The learning organization identifies the future and present learning needs of its members, through the structured learning opportunities. The learning organization needs to have its reasons for existence, contributions to the society, past and future goals and actions with the clear vision and ideology set clear (6-10). According to the Senge (1990) a learning organization is an organization that encourages and facilitates learning in order to continually transform itself to survive and excel in a rapidly changing business environment.
Organizations are exposed to the continual change in today’s global environment. In order to be successful in today’s competing world the organization needs to have characteristics that can help it to develop, evolve and make a profit in accordance with its values, vision and goals. The assumption of competence, curiosity, forgiveness, trust and togetherness are the main characteristics of the learning organization. With competitiveness, individual and organization, professional play an important role with the minimum supervision, that attracts new talented work force and to get the most qualified personnel. Flat organizations are promoted because of its responsiveness, cost effectiveness and efficiency. The leering habits in accordance with values start at the early stage. Because only competitiveness is not enough the curiosity also needs to be presented. With the curiosity the answers to the questions are being found with involvement of experimentations. Because those experiments can result in undesired consequences the forgiveness is the next important characteristics. unsuccess needs to be viewed as a learning process and as learning about the mistakes that can improve future actions. In order to fulfill all mentioned characteristics trust needs to be established. The trust leads to the competent work. Since work of a single person cannot bring desired goals the togetherness is the next important characteristics. If all characteristics are being shared among the members the organization will “learn”. In order to solve problems and overcome the barriers collaboration is needed. All of the mentioned characteristics are linked and have an effect on each other. Because of the characteristics the authority needs to be earned from those on whom it is exercised upon (Chawla, Renesch, 1995). All these characteristics of a learning organization have its applications in a global environment. The competitive advantage can be achieved by incorporating the characteristics of the learning organization into a business. The competitive advantage and being better at something play an important role in today’s globalized world of organizations. All businesses are interlinked and dependent on many outside factors. In the todays conditions the concept of learning organization with the possession of knowledge through different stages of business process is a necessity and also a challenge. For an organization to be successful in global environment, competence is the first important characteristics to possess. With the big competition in the world the curiosity and forgiveness, which result in innovation that answers the costumer’s needs and desires it the component that can lead to the success. With trust and working together the problems can be overcome. In order to achieve the competitive advantage that can result in bigger success and profit for organizations following the learning organization’s characteristics can help to tackle the issues organizations are being confronted in the globalized environment.
In today’s changing business world the organization needs to adapt, transform and change. The global economy today is very complex, integrated and interrelated which represents many challenges for the organization, its managers and employees to effectively and efficiently compete in numerous different competitors. Dynamic in business can overcome with a learning organization. Senge (1990) has identified five learning disciplines that have an application on the organizations in the global environment. Senge’s five disciplines were created in the 1990s, he developed tools to promote sustainable long-term change inside the organization. He pointed out the tool necessary for learning organization system thinking, mental models, personal mastery, shared vision and team learning. With all interlinked disciplines, all need to be taken into an account. In order to achieve the characteristics of the learning organization all five disciplines need to be emphasized.
First discipline focus on the shared vision and the early times of change process to create common commitments and understandings upon which the vision of wanted achievement is going to be implemented. Siege (1990) defines what tools leaders need to use to shape that vision where aspirations, hopes and reservations are being known. Tools that leaders can use to achieve shared vision are “concept-shifting”, “positive visioning” and “values alignment”. With the tools the mutual agreement is made, the targets and strategies to overcome the challenges. The first disciplines can be applied to the learning organization in a global environment. Every organization needs to define its core values, principles and meaning of the existence in the business area. By knowing how it can contribute to the society and what its goals are the organization can adjust over time with the learning process. The start the change and learn the core thing to start a business is designing a common value. There are various different ways, according to Siege (1990) three, but all need to involve the management and all personnel in the organization. The common vision is needed to that all employees know what to follow and have basic strategies how to achieve the desired goals. In today’s globalized business environment without this factor the improvement of an organization its business area.
The second discipline is mental models. Beliefs and values are the one that determines the way people think and act. The understanding of the world defines our actions. With awareness of what affects our picture of the world and attitudes the capacity to govern actions and decisions can be increased. This discipline is focused on how it comes to productive or unproductive assumption and conclusion by the members of organizations. To overcome the possible shortcomings the knowledge about what shapes the values, attitudes and action need to learn with which avoidance of possible misperceptions can be achieved. It the global learning organization every single member action matters and everyone have a different perception and they need to be revealed through cooperation in order to avoid negative consequence the false perception can have on the organization.
Personal mastery is needed for the “self-awareness” (Siege, 1990). With this discipline the global organization can achieve to manage the possible tensions among visions and reality. By keeping clear picture the goals and commitment needed to achieve the visions are easier to achieve. Results can be achieved by believing in the vision and knowing the reality. In the organization the vision and the master of personal thinking has led to various success. By believing in yourself and vision with reality picture everything can be accomplished.
Team learning happens when all participants in the organization learn together. By sharing the knowledge, insights, experience, we can improve our work. Inquiries and discussions are very important. The leaders need to learn the tools such as “action learning cycle” and “dialog” in order to conduct discussion (Siege, 1990). With dialog among the members of an organization all can learn from each other, share its knowledge on which the common knowledge is being built. In the complex global environment, it is impossible for one person to apprehend the complete comprehensive factors that affect organizational in a positive or negative way. The cooperation is needed sine more people know more and with the different opinions more complex solutions can be found that will answer the needs of an organization to change and develop further to be more successful. Assumptions and overall picture are clearer when taking into an account different opinions and solutions. We can see that all disciplines are interconnected and that in every single one of them the presence of another can be found.
System thinking is the discipline where leaders learn to use ”archetypes” and “system thinking maps”. Team members engage in the dialog that can lead to the suspended assumptions and create thinking together as one (Siege, 1990). The system thinking can in a global environment of learning organization represent the way to overcome the problems and issues organization is confronting. In order for organizations to be successful in today’s global environment the following of the learning organization characteristics and Siege’s five steps of disciplines the success in the constantly changing environment can be achieved.
Work cited
Chawla, Sarita, Renesch, John. (1995). Learning organizations. New York. Productivity Press.
Senge, M. Peter. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: the Art & Practice of The Learning Organizations. New York: Doubleday.
