Analysing Organisational Learning and Learning Organisation: A Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of the differences between organisational learning and a learning organisation, highlighting that organisational learning focuses on knowledge gained from experience, while a learning organisation emphasizes workforce capabilities and continuous development. It explores how organisational learning is a process driven by experience and knowledge, whereas a learning organisation is a structured environment promoting ongoing training and skill enhancement. The report further discusses the importance of organisational learning and development in adapting to changing business environments, improving performance, and fostering innovation. It also touches upon the types of knowledge within an organisation, including individual and group learning, and the steps an organisation can take to promote continuous learning and knowledge sharing among employees to ensure long-term success and competitive advantage.

Learning and
development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Difference between organisational learning and learning organisation.......................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Learning and development is very important and is the responsibility of HR of the
company. It is usually undertake by human resource department. It is the practice which is used
by business to bring professional development into their workforce. Learning and development
can be done by training courses, development activities, development programs etc. leaders
should give opportunities to their team members which will help them in learning new skills.
Skills which is learnt by employees stays with them every time (Starbuck, 2017). With the help
of skilled team members company can also take competitive advantage. Researchers has proved
that professional development is more important as compare to financial rewards at workplace.
As for all employees money does not matter more but their development and growth matters a
lot. This report will discuss difference between organisational learning and learning organisation.
Further will analyse importance of organisational learning and development and learning
development models.
MAIN BODY
Difference between organisational learning and learning organisation
The major difference between organisational learning and learning organisation is
organisational learning concentrate one the learning which gets from knowledge and experience
which is collected from daily activities while learning organisation concentrate on such learnings
which is based on capabilities of the workforce (Difference Between Organizational Learning
and Learning Organization., 2019). It helps employees to enhance their competencies. So that is
why organisational learning is the process and learning organisation is said to as structure.
Organisation brings multiple methods so that performance can be improved. But organisation
also have to face many difficulties like competition, organisational change which can impact
performance of organisation.
So that is why the two concepts organisational learning and learning organisation is made to
improve business performance. In organisational learning which is the process in which
employees handle the situation on the basis of experience and knowledge which they have. But if
we talk about learning organisation then it is the organisation structure where employees have to
develop them continuously so that there capabilities can be improved and they get knowledge

and skills to handle difficult business situations. So this can be said as the main difference
between both of them.
Other difference between both of them are organisational learning focuses on the results and
achievements while learning organisation focuses on purposes and procedures. If talk further
then organisational learning focuses on making objectives and also achieving that objectives.
Whereas learning organisation is based on performance. Organisational learning checks that
objectives are set properly or not and also checks that these objectives are achieved or not so it
can be said that organisational learning is all about company's objectives. While learning
organisation look at the performance of workforce because if the performance of the employees
are good and efficient then only goals can be achieved. In organisational learning, learning of
employees happens with the business situation. And in learning organisation, learning takes
place through training and development which is organised by the company for their employees.
In organisational learning managers have no responsibility towards their subordinates whereas in
learning organisation they have to guide and train their subordinates. Organisational learning is
the learning which is based on corrections.
So that is why it is also called as reactive approach. It can be the learning which has developed
due to organisational change. With the change in organisation one can find solution for the
change and that also causes learning. There are four concepts in organisational learning which
are knowledge acquisition, organisational memory, information distribution and information
interpretation. In the learning behaviour pattern no changes can be found out. Political, economic
and social environment brings changes to the business and that results in uncertain situations in
the company. These situations can also badly affects business and also lead to various big losses.
So that is why in order to handle these situations there is the requirement for learning in the
organisation in different areas (Lenart-Gansiniec and Sułkowski, 2020). So organisational
learning is the capability of organisation in order to take vision and also build understanding
from experience via experimenting, analysis, observing and wish to check success and failure
both.
As it is said that organisational learning is gain from experiences so more experience will cause
more learning. While in learning organisation workforce improve their skills, built capacities and
competencies in the organisation via various aspects which includes knowledge sharing, building
capacity etc. learning organisation in the continuous process and under which employees are

