Chapter 5: Basic Organization Designs



Chapter 5: Basic Organization Designs

Section 5.3 - How Do You Create A Learning Organization?

Key Terms

• Learning organization

• Organization culture

Summary

The concept of learning organizations is a mind-set or philosophy that has significant design implementations. Learning organizations have developed the capacity to continuously adapt and change because all members take an active role identifying and resolving work-related issues – this is an organizations source of competitive advantage. Important characteristics revolve around organizational design, information sharing, leadership, and culture. It is critical for members to share information and collaborate on work activities throughout the entire organization.

Exhibit 5-11 reveals the characteristics of a learning organization.

1. Organizational design

a. Boundaryless

b. Teams

c. Empowerment

1. Information Sharing

a. Open

b. Timely

c. Accurate

2. Leadership

a. Shared vision

b. Collaboration

3. Organizational Culture

a. Strong mutual relationships

b. Sense of community

c. Caring

d. Trust

Teams and empowered employees tend to be important features of a learning organization’s structural design. Managers serve as facilitators, supporters, and advocates for employee teams. Information sharing and knowledge management become important components of learning organizations success. Leaders facilitate the creation of a shared corporate vision and keep organizational members working towards that vision through support and encouragement of the collaborative environment. The culture is one that everyone agrees on the shared vision and everyone recognizes the inherent interrelationships among the organization’s processes, activities, functions, and external environment. A strong sense of community, caring for each other and trust results.

An organization’s culture, or personality, is a system of shared meaning that dictates how each member should act toward fellow members and outsiders. In every organization stories, rituals, material symbols, and language have evolved over time.

An organization’s culture can be analyzed by using ten, relatively stable and permanent over time, characteristics:

1. Member identity

2. Group emphasis

3. People focus

4. Unit integrity

5. Control

6. Risk tolerance

7. Reward criteria

8. Conflict tolerance

9. Means-end orientation

10. Open-system focus

Culture can be substituted for the rules and regulations that formally guide the employees if the organization has a strong culture. The stronger the culture, the less the managers need to be concerned with developing formal rules or regulations.

Section Outline

How Do You Create a Learning Organization?

Organization Culture

A. What is an organization culture?

B. How can cultures be assessed?

C. Where does an organization’s culture com from?

D. How does culture influence structure?

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