ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING CHANGE AND CONFLICT

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or a skill. Sharing knowledge is about creating learning processes.

Some classical theories:

Classical conditioning: A conditional stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Operant conditioning: Modifying behavior through the use positive or negative consequences.

Social learning theory: Explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental influences.

Goals settings is the process of establishing desired results that guide and direct behavior.

Know-how can be seen as an asset because it is seen as a source of differentiation and competitive advantage.

Learning organizations are “Places where people continually expand their capacities to create the results they truly desire” (Senge, 1994)

Some reasons for corporate failure are: Life-cycle decline, trapped by past success, inappropriate strategic biases and mental models and rigidity in response to crisis.

As competitive advantage organizations should have the capacity to collect new information and transfer into action.

Knowledge creation takes place when tacit knowledge is converted into explicit knowledge.

MANAGING CHANGE AND CONFLICT

Change is “The coping process of moving from the present state to a desired state that individuals, groups, organizations undertake in response to dynamic internal and external factors that alter current realities” (Kavita Singh, 2009). Change can be planned or unplanned.

The characteristics needed to succeed are: Adaptiveness, flexibility and responsiveness.

Incremental change is the change of a relatively small scope, such as making small improvements.

Strategic change is the change of a larger scale, such as organizational restructuring.

Transformational change is the change in which the organization moves to a radically different, & sometimes unknown, future state.

Change can affect the strategy, the technology and the structure of a company and it can also creates new problems, new situations, ambiguity and uncertainty.

Conflict can have positive consequences such as motivating change, leading to new ideas and stimulating creativity, but it can also have some negative consequences like wasting resources, creating a negative climate and diverting energy from work.

The model of Kurt Lewin consists of:

• ·         Unfreezing: Creating a level of dissatisfaction with the status quo.
• ·         Changing: Organizing and mobilizing the resources needed for the change.
• ·         Refreezing: Embedding the new ways of working into the organization.

The model of beer focuses on enforcing changed ways of thinking, attitudes and behaving.

There are different paths to manage change and learning like:

• ·         Environmental path: Organization for an evolving world.
• ·         Psycho-philosophical path: Individual challenge and learning & growth.
• ·         Organizational path: Systemic congruency.

One can search competitive advantage in: Intellectual learning, organizational capabilities, organizational architecture and organizational culture.

Globalization has brought a new term to the world “UBUNTU”, Ubuntu is to engage with local cultures, understand cultural codes and use these codes to engage people in their own codes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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http://www.learning-theories.com/social-learning-theory-bandura.html
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IMAGES

1st Image retrieved from http://www.seedol.com/blog/2011/03/16/learning-about-asbestos/

2nd Image retrieved from http://cngblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/change/

3rd Image retrieved from http://kickpoliooutofafrica.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/the-power-of-the-african-spirit-of-ubuntu/