The Learning Organization Lean Executive Series

2 Lean and The Learning Organization people The foundation of the Lean model requires stability of people within our systems to Adapt Drive Support the changes that tools and techniques will bring JIT Right Part Right Quantity Right Time Smoothing Leveling Continuous Flow Pull system SMED Takt Time Logistics Lean Tools Build in Quality Six Sigma Visual Controls Mistake Proofing TPM Just workplace 5 Why’s Company Stability Continuous Improvement Customer Satisfaction Best Quality-Lowest Cost-Shortest Lead Time-relationship Employee Satisfaction Meaningfulness-Belonging-Awareness-Responsibility-Control Commitment-Situational Awareness-Training-Empowerment-Trust

3 Lean Lean Operations Management: Understanding People Lean… creates value for customers (internal and external) respects, involves, and serves its people values learning and sharing learning focuses on improving its people identifies and solves problems, using everyone effectively and efficiently produces and sells goods and services to exact customer demand Stability with Flexibility Customer focus, people focus, process focus Learning Organization Focus

4 Why a Learning Organization? communities of learning Organizations of the future will not survive without becoming communities of learning. It is absolutely essential for organizations to learn from their environments, to continually adjust to new and changing data, and, just as is the case with the individual, to learn how to learn from an uncertain and unpredictable future. Companies that do not become Learning Organizations will soon go the way of the dinosaurs, unable to adjust to the changing environment around them. The Learning Organization is no academic fad or consultant's buzzword.

5 Characteristics Empowers people within and outside the company to learn as they work and utilize technology to optimize both learning and productivity. People have continuous access to information and data resources that are important to the company's success. Employees recognize the official importance of ongoing organization wide learning for the organization's current and future success. Everyone is driven by a desire for quality and continuous improvement. A corporate climate exists that encourages, rewards, and accelerates individual and group learning. There are well-developed core competencies that serve as taking-off points for new products and services. The People

6 Characteristics Learning is a continuous, strategically used process, integrated with and running parallel to work. Learning is performance-based (tied to business objectives). Learning is part of work, a part of everybody's job description. Change is embraced, and unexpected surprises and even failures are viewed as opportunities to learn. The organization is agile and flexible. The organization possesses the ability to continuously adapt, renew, and revitalize itself in response to the changing environment. Systems thinking is fundamental. The Organization

7 Characteristics Organizational learning does not refer to training events such as classes, workshops, and seminars. structured instructor-directedbased on new information from an expert. We automatically think that attending a workshop, reading professional material, listening to or watching taped presentations, or participating in a computer-based program will produce workplace learning. This notion stems from an old paradigm of instruction that learning must be structured and instructor-directed and be based on new information from an expert. This way of thinking denies all of the various ways in which people actually learn in the workplace. In fact, employees learn most of what they need to know from co-workers, on the job. Is this statement correct? “Flextronics is a learning organization. We have Flex U to support global learning. We continually send and enroll employees in training activities.”

8 Characteristics 1.Productivity 2.Workplace 3.Predictability 4.Training and Staff development 5.Worker 6.Supervisor/manager 7.Engagement/activity 1.Performance 2.Learning Environment 3.Systems and patterns 4.Self-directed learning 5.Continuous learner 6.Coach and learner 7.Learning opportunity Traditional Focus Learning Organization Focus Paradigm Shifts As a result of these paradigm shifts, there must be a whole new mind-set and way of seeing organizations and the interplay between work and learning. Learning must take place as an ongoing by-product of people doing their work, in contrast to the traditional approach of acquiring knowledge before performing a particular task or job.

9 Systems-Linked Learning Organization Learning Organization Technology People Knowledge Systems-linked Learning Organization is made up of 5 closely interrelated subsystem - learning, organization, people, knowledge, and technology. All five are necessary to sustain viable, ongoing organizational learning and ensuing corporate success. vision, culture, strategy, and structure managers, employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, and the surrounding community manage the acquired and generated knowledge of the organization technological networks and information tools

10 The People Subsystem The people subsystem of the Learning Organization includes employees, managers/leaders, customers, business partners (suppliers, vendors, and subcontractors), and the community itself. People Managers Community Partners Customers Employees Each of these elements is valuable to the Learning Organization, and all need to be empowered and enabled to learn.

11 The People Subsystem Managers/Leaders As learners, managers and leaders carry out coaching, mentoring, and modeling roles with a primary responsibility of generating and enhancing learning opportunities for people around them. In addition to managing people, they should become proficient at managing knowledge. Finally, leaders should become champions of learning projects and programs. Employees As learners, employees are empowered and expected to learn, plan for their future competencies, take action and risks, and take the initiative to solve problems. In Learning Organizations, they should be treated as mature adult learners and given authority and responsibility according to their learning capacities.

12 The People Subsystem Customers Customers can be a valuable source of information and ideas. They should be closely linked into the learning system and strategy of the organization. When possible, they should be offered training so as to become wiser customers and better able to advise relative to their future expectations from the company. Partners As learners, business partners, including suppliers, can receive and contribute to instructional programs. They can also benefit by sharing competencies and knowledge with the organization. Learning from and with suppliers, and other partners should be a regular strategy of Learning Organizations.

13 The People Subsystem The Community The community includes social, educational, and economic agencies that can share in providing and receiving learning. Involving the potential diversity of all these groups enhances product and service development. People Partner Community Customers Employees Managers

14 Training vs. Learning Some of the significant contrasts between training and learning are: TrainingLearning From the outside in, done by othersFrom the inside out, learner motivated Assumes relative stabilityAssumes continuous change Focuses on knowledge, skills, and job performance Focuses on values, attitudes, innovation, and outcomes Appropriate for developing basic competencies Helps organizations and individuals learn how to learn and create solutions Emphasizes improvementEmphasizes breakthrough Not necessarily linked to organization’s mission and strategies Directly aligned with organization’s vision and requirements for success Structured learning experiences with short-term focus Formal and informal, long-term orientated, learner initiated

15 Levels of Learning Individual Learning Organizations learn only through individuals who learn Individual learning occurs as each employee acquires knowledge, develops skills, and adopts attitudes and beliefs that will help the organization succeed It prepares employees for the inevitable changes that will occur in the organization, and creates greater self-awareness. Team Learning Team learning occurs as the members of a group discover together how best to contribute to the performance of the group as a whole. Team members learn from and about each other, they learn how to work effectively as a group, and they learn how to apply that knowledge achieve the team objectives Whole Organization Learning Whole-organization learning refers to the "... ongoing processes and integrated systems that facilitate individuals' and teams' ability to learn, grow, and change as a result of organizational experiences". This occurs when managers eliminate boundaries that prevent the free flow of information across the organization—"the boundary-less organization."