Learning Organizations: Leadership, Features, and Training

This essay delves into the concept of learning organizations, highlighting their significance in today's competitive business environment. It defines learning organizations as entities that continuously acquire and adapt to new knowledge, emphasizing the importance of digitalization and information. The essay outlines the key features of learning organizations, such as a focus on organizational learning, employee engagement, and investment in talent development. It explores the crucial role of leadership in fostering a learning culture, emphasizing the need for leaders to provide opportunities for learning, facilitate communication, and allocate resources. Furthermore, the essay examines how learning organizations enhance the transfer of training, ultimately leading to improved productivity, employee satisfaction, and customer service. The essay provides a comprehensive overview of how businesses can develop and sustain a learning environment.

Running Head: LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS 1
Learning Organizations

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Definition of Learning Organizations..............................................................................................4
Features of Learning Organizations.................................................................................................5
Role of Leadership in Learning Organization.................................................................................7
The Role of Learning Organizations in enhancing the Transfer of Training..................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
The learning organizations is a recent phenomenon wherein the business organizations are
constantly thriving to acquire knowledge. In the contemporary times, it is important to learn new
skills and technology in order to retain the competitive advantage of the business organizations.
In the present, the intensity of the competition among the business organizations is very intense
and the knowledge is the only medium to retain the competitive advantage of the organizations.
Today, the focus is on digitalization and information which makes it mandatory for the business
organizations to constantly learn, deal with changes and adapt themselves with changes and
challenges. It is important for the business organizations to institutionalize learning or become
learning. The learning organizations can be defined as the business organizations which
constantly thrive for new information and quickly adopts themselves according to the new
information gathered. The learning organizations are powerful organizations and whose
foundation is based on learning and improving performance in the long run. However, an
organization cannot become a learning organization by articulating a clear vision, giving proper
incentives and providing lots of training. However, it is a flawed perception in the face of
intensifying competition, advances in technology and shifts in the customer preferences. The
learning organizations are one in which the organizations create, acquire and transfer knowledge.
The employees must be capable of maintaining tolerance, opening new discussion and thinking
holistically and systematically. The learning organizations must be capable of adapting itself to
changes more than their competitors (Garvin, Edmondson & Gino, 2008).

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Definition of Learning Organizations
The learning organizations term coined by Peter Senge describes an organization
which has an ideal learning environment and which aligns with the organization’s goals. In such
organizations, the workers or the employers continually expand their capacity to attain
organization’s results. In such organizations, new and different patterns of thinking are nurtured
and people are collectively set to learn more. According to Senge, there are five dimensions of
the learning organizations, namely, system thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building
shared vision and team learning. In the system thinking, the organization is treated as a complex
system in which there are several small systems. It is important to understand the complexity of
these systems and focus on the long-term goals and progress the system in a manner that it can
achieve its goals. The personal mastery is another dimension of the learning organizations and
states that it is the process in which an organization strives to achieve its objectives and focus on
the learning process (Renesch & Chawla, 2006).
The mental models refers to the assumptions and the generalizations which must be recognized
and used in the identification of the actions to resolve the issues. The mental assumptions are
essential in taking appropriate actions. Other than that, it is important for the business
organizations to build shared vision within the organization. Shared vision is important to
enhance the motivation of the employees. The leader must be able to share his vision with the
followers and the employees who work under him and he must be capable of inspiring others
with the help of that vision. A leader can motivate others with the help of dialogue, commitment
and enthusiasm. Another important aspect of the learning organization is that it must encompass

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the team learning. It is the state in which the team members collaborate together to achieve the
common goals.
It is important to understand that creating learning organizations is not the current trend;
however, they are very useful in creating work environment which are imbibed with creative
thoughts and are focused on obtaining the solutions to work-related problems. It is the process to
collect and synthesize the information which may give the ability to think critically to
communicate different concepts and cooperate with other people in case of workplace inquiry
and action. It creates an open environment within the organization and the employees are not
active but passive entities of the organization as they become capable of sharing their ideas and
contribute to the growth and development of the work environment (Ortenblad, 2013). It shuns
the traditional notion that the senior management will do all the thinking process and encourage
the employees to participate in the organization development. The learning organizations
challenge all the employees to use their internal resources and potential to create a strong
learning culture.
Features of Learning Organizations
Today, business organizations operate in a highly dynamic environment wherein there is
constant innovation in information technology and the business techniques. The current market
and the business environments are global in nature and the customers are located at different
locations all across the globe. However, these customers are not same and have differences due
to the country’s culture, attitude and beliefs. In order to sustain in the current market and

