SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t Mike Pedler John Burgoyne Tom Boydell

SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t Definition: A learning company is an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transform itself. Learning Organization Vs. Learning Company Organization: mechanical sort of word, somewhat abstract and lifeless Company:one of the oldest words for a group of people engaged in a joint enterprise, collective endeavor and not to identify to a particular legal form or ownership pattern

Who are our companions? Employees, owners, customers, suppliers, neighbors, the environment and even competitors Action in the Learning Company, two purposes: ----To resolve the immediate problem ----To learn from that process How do companies come to be the way they are? Three perspectives: ---- Ideas: companies are a product of the visions and images that their founders sought to create, and succeeding generations try to recreate Life stage: companies need to be of a form and behavior appropriate to its age or stage Era: companies are shaped by, and fit in with, the economic and cultural context. SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

Primal Phase: The Pioneer Organization ----characterized by excellence and winning Rational Phase: The Differentiated Organization ----characterized by order, structure, systematic specialization, shake-up, improvement communication and/or self development Developmental Phase: The Integrated Organization ----typically TQM (by Deming), characterized by unity, systematic meaning, purpose, ethics, cooperating, morality, ecology. SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

P1P1 P2P2 P3P3 P4P4 S1S1 S 21 S3S3 S4S4 Lack of skilled workers Alienation, anger, no transfer of learning, training bureaucracies Not getting the organization any- where, too many changes What about morality and spirituality in organization? S 23 S 22 Self- development action-learning Excellence Systematic training Organization Development Organizational Transformation the Learning Company, TQM From systematic training to the Learning Company SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t 1 Learning approach to Strategy 2 Participative policy making 3 Informating 4 Formative accounting & control 5 Internal exchange 6 Reward flexibility 7 Enabling structures 8 Boundary workers as environmental scanners 9 Inter-company learning 10 Learning climate 11 Self-development for all STRATEGY LOOKING IN STRUCTURES LOOKING OUT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY THE LEARNING COMPANY

Learning approach to Strategy Participative policy making Informating Formative accounting & control Internal exchange Reward flexibility Enabling structures Boundary scanners Inter-company learning Learning climate Self-development for all STRATEGYLOOKING IN LOOKING OUT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY THE LEARNING COMPANY SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

Step 1: Small group of people that should be the whole company, could be the board of directors, could be a group representing all the main parts of the company. Step 2: Each member to consider where they think the company is now as figure 1 and to put a master chart on the wall and ask each to put a cross on the line that expresses the view. Step 3: Checking on your own interpretation of where the company is now and establishing some consensus on the question of where you are on the lifeline. Step 4: Focusing on the past and considering some of the events and decisions that have made the company what it is today. Step 5: Using ‘U curve’ method underlying the activities in the company biography activity, in the curve, the diagnosis of present state is dealt with Learning Company Profile. Step 6 : Moving down to the future-focused right-hand side of the U-curve, starting with abstract ideas and visions and ending with the first step. SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

The infant company The pioneer company The rational company The established company The wilderness company The transforming company The dying company Figure The Life Stages of A Company SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

Events Diagnosis: how do we wish to change? Phases Themes Visions and intentions Strategies, options and alternatives First steps Past: analysis Present: diagnosis Future: direction Figure The U curve of company biography SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t

Work with the board of directors Work out from the human resources department A joint union and management initiative Set up a series of task forces Run a consciousness-raising development programme Work with the strategic planning cycle Begin with diagnosis Start with a community conference or teach in Start with one department Major on one of the key dimensions (e.g. informating ideas, technology and software through organization) SM WEI Jiang School of Managem’t