Comprehensive Essay: Organization Learning and Change Strategies

This essay delves into the critical aspects of organizational learning and change, emphasizing its role in fostering growth, competitive advantages, and the achievement of organizational goals. It defines organizational learning as a dynamic process of acquiring and implementing changes across all levels, highlighting the importance of adapting to maintain long-term success. The essay identifies key elements of organizational learning, including improving capabilities and incorporating new changes, and explores the barriers such as resistance to change, lack of leadership, short-term focus, and lack of value for organizational learning. It uses Woolworths as a case study, examining the challenges they face and the strategies they can implement to overcome these barriers, such as providing innovative learning methods, implementing effective leadership, offering rewards, and conducting regular meetings. The conclusion underscores the importance of continuous learning and adaptation for organizational success.

Running Head: Organization learning and change
0
Organization learning and change
Student Name
Date

Essay on organization learning and change
1
Organization learning and change is an important element for every organization
because it helps the organization in increasing growth, gaining competitive advantages and
achieving overall goals and objectives of the organization. It is an approach which is based on
dynamic values to change in organizations, individuals and local communities. Its aim is to
transferring learning and change in human resource or system of the organization.
Organizational changes refer as any changes within the organization which create benefit to
the organization and it also help the organization to continuously success in long run and
achieve organization future goals and objectives. Organizational learning refers as a process
of acquiring and implementing changes within the organization by every member of the
organization. So, it helps the organization in achieving the overall goals and objectives of the
organization (Langer, 2017). There are various elements of organization learning which helps
the organization in increasing their growth in future and gain competitive advantages such as
it helps in improving capabilities of organization as well as its members for further learning.
It also includes three subsystems. First subsystem includes acquisition of new changes and its
analysis, second subsystem includes retaining new changes within the organization and the
third subsystem includes usage and stabilization of newly implemented changes in day to day
operation of the organization. Organizational learning and change focus on how organization
can implement changes in the organization which is essential for increasing growth of the
organization in long run, how members of the organization can acquired such changes within
the organization and how to maintain effective culture and structure as per the employees of
the organization (Promes, 2016).
There are various barriers to the organization learning in every organization such as
resistance to change, lack of direct leadership within the organization, focus of the
organization on individual as they does not focus on team success, short term focus, lack of
value for organizational learning and too much control on the members of the organization by
their employees (Campbell, 2013). Resistance to change is a common barrier to the
organization learning which are facing by every organization. Existing member of the
organization are familiar with existing culture and structure of the organization, so they do
not want to adopt new changes in the culture and structure of the organization and do not
understand the needs of such changes for the benefits of the organization. Every organization
is facing challenges to organizational learning as Woolworths are also facing the above
barriers to organization learning in their organization. Woolworths is an Australian company
which is engaged in retailing and the second largest company in Australia on the basis of

Essay on organization learning and change
2
revenue and founded in 1924 in Sydney. It has many products such as food, liquor, petrol,
general merchandise, home improvement and hotels. Woolworth’s employees are more than
2015000 and more than 3000 stores in Australia and New Zealand. Its competitors are The
Best Things, Avenue and ASMC Industrial (About US, 2019). Woolworths implement
various changes in the organization such as 3 year strategy which will help the organization
in becoming customer centric organization. For this they implement lean retail model in their
organization for improving satisfaction level of customers. So, mostly people resist to
implement such changes in their organization because they are familiar with existing
structure or system of the organization, so organization are facing such issues while
implementing the above changes within the organization for the benefits of the organization
(Cameron, 2015). Lack of direct leadership is another barrier to the organizational learning.
Effective leadership play an important role in adopting changes which create value to the
organization by the members of the organization. But, there is no direct leadership in the
organization, so that, they do not able to communicate the benefits of changes to their
employees and encourage them while implementing changes in the organization. Effective
leadership or direct leadership help the organization in leading, supporting, motivating,
guiding and helping the members of the organization related to any changes in the
organization for the benefits of the organization, increasing performance and productivity of
the organization as compare to its competitors, increasing revenue and growth of the
organization and achieving overall goals and objectives of the organization. Woolworths does
not follow direct leadership as there are many employees, so there is no possibility of leading
every member directly about their organizational changes (Smith & Lyles, 2011).
Focus of the organization for short term period is also barrier to the organization
learning which are facing by every organization while implementation of changes within the
organization because organization does not focus on any changes in the organization for long
term benefits of the organization as they only focus on short term benefits for adoption of any
change in the organization. Organization focuses on the individual success as they do not
focus on the team success while implementation of changes in the organization, so it is also
another barriers to the organization learning. Teamwork is an important element while
implementing any changes in the organization and while communicating how to acquire such
changes and what are the benefits of changes for the organization in future. When there is
team unity and focus on the success of whole team then only organizational learning will be
successful (Longenecker, 2010). Fifth barrier to the organization learning in the organization