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maintain a competitive position, it is important for the business organizations to learn new
technologies and adopt to the market changes. It is also important to change the conventional
wisdom and constantly grow the knowledge base of the organization. It is also important to make
significant changes in the business operations of the organizations. There are several
characteristics of the learning organizations which distinguishes it from the other organizations.
The foremost characteristic of the learning organization is the focus on organizational learning.
The organizational learning is more about individual learning process and develops through the
interactions of different groups or teams of different sizes. It is an emergent process and the
outcomes are not specific and it is dependent upon the contribution of different individuals. The
organization learning focuses on the development of the right environment so that an individual
can reflect on the past actions and the outcomes and use them in the strategic development of the
organization (Lytras et al., 2010). In the organization learning process, the employees are
encouraged to be innovative and take risky decisions.
Other than that, there is high level of employee engagement in the organization with visible
business partners and learning facilitators. The performance based learning capabilities aligns
with the mission and the vision of the organization. The learning organizations also increases the
efficiency of the organization. It creates an easy access for the employee-centered and flexible
learning structure. The organization also make provision for time monitoring, use and the cost
indicators so that the training and development cost can be regulated. Numerous resources are
used to automatic performance solution of the business organizations. Numerous qualitative and
quantitative strategies are used to examine the impact of the learning strategies on the overall
growth of the organization (Antal, Meusburger & Suarsana, 2013). The services should be

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aligned with the talent development and capability development of the business organizations.
Another feature of the learning organizations is the investment in different domains. A
significant amount of budget is invested in the human resources, learning and the talent
development of the organization. The budget should encompass the requirements for collection,
analysis and the display of the data. There should be significant investment in education,
developing the learning process and increasing the capabilities of the staff members and the
business partners.
Another feature of the learning organization is the utility. The learning should be facilitated
every time and whenever required. The learning and the employee performance should be
thoroughly scrutinized by the managers and the leaders. It is important that different outcomes
(including both positive and negative) of training and development are examined (Nobre, 2011).
It should focus on the learning, talent development and improve the performance of the business
organizations.
Role of Leadership in Learning Organization
The learning organization is based on the fundamental that in order for the
business organizations to remain successful and thrive, quick learning is important. In the pursuit
to become, the learning organizations, the companies often indulge in futile attempts for the
organization change process. However, the learning process cannot be sustained without
understanding the drive to the organization learning process. There are several subsystems which
supports the organization learning such as employees, knowledge and technology. In the learning

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organizations, the leadership is acknowledge the importance of learning and are committed
towards making provision for training and development to facilitate learning. The leadership
should understand the motive, means and the opportunity of the learning process. Before
developing the training and development program, the companies should establish a motive,
purpose and reason for the learning. Other than that, the organization should focus on designing
methods, models and competencies which can assist the learning process of the organization.
There should always be opportunity for the learning process. The leaders should also take a
supporting role in the learning culture of the organization (Zuber-Skerritt, 2017).
It is important that the leader identify the common obstacles to the learning process and align
them with the strategy so that learning can be imparted easily with minimal level of hierarchy.
The communication system should also be designed in such a manner so that there is lateral
transfer of the information within the organization.
The leaders should also make provision for the resource allocation and learning in terms of time,
space, supporting staff and budgets. These are the supporting materials for the knowledge
management infrastructure. The leader also assure that there are different value networks which
supports the learning and development. It is also important that business organization stimulates
creativity and increase the insight in the learning organizations (Marquardt, 2011). It is also
important to implement planned learning process in which there is development of strategy,
structure, system and procedure for the learning process. The planning of the learning process
should be dependent upon gathering data and information from monitoring, review and other
forms of evaluation. The learning process

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The ability of the leaders to effectively communicate is important in establishing learning
procedure within the organization. It is important to clearly identify the purpose of the
communication for implementing the training program. The leaders should also focus on long-
term goals of the business organizations. There should be able to invest time and take practical
decisions regarding the leaders of the business organizations. The most significant challenge for
the business leaders is the cost and the competition associated with the implementation of the
training and development within the organization. However, it is important to understand, that
the return will not be immediate; but will be achieved over the time (Baldomir, 2009).
The Role of Learning Organizations in enhancing the
Transfer of Training
In the present times, training has become the essential tool for the organizations to identify the
demand, developing the core competency and enhancing the skills of the employees in increasing
the productivity of the organization. There is a strong positive impact of the training on the
organization’s achievement of goals; however, the training process is costly for the
organizations. Therefore, it is important to identify the relation between the design and the
evaluation of training programs and effectiveness of the training process (Wang, 2012).
The training and development are important in a business organization which aims to
progress and attain competitive advantage. The training and development focuses on thinking
creatively and managing people in a strategic manner. It is also essential in learning organization
to eradicate the weaknesses of the employees, improving the performance of the employees,

