A Facilitation Approach to Systems Thinking Breakthroughs by David P. Kreutzer
This article aims to explain the need of allowing more freedom to the employees as a way of increasing productivity and good working environment. The article explains the positive impact that can be achieved if freedom is carefully and rightfully applied within an organization. The article as well tries to explain the way matters were run in the traditional organization as well as how it was limiting employees from expressing their creativity within the workplace. The article also touches on the negative impact portrayed by the traditional organization.
Businesses are bound to have the urge of continuity that would propel them to last longer and broaden their wings to reach out and grow their market. The desire and capability are driven by increased market share, improved relationships with the various regulatory agencies and better relationships with the staff. To come at such lengths requires some pieces that would help achieve the result which in this case is the capability of expanding (Renesch & Chawla, 2006).
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One of the required elements involves the availability of competitive information that would give the business an edge over the other competitors. Another element involves accessibility to customer information which the business requires to tailor their products towards their customer’s satisfaction and in the long run attract more customers. The final piece of this puzzle will involve broad technology knowledge which would help them maneuver through their competition using technological advancement. All these aspects are to help acquire a more accurate and current information that will buy them a mileage from their competitors (Renesch & Chawla, 2006).
Organizational designers are always working to offer their workers freedom so as they can stretch beyond their capabilities to achieve the best. Traditional organizations still operate on lower performance which has a limitation impact on the working mind of their workers. As a result, people working within traditional organizations tend to explore their talents and creativity outside their workplace. Therefore, to reverse this “tunnel-view” within the behavioral work design, it is important to put more emphasis on increased participation. In this context, the employees are encouraged to take part in coming up with solutions to problems.
According to Edwin Abbott, freedom is moving from the “Flatland” or the two-dimensional view of the world to a state where one views the dynamics of the world from an escalating level of significance and complexity. He further explains that one’s action can be influenced and improved more comprehensively if their thought is further explored. These can be expressed as a different plane of understanding where there are thoughts behind an action.
The above Freedom is a working strategy of achieving a higher strategic goal within an organization. The freedom allows people to work at their full potential thus contributing to the end goal or the organization objective. Through this, the organization can identify distinct individuals with different skills, knowledge, and attributes which can help one move through various levels at work (Renesch & Chawla, 2006).
Developing Strategies for the Knowledge Era by Linda E. Morris
In this article, the author intends to point out the significance of strategic importance when it comes to a learning organization. The author tries to emphasize his point through looking at examples of already successful entities that have adopted developmental strategies. The intent of the article is to point out appropriate conditions that can be utilized by organizations despite the chosen developmental strategy they have opted to work with. The article is important in the sense that it highlights the relevance for pathways and conditions establishment for the organization's members so as to assure the organization of its survival in the future.
It is important to note that no single plan can be used to achieve the entire organization objective. This is because implementation plans will vary depending on the organization context and purpose. Other factors to be considered which would influence tactical choice and strategy for people development during the implementation include industry location, size, mission, values, services or products and the stages of development. Therefore, to achieve the entire organization objectives there has to be a number of plans rolled out that would suit every sector. At this point, plans for every department have to be tailored in a way that they perfectly fit the intended department (Renesch & Chawla, 2006).
In the long run, organizations are advised to learn, understand and rely on information and knowledge that impacts their wide range of clients, the problems they undergo and most importantly the resources available to attend to their clients. Having the right information about the consumers and sharing it among the members can go a long way but it is also important to document new information and solutions on the same. It is relevant to learn and keep check of the changing environmental factors that might have a negative impact on the clients. While looking out for negative impacts on the clients, the organization can also work on the new ground that might be beneficial to the firm or the clients.
It is evident that in organization personnel is bound to be shifted and interchanged through various and different departments. The shift can often happen when one is required to work beyond their experience to tackle situations and issues that they haven’t encountered before. For an organization to have capable personnel that can perform tomorrow's work as effectively as they did today, it has to create a continuous performance capability for both the individual and the firm. To anticipate for such situations, the organization can be well prepared by increasing skills and knowledge of their stuff.
It is noticeable that within learning organizations, learning is an intentional and conscious act where people determine how they want to learn and make sense of what they are learning. Individuals also tend to plan what they are to learning while at the same time learning from planning. The key points of discovery and solving problems is to start at the point when individuals can identify what and how to learn. The occurrence of business challenges provides an avenue for learning where through the problem-solving process new skills and knowledge will be acquired (Renesch & Chawla, 2006).
The article articulates its significance on the importance of having a learning organization. Through learning, organizations can be assured of their continuity as they can understand the environment within which they operate. Learning also provides an organization’s individuals or personnel with a broad knowledge on how to tackle various issues and problems beyond their expertise.
Creating a Learning Organization by Accident by Mary Byrd
To be successful in a competitive environment, learning has to be a continuous process that would help one maneuver through their competition and problems. The author of the article tries to explain the importance of learning while working at the same time. Having sighted that time is a luxury in this business, having structured learning sessions would be time intensive therefore one can learn through experiments and trial and error. The author emphasizes the need to face a problem face on especially for products or technology that are new to the market, and there’s no time to go through the entire manual. The article highlights the reality of ‘learning on the job’ which can also be learning by accident as one continues to interact with a new product or a new environment.
To be able to keep up with the competitive world of business, learning and gaining knowledge is critical. Having knowledge about the newest technology alone in business is not enough as they also have to engage and learn new business processes of management that would keep them profitable as they evolve. Here is where time is a priceless luxury. Therefore, information about a new technology can be learned through experiments. The same way children learn most of the things through their curiosity is the same way employees can learn through trial and error while handling a new technology.
In an organization, managers are supposed to be process facilitators and resource managers, not experts as assumed by most. It is rare to find young and inexperienced individuals managing over more qualified and experienced older guys. It is usually clear that when one is handed the managerial post, it is not because of their extensive knowledge in a particular field but rather because of their ability to acquire and manage resources. Resources, in this case, can regard money, personnel or technology as long as they produce a positive result.
Moving away from the rigid system where career paths are related to time and grade, it is advisable that an individual is responsible for managing their careers. In this changing environment where careers are built and defined by opportunities as a result of rapid growth. By being able to manage their careers, they are free to move from one department to another while at the same time learning new skills. This kind of structure provides individuals with an opportunity to try out different levels of employment while improving their knowledge which will come in handy during their next employments.
Managers play a critical role when it comes to the direction of an employee career path. Having spotted their employee's capability and strengths, they can offer guidance and which that are to be undertaken which will provide a learning opportunity as well as formal training programs. Through such cooperation, information can be shared especially through the internet where employees can connect with their managers and partners and get to learn more.
The articles point out the numerous learning point through which one can acquire knowledge within