Answer to Question #172024 in Management for Victor Campbell

Question

What are the characteristics of a learning organization?

Answer 1

A learning organization is an institution that promotes continuous training of its employees to ensure that it transforms itself progressively. It changes its behaviors and mindset as a result of experience to adapt to a changing environment.

The main features that distinguish a learning organization include; System thinking, personal mastery, mental models, a shared vision, and team learning. System thinking is a framework which allows people to study businesses in terms of bounded objects, and it is useful when measuring the performance of the organization wholly and its various components. Personal mastery entails individual learning, which in turn encourages organizational or group learning. Employees continually deepen their personal vision and objectively focus their energies on realistic goals. Mental models are assumptions that influence the way people understand the world. A shared vision is an organizational objective for the future and it is actualized through motivating employees to learn to create a common focus. It builds through individual visions of the employees. Team learning is an outcome of individuals shared efforts to learn in order to grow and increase their problem-solving capacities through better access to knowledge and expertise. A learning organization builds structures that promote openness and sharing.

In conclusion, a learning organization is always innovative and competitive as it is better placed to mitigate external pressures. Furthermore, it is able to gather the necessary knowledge to address customer requirements. The corporate image of the learning organization is people oriented.