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increasing the consistency in the performance of the employees, ensuring that the workers are
satisfied with the growth of the employees and there is opportunity for them to grow with the
organization. The training also enhances the quality of services or the product quality provided to
the customers, reduces the overall operations cost and reduces the requirement of the supervision
(Prescott, 2016).
In learning organizations, there are several objectives to implement training and development
such as it optimizes the human resources, increases the productivity of organization, and creates
a better corporate image, increase the team spirit and collaboration between different team
members.
There are several phases in the implementation of training and development program in the
business organizations. Firstly, it is important to identify the training and development needs in a
business organization. It should be discussed with all the staff members of the organization. It is
important to provide regular and periodic training to the employees for their comprehensive
development. It is also important to establish internal training and development sessions for the
staff members. It is important that the training is available for all the campus and sites of the
organizations and for different occupational groups. It is also important to monitor ongoing
program of courses for staff members and other employees so that the training needs can be
identified in a proper manner (Fawzy, 2013).
The organization should sponsor external training and development programs so that the
employees can learn new skills. The investment in training and development is necessary as the
training is crucial in the enhancing the performance of the business organizations. The high

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performing organizations use training to increase the competitive advantage of the organization.
The training is essential in growing the value and the potential of employees. There should be
clear link between the design of the training program and the performance of the companies. The
quality and the level of the employee training also influence the brand image of the business
organization. The career progression and the development is an attractive option for attracting
the employees. There are several objectives of the training and development program which
leads to organization development. It enhances productivity, effectiveness and increase the
efficiency of the organization.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that in the present times, it is important to develop business organizations
which strive to learn. Today, knowledge is the major asset in the business world; therefore, it is
important that the business organizations develop as learning organizations. There are several
characteristics of the learning organizations such as it constantly thrive for knowledge and the
employees are given an open environment to constantly innovate. The leaders play a crucial role
in the development of the learning organizations. They should be able to motivate and encourage
employees to learn in the organization. Other than that, the training and development is also
essential in the overall development of the learning organizations.

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References
Antal, A.B., Meusburger, P., & Suarsana, L. (2013). Learning Organizations: Extending the
Field. Springer Science & Business Media.
Baldomir, J. (2009). Leading in the Learning Organization. Leadership Advance Online, issue 17
retrieved 18 November, 2017,
http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/lao/issue_17/LAO_IssXVII_Baldomir.pdf
Fawzy, S. (2013). Learning Models for Innovation in Organizations: Examining Roles of
Knowledge Transfer and Human Resources Management: Examining Roles of Knowledge
Transfer and Human Resources Management. IGI Global.
Garvin, D.A., Edmondson, A.C., & Gino, F. (2008). Is Yours a Learning Organization? Harvard
Business Review. Retrieved 18 November 20178 from https://hbr.org/2008/03/is-yours-a-
learning-organization
Lytras, D.M. et al. (2010). Knowledge Management, Information Systems, E-Learning, and
Sustainability Research: Third World Summit on the Knowledge Society, WSKS 2010, Corfu,
Greece, September 22-24, 2010, Proceedings, Part 1. Springer Science & Business Media.
Marquardt, M.J. (2011). Building the Learning Organization: Mastering the Five Elements for
Corporate Learning. Hachette UK.

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Nobre, F.S. (2011). Technological, Managerial and Organizational Core Competencies:
Dynamic Innovation and Sustainable Development: Dynamic Innovation and Sustainable
Development. IGI Global.
Ortenblad, A. (2013). Handbook of Research on the Learning Organization: Adaptation and
Context. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Prescott, J. (2016). Handbook of Research on Race, Gender, and the Fight for Equality. IGI
Global.
Renesch, J., & Chawla, S. (2006). Learning Organizations: Developing Cultures for Tomorrow's
Workplace. CRC Press.
Wang, V. (2012). Technology and Its Impact on Educational Leadership: Innovation and
Change: Innovation and Change. IGI Global.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2017). Conferences as Sites of Learning and Development: Using
Participatory Action Learning and Action Research Approaches. Taylor & Francis.