Knowledge based organizations are the way forward, Knowledge is a vital resource created, developed and maintained by the people, once again this is an evident that people are the most valuable asset of an organization. Organizations are unique creations, with unique qualities, one of which is that they can be breeding grounds for knowledge generation and learning. However it is not an easy task to create an environment where knowledge is generated, developed and kept for individuals when they need it.
Knowledge Organizations
Knowledge based organizations are the way forward, Knowledge is a vital resource created, developed and maintained by the people, once again this is an evident that people are the most valuable asset of an organization. Organizations are unique creations, with unique qualities, one of which is that they can be breeding grounds for knowledge generation and learning. However it is not an easy task to create an environment where knowledge is generated, developed and kept for individuals when they need it.
Traditionally Organizations hired services of specialists to teach others the tasks, whereas the modern Organizations expect their employees to know how things are done and be able to replace others as on need basis. This replacement on need basis could only be achieved if the organization thrives on learning and where knowledge is shared, so that employees know how different jobs are affecting their designation and how they are related.
Individual Learning
Learning is a self-directed, work-based process leading to increased adaptive capacity’ (CIPD). Working and learning are interconnected, Observing employees at work, getting involved in daily activities, Customer Interactions, Working under the shadow of experienced staff, these all are key sources of learning at work. It is through activities and interaction employees generate knowledge and learn. Employee Involvement in the organizational processes is a key source for learning. Employee involvement and participation on one hand are vital in increasing employee commitment and motivation but also to improve employee learning.
However, not all employees will benefit from learning at work. Lack of resources (e.g. money, time and expertise) limit business to enable learning for all employees. Provision for learning is mainly made on the basis of employees’ social background, status at work, their relations with others and competencies; making it a biased process. Individual learning is drives from the needs, expectations and intentions of the individual. Learning could be enhanced placing new information on top of what is already known. values, beliefs, organizational rules, culture and style of management affect Employees’ approach to learning.
Capability plays a key role in Individual learning. Employees’ capability is their sustained ability to perform that implies existence of skills and knowledge necessary for work and readiness for personal growth and development. Thus capability requires attention to training and on-going learning.
Evidence suggests learning results from what employees believe are the most useful and appropriate skills, tasks, etc. to have. Need for learning is often revealed through management reviews and in the organization through the feedback process. Thus, arguably it is the individual employee who identifies the need to learn. However, without the support of management and the resources necessary to carry out learning, this will be an empty process. If management refuses to meet the learning needs of the individual, then the chances are low that resources will be allocated for learning needs.
So, from where does the learning stems out? There are two school of thoughts, some beleive that employer’s shall provide an environment for employees to develop their learning and contribute to the overall success of the organization. Whereas some say that it is individual’s responsibility to use the resources already available at work and learn to develop both him/herself and contribute to the success of the organization.
Organizational Learning
Individual learning and organizational learning are part of a cycle. What people learn has an impact on the organization. When employees learn and develop, organization itself also learns and develops. In a sense, organizations learn through their employees. Employees are taking an active role in identifying their own development needs in which they seeks information and knowledge.
For prosperity of both the Business and Individual organizations need to show signs of commitment to learning. Managers should be encouraged to be open and honest in their approach to employee feedback. They should be willing to accept failure or errors and reflect on and give constructive feedback to employees. Positive feedback is known to increase motivation because it increases individual self-esteem. Self-esteem is affected by recognition and feedback from managers. Employee Involvement could result in healthy solution to common business problems, it would not only help in finding effective problems but would also result in achieving employee satisfaction at workplace, although these are very difficult tasks to achieve as managers are under constant pressure to make quick and effective decisions and do not have time for reflection, discussion and feedback.
Organizational Learning
Employee Involvement could result in healthy solution to common business problems, it would not only help in finding effective problems but would also result in achieving employee satisfaction at workplace, although these are very difficult tasks to achieve as managers are under constant pressure to make quick and effective decisions and do not have time for reflection, discussion and feedback. Businesses need to learn to stay competitive and adopt the changes that are vital in the business environment. Learning and development are important factors in organizational success. Characteristics of organizational learning are often evident in organizational culture. An organization can be regarded as a learning organization if it:
- Provides on-going learning opportunities and effective feedback to its employees
- Provides learning opportunities for not just a group or the elite but all employees
- Has a structure that enables employees to take time off from their everyday responsibilities and use the learning opportunities
- Has a culture that encourages employees to be inquisitive, innovative and willing to learn
- Has managers that are aware of the importance of learning and development
- Allows learning and development to be embedded in organization’s strategy and the responsibility to plan, develop and deliver this strategy is given to HR
How and When Organizations Learn
The Question is off critical importance, we all know the learning is important but the million dollar questions HOW and WHEN does the organizations learn.
It is suggested that an organization learns if its departments have gained information and makes this information available for all the employees to be used on behalf of the organization. However, there is more to organizational learning then gaining and making information available for others. It also involves reflection and change. Reflection on What was learnt, How it was learnt, How it implemented, what could be done differently next time, all these questions form the part of reflection.
Organizations learn when the outcomes of past experiences change the way organizations perform and decisions for future actions are based on the reflection of the outcomes of past experiences. This process can be achieved at all levels of the organization. HR managers need to provide opportunities for employees to improve their knowledge, skills and expertise, but at the same time they have to find ways to retain employees and their knowledge. Working for life is no longer the norm and employees are likely to move around from organization to organization during their careers. Thus, HRM practices and the HR strategies have to be designed and delivered to keep employees and their knowledge in the organization.
It is important for the organization that with employees leaving the business the knowledge that they have in which the organization has invested heavily shall not go away, if this happens organization might fail to survive, as people provide an important competitive edge to the business with their knowledge and skills.
Individual knowledge should be widely available to others in organizational learning. HR managers need to communicate the importance of knowledge sharing across all levels of the organization. Without these efforts knowledge will remain as individual’s property and will not be collectively available. Thus if an individual leaves, his/her knowledge will also leave the organization. Individual knowledge can be kept in various ways; probably the most effective way is training.
Reference:
Chartered Institute and Personnel Development (CIPD)
Lehesvirta, T. (2004) Learning process in a work organisation: From individual to collective and/or vice versa. Journal of Workplace Learning, 16(1/2), pp. 92-100.
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