Management Peer Responses: Learning vs Traditional Organizations

Please provide a peer response for questions.

All responses should provide source work from at least one (1) to two (2) sources to support your views and responses. The peer responses should clearly state your reason for agreeing or disagreeing with the post in a professional manner.

Peer Response #2:

1. In the first article by Alan Webber, Judy Rosenblum states that learning is strategic choice that requires certain actions and attitudes. Describe some of those actions and attitudes and explain how these (actions and Attitudes) are treated differently in a learning organization. For example what is the "new" army doing differently?

Judy Rosenblum outlined 10 lessons required for potential learning organizations. Within the article she outlines that in a true learning organization, learning is not only embraced but driven and adopted within the organizational framework. An example in the article is the new attitude of the Army. When conducting after-action reviews on a war game the focus is on what was learned and how to keep doing better. This questioning allows for future successes driven by factual data versus simply doing what has worked since it worked last time. Many organizations simply don't want to take the time involved in the learning process. Instead of taking the time to analyze why something worked and learn from it, organizations simply forge on (Webber, 2000).

Additionally, Rosenblum described how leaders, by their very nature, can interfere with the learning process. Many leaders feel the best way to manage is to control and direct people in what they need to do. This inhibits the entire learning process. A learning organization recognizes the need to educate and empower the employees. One way to accomplish this is by providing "corridors" for learning. Rosenblum describes these "corridors" as the fundamental guidance for employees which includes the organization's mission, vision, and core strategies. These "corridors" provide employees a framework to work between. Empowered employees can then accomplish their mission within the provided established parameters.
Furthermore, Rosenblum outlines that companies must decide whether the learning focus is on bettering the employees and the organization and allowing room for growth or simply a business strategy to retain employees. A learning organization will clearly establish why learning is essential and capitalize on those reasons.

In order to really embrace a learning culture the company must learn to ask and answer the question "why?". Why is what we're doing not working and, if it's not working, why is it not working? Many companies simply don't take the time to question their processes in this manner. A true learning organization will take the time and ask "why?". Ultimately, in a learning organization, learning is seen as "a marathon, not a sprint" (Webber, 2000). Ultimately, the learning organization recognizes that learning must be achieved on a continual basis and be something that is ingrained within the company framework not something that is set as a goal to achieve every now and then.

2. Compare and describe the perception and treatment of learning in a learning organization with those in a traditional organization.

In a traditional organization training occurs versus learning. Learning requires employees to utilize their knowledge and skills to make decisions. Many leaders are torn between providing control and direction or empowering people. It's often much easier to simply tell employees what to do, and often employees expect to be provided that direction. In a learning organization, employees are provided "corridors" for learning. The company explicitly educates employees on the company mission, core strategies, core competencies, vision, etc... so the employees know in what direction the company is headed. The employees then know within what parameters they are working and are empowered to complete their jobs. Oftentimes, in a traditional organization, the organization simply dictates what tasks and jobs are to be performed and the employees act accordingly. A learning organization recognizes that true learning requires a commitment of time and effort and must be continual while a traditional organization views learning as more of a "training process".

3. In the second article, Marcus Buckingham uses the term "marriage" in his mission statement. How is work like a marriage?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines marriage as "the state of being united to a person" ("Marriage," 2011). Being a married person, I would say a marriage is more about a partnership between two people that requires communication, teamwork and problem solving skills. Thus, work is like a marriage in that all working relationships, to be effective, must involve some form of communication, teamwork and problem solving skills.

4. In relation to the three categories of people in the working population, why aren't more of them "engaged"?

According to Marcus Buckingham, "The U.S. working population is 26% engaged, 55% not engaged, and 19% actively disengaged" (LaBarre, 2001). While this number may appear startling, most CEOs don't realize the number of non-engaged employees within their companies, nor do they realize even which work sections are non-engaged. This lack of truly knowing the pulse of the workplace contributes to the lack of engagement on the part of the employees. Additionally, CEOs should attempt to capitalize on the strengths of their employees versus trying to change them. This will aid in keeping employees involved and engaged in the work environment. Furthermore, recognizing that employees at all levels are important and have something to offer the company in terms of creativity, leadership and performance can motivate employees to become and remain engaged (LaBarre, 2001).

5. In your opinion, why do managers often "play by different rules"?

In my opinion, managers play by different rules simply because they are "allowed" to. Sometimes I believe it is an "I'm superior to you" attitude that allows such behavior to happen which is then reinforced by upper management by them "turning a blind eye" to it.

I witnessed much the same thing throughout my Air Force career. An infraction by a junior ranking person (usually enlisted) was swiftly and harshly punished while the same infraction by a senior ranking person (enlisted or especially officer) was handled in a quieter and gentler manner. It is an irony of sorts that those with more prestige and power are allowed greater transgressions when in reality it should be the other way around. Aren't those in higher power positions supposed to be role models and shouldn't they thus be more severely "punished"?

SOURCES:

Babcock, P. (2004, Jnuary). Is your company two-faced? when corporate words and deeds don't match, employers may undermine the culture they've worked so hard to develop - cover story. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_1_49/ai_112799811/
LaBarre, P. (2001, July 31). Marcus buckingham thinks your boss has an attitude problem . Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/49/buckingham.html?page=0%2C1
Marriage. (2011). Merriam-webster. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marriage
Webber, A.M. (2000, September 30). Will companies ever learn?. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/39/rosenblum.html?page=0%2C3.