These five disciplines are: shared vision, personal
mastery, mental models, group learning, and systems thinking. Senge’s
treatment of each discipline includes practices, underlying principles, and