given training so that they can build advanced skills. Training and development is very important
and organisation should given it to t5heir new as well as existing workforce. Existing employees
require training so that they can get advanced knowledge and skills which helps them to take
new challenges. As workers cannot always work by using old techniques or skills. Advanced
skills are used so that tasks can be finished fast and also to attain competitive advantages. This is
the performance oriented learning. They also focus on achieving goals and find out methods or
tools which can be helpful for identification, promoting and accessing quality of learning. As
learning is the ever going process so it should be of good quality. In learning organisation
managers also focus on developing their juniors or team. In order to make effective team,
managers or team leaders have to guide and provide training to their subordinates. Here
communication plays vital role so there should be effective communication between manager
and subordinates.
Communication should always to two way communication. It should be not like only manager is
speaking and subordinates are always listening. While they should have also given equal chance
to participate because when subordinate will speak then only they will tell about issues if they
are facing any. Developed employees will lead to developed organisation. In some of the
organisation manager give training to their subordinates in such a manner that they can become
their successor. So that in the contingency situation successor can handle managerial role. As to
handle the role of manager is not easy so manager should have provide and give understanding to
its efficient subordinates about the duties and responsibilities of managers and also how to carry
them. Learning organisation is the proactive approach (Chuah and Law, 2020).
It is the ability or capacity of the organisation to make improvement in their employees in
regards of knowledge and capabilities within the organisation so that company's performance can
be improved. As with the increasing competition organisation want to take competitive
advantages so if organisation want to beat competition then they have to improvise their
performance and provide innovative products and services to the customers in order to increase
their market share. Improving organisation performance refers to improving the performance of
those employees which is working in that organisation. Employees are very important part of the
company so if with the employee growth organisation's growth is also associated. Performance
of employees can be improved by providing knowledge and training to them.
Importance of organisational learning and development

organisational learning is the process of giving knowledge within the organisation. With
the help of experience business also gets improved with time. An individual or team or whole
organisation creating wide knowledge with time which guides business for the improvement
which should be brought in the business in order to improvise their performance (What Is
Organizational Learning (And Why Is It Important?)., 2020). Learning can also gain from
customers. Company can do survey and ask their customers to give feedbacks on their products
or services. By collecting opinions or various customers company can find out that where there is
the scope for improvement. Organisation can also bring changes in the process of running the
business.
organisational learning is very important, although company is organising training and
development but that is not enough. organisational learning is must if business want to survive
for the long time in the changing environment. Business environment will going to change very
fast because of evolving technology people have changed their way of operating. In today's
world everyone is dependent of digital and they require digital assist to complete their days to
day activities like shopping, cooking, driving, learning or communication with each other.
Communication is the element which is most affected by technology. As people don't have to
visit anywhere to do physical interaction because with the help of video calling they can
communicate with people face to face very easily. If business want to increase their market share
then have to accept new ways to do business.
Technology is not only changing ways of people to carry their business but technology itself is
regularly changing. For example social media, there was time when businesses doesn't require
online presence. After then with the changing environment business has created their own
website and also developed email address (Örtenblad, 2018). But with the arrival of social media
platforms like face-book, Instagram, twitter etc business require presence on them as well. When
business is presence on social media then it is important for them to share updates on regular
basis as by posting regularly with help in engaging customers. Company can also share their
stories or ask questions to their followers about their products or services. By taking feedbacks
from customers business will come to know that where there is area for improvement.
Companies not only posts about their new products or services but also give their opinions on
national issues by posting. As companies are considered as an influencer so their opinion
matters.

If organisation want to successfully adopt changing environment then learning of employees
should make as the continuous process. Learning can develop in the workforce by providing
them proper training. Organisation does not only focus on particular individual to learn new
skills but complete organisation needs to learn so that company can get long term success. There
are certain steps which can be taken by organisation in order to promote organisational learning.
Learning starts with creating or adopting information or knowledge. Managers should have give
information about customers, environment or business to their employees. Managers can extract
knowledge by conducting surveys, analysing market trends or reviewing their competitors. After
knowledge is gained then it is also important to retain such information.
So that is why managers should have stored information at such place where the employees can
get easy access. By using intranet information can be stored (Sifakis and Bayyurt, 2017). After
the information is stored at safe place then it should be transferred to individual and also to
complete organisation. Knowledge transferring also have various methods and some are very
easy like organising training or writing articles or blogs. At the time of change process, managers
or leaders can transfer their knowledge to entire organisation. organisational learning can
become comprehensive knowledge structure of the company. Employees in the organisation can
learn about new things from each other. Employees also share their knowledge within the
organisation and that can help company in their change practices. This can help business to
survive in changing environment.
Types of knowledge in the organisation which exists within are as follows:
individual learning:
This learning is the learning which takes place with only one individual. When an individual will
learn something new then it helps them in improving their performance and also enhances their
productivity. Organisation will get benefit from an individual learning when that person with
share their learning with their peers. Otherwise that skill will be limited to that person only and
organisation will not get benefit from that because if employee will switch the company then the
knowledge also shifts with them.
Group learning:
team members within the group can also learn new skills together (Aldabbus, 2018). When team
members together works in a team then they spend most of time together then they coordinate in

