Learning organizations refer to innovative organizations that strive to transform themselves from static organizations to learning organizations. Anything that does not work for these organizations is bound to be changed in a timely manner. In this article, learning organizations are flexible, people-centered, operated through supportive power with high participation at all levels. Decisions are treated as hypotheses and their system is open. Communication is multidirectional. Above all, employees’ energy is released rather than suppressed. Learning organizations are full of learning facilitators instead of knowledge dictators. Leaders in learning organizations serve as resource persons, linking employees to learning resources. Leaders in learning organizations reward their employees in a fair and open manner. Leaders in learning organizations are creative leaders that strive to release the energy of their employees. They understand that power they hold need to be delegated rather than reinforced through coercion. Coercion is a technique mostly used by leaders who do not believe in the Y assumptions of human beings. Creative leaders in learning organizations have faith in pent up energy of human beings. Therefore, they utilize a facilitative approach to their leadership styles.
Published in Chapter:
A Critical Review of Learning Organizations in the 21st Century
Copyright: © 2017
|Pages: 15
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1049-9.ch051
Abstract
With the forces of globalization, economic turbulence and persistent change bearing down on organizations, it is imperative to an organization's survival that it ‘stays ahead of the game'. Knowledge and the ability to learn faster than competitors is ultimately what will sustain the organization in the 21st century. In the present chapter, the authors critically analyse what it means to be a learning organization. An analysis of organizational components such as structure, atmosphere, management philosophy and attitudes, decision-making and policy-making, and communication is used to help distinguish learning organizations from static organizations. It is argued for an organization to be a learning, rather than static, organization, its leaders must be flexible and people-centered, and engage in the use of supportive power, involving high participation at all levels, and conducting multidirectional communication in order to turn static organizations into learning organizations.