Module 6 - Implement Change

Learning Organization

Peter Senge said in his book, 'The Fifth Discipline':

- What fundamentally will distinguish learning organizations from traditional authoritarian "controlling organizations" will be the mastery of certain basic disciplines.  That is why the "disciplines of the learning organization" are vital. -

And his 5 disciplines are:

I believe that for an organization to learn, that means that individuals will need to learn.  And we are lucky that the Government is encouraging and funding a Lifelong Learning environment in Singapore.

2 years ago, I left a company because the CEO keep giving excuses for not allowing me to take up a course which I strongly felt would enhance my work.  The CEO may have felt that there is no need for me to attend the course, because of cost, time or lack of staff.  I personally feel that he is short-sighted.  If he had let me take the course, I would have felt appreciated and stayed with the company longer.  The company would have benefited.  The company would be able to claim the cost paid for the course from Government funding.

Learning my lesson from the last job, I decided that I will work for company that encourages employees to upgrade.  Only in a learning organization will I grow and develop.

The first discipline for me to embrace will be the Personal Mastery. I must be able to clarify what is most important so as to achieve it. Holding my personal vision and focus on it to achieve my goal.

The second discipline will be Mental Modeling.  I am a reflective person, however only on occasion do I put down my reflective thoughts.  So will need to be more diligent in putting my reflections on paper:; vis a vis reflection in action and reflection on action..

The third discipline will be shared visioning. This is aligning my vision to the organization's vision, making it a common vision, thus shared. My objective will thus be aligned to the organization's objective.

The fourth discipline will be Team Learning. A team consists of different people coming together, thus the dynamic can be great.  As the saying goes, the whole is bigger than the sum total.  Learning together means shared knowledge and experience.

The fifth discipline is also the most important, Systems Thinking. Taking a step back and try to look from a bird's eye view will help me to be more objective and sort of looking at the big picture. 

I may be too optimistic, thinking that I will be able to find a company that will practice these 5 disciplines. Most companies are willing to encourage their employees learn, however they are also bonding them to the jobs. It is also difficult to align personal vision to that of the organization.

Final note, for a Learning Organization to overcome 7 learning disabilities that are commonly found in most companies, the 'weapons' to use are the 5 Disciplines. I believe overcoming these disabilities personally, the 5 Disciplines should be learnt and applied.
   

 5 Disciplines 

1. Personal Mastery
2. Shared Vision
3. Mental Modeling
4. Team Learning
5. Systems Thinking

  

 

7 Learning Disabilities

I am my Position The enemy is out there The illusion of taking charge The fixation on events The parable of the boiled frog The delusion of learning from experience The myth of the management team