the effective manner that is why learning happens. In the group action taken by one member will
affect complete group.
Organisational learning:
it is the organisation process of gaining knowledge and also utilizing the knowledge so that
changing environment can be adopted easily. Company as a whole should also takes every
problem as an opportunity. As there are chances that by taking any opportunity company can
achieve success.
Learning development models:
The development approach:
This model is based on 70-20-10 approach.
70 percent: experience-
It means that almost 70% of learning an individual gets from their own experiences or job
learning like when they take challenging assignments, rotational assignments, special projects,
volunteer services etc. by taking challenging projects an individual build new skills which are
required to do such stretch assignments (Stiglitz, 2017). With the help of experience an
individual can get almost more than half of the knowledge. When employees takes challenging
projects then there learning enhances because they do research in doing challenging projects
which helps then in getting more knowledge. Those employees who deny taking tough projects
or assignments then there learning also restricted to certain limit. More learning takes place when
an individual does or take challenging things. One should move out of their comfort level in
order to gain more knowledge.
20 percent: engagement-
It means that almost 20% of learning in an individual happens through networking and
mentoring. Example formal networking, performance discussions or community procedures or
practices etc. when one employee communicate with other employee then they exchange
knowledge with each other and learning takes place. When employees talk with their peers than
also they gain knowledge which can be related to the organisation or something else as well.
When peers have a discussion with each other then they often have conversation about their
career and growth of their career in the organisation.
10 percent education-

it means that only 10% of the learning is gained from education like classroom training,
conferences, online training etc. there are several examples which involves self study, Books,
forums, e learning etc. so it can be said that with the help of books or other learning materials
which can be offline or online one can gain only limited knowledge (Vey and et.al., 2017). But in
layman life education is considered one of the most important way of getting information.
Conclusion
Through this report it can be concluded that organisational learning and learning
organisation is different and not the same. As organisational learning is all about learning which
takes place through experience or daily activities but learning organisation is the learning which
increases competencies of workforce. Organisational learning can be said as the process while
the other one is the structure. Although both works for improving the performance of the
organisation. Organisational learning is very important because business is operating in
competitive environment so in order to beat the competition learning is required. Technology and
digitalization has influencing business. So organisation have to adopted advanced technology
and digitalisation if they want to survive for longer time and also for sustainable development.
This report has also discussed learning development model which is the development approach
model.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Aldabbus, S., 2018. Project-based learning: Implementation & challenges. International Journal
of Education, Learning and Development. 6(3). pp.71-79.
Chuah, K.B. and Law, K.M., 2020. What Is Organizational Learning?. In Project Action
Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations (pp. 3-14). Springer,
Cham.
Lenart-Gansiniec, R. and Sułkowski, Ł., 2020. Organizational learning and value creation in
local governance: the mediating role of crowdsourcing. The Learning Organization.
Örtenblad, A., 2018. What does “learning organization” mean?. The Learning Organization.
Sifakis, N. and Bayyurt, Y., 2017. ELF-aware teaching, learning and teacher development.
In The Routledge handbook of English as a lingua franca (pp. 456-467). Routledge.
Starbuck, W.H., 2017. Organizational learning and unlearning. The Learning Organization.
Stiglitz, J.E., 2017. Industrial Policy, Learning and Development.
Vey, K. and et.al., 2017. Learning & Development in Times of Digital Transformation:
Facilitating a Culture of Change and Innovation. International Journal of Advanced
Corporate Learning. 10(1).
Online
Difference Between Organizational Learning and Learning Organization., 2019. [Online].
Available through: <https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-
organizational-learning-and-learning-organization/>
What Is Organizational Learning (And Why Is It Important?)., 2020. [Online]. Available
through: <https://www.zenefits.com/workest/what-is-organizational-learning/>