Essay on organization learning and change
3
is lack of value for the organization learning. When employee does not understand the value
of changes for the benefits of the organization, so it will affects the organizational learning
and difficulties for the organization in adopting changes within the organization (Smith &
Saxton, 2011).
There are also various strategies which can be implemented by the organization to
improve their organizational learning. First strategy to improve organization learning is to
provide learning to their employees in innovative ways. Manager has to able to communicate
organizational changes to their employees in a proper way, so that they can understand or
learn such changes and need of the changes for the benefits of the organization. They can
made one minute daily video for their employees which shows to them how to implement
changes. They can also send weekly emails to their employees for motivating and
encouraging them for their performance towards the organization. So, this strategy help the
organization to improve their learning for their employees while implementation of changes
in their organization (Kenney, 2017). Second strategy to improve organizational learning is to
implement direct as well as effective leadership within the organization. Organization can
organize communication sessions, face to face communication, create effective culture and
try to solve conflicts and issues of their employees in a best possible manner, so it will help
the organization to encourage their employees for acquiring new system and structure in the
organization (Hasson, Schwarz, Holmstrom, Murray, & Tafvelin, 2016). Third strategy to
improve learning of the organization is to provide rewards and recognition to their employees
for learning, so it can be adopted by the organization while implementation changes in their
organization. When organization acquired new system or structure in their organization for
increasing growth in long run and achieving overall goals and objectives of the organization,
then organization has to give rewards to their employees in various ways for their learning
related to changes in the organization. So, this strategy helps the organization in encouraging
and motivating to their employees to implement present as well as future changes for the
benefit of the organization and it also helps to their employees in increasing their
performance and productivity towards the organization and development of new capabilities
and experience (Wen, 2014). Forth strategy to improve organization learning is to conduct
regular meeting between manager and their employees regarding how to implement changes
in their organization and at what extent these changes help the organization in achieving their
overall goals and objectives. Manager should measure the performance of each employee and
then by conducting meeting they have to give feedback about their performance and area of

Essay on organization learning and change
4
improvement, so it will help the organization to improve learning of organization as well as
their employees (Weldy, 2009).
Hence, organization learning and change is an essential element for every
organization for increasing growth in long run, increasing performance and productivity than
its competitors and achieving the overall goals and objectives of the organization.
Organizational change refers as any changes in the culture, structure and system of the
organization for their benefits for the long period of time. Organizational learning refers as a
process of how to implement changes in the organization. It helps the organization to
communicate effectively to their employees about the changes and its benefits to the
organization and for the growth of the organization. But there are also various barriers to the
organization which are facing by the organization while implementing changes in their
organization such as resistance to change, lack of direct leadership within the organization,
focus of the organization on individual as they does not focus on team success, short term
focus, lack of value for organizational learning and too much control on the members of the
organization by their employees. Woolworths are also facing the above change when they
acquired new system in their organization for increasing their growth than its competitors and
increasing value among the large number of the customers. So, due to the above barriers
Woolworths and many other companies faces various challenges which effect in reducing
their performance and productivity and difficulties while implementing various changes
within the organization. Organization can improve their learning and overcome the above
barriers to the organizational learning by adopting various strategies in their organization
such as focus on creating direct as well as effective leadership, providing rewards and
recognition to their employees for learning, provide learning to their employees in innovative
ways, conducting regular meeting and training and development programs for the benefits of
the organization as well as their employees.

Essay on organization learning and change
5
References
About US. (2019). Retrieved April 30, 2019, from Woolworths Group:
https://www.woolworthgroup.com.au/page/about-us
Cameron, N. (2015). Woolworths details 3-year strategy to become customer centric.
Retrieved April 30, 2019, from CMO:
https://www.cmo.com.au/article/574302/woolworths-details-3-year-strategy-become-
customer-centric/
Campbell, T. (2013). A longitudinal study of individual and organisational learning. The
Learning Organization, 20(3), 240-258.
Hasson, H., Schwarz, U., Holmstrom, S., Murray, M., & Tafvelin, S. (2016). Improving
organizational learning through leadership training. Journal of Workplace Learning,
28(3), 115-129.
Kenney, M. (2017). Organizational Learning in the Global Context. United Kingdom:
Routledge.
Langer, A. (2017). Information Technology and Organizational Learning: Managing
Behavioral Change in the Digital Age. United State of America: CRC Press.
Longenecker, C. (2010). Barriers to managerial learning: lessons for rapidly changing
organizations. Development and Learning in Organizations: An International
Journal, 24(5), 8-11.
Promes, M. (2016). Change Management and Organizational Learning in a New Working
Environment. Europe: Herbert Utz Verlag.
Smith, K., & Saxton, A. (2011). The Challenge of Organizational Learning. Stanford Social
Innovation Review Summer, 44-49.
Smith, M., & Lyles, M. (2011). Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge
Management. New York: Wiley Publications.
Weldy, T. (2009). Learning organization and transfer: strategies for improving performance.
The Learning Organization, 16(1), 58-68.

Essay on organization learning and change
6
Wen, H. (2014). The nature, characteristics and ten strategies of learning organization.
International Journal of Educational Management, 28(3), 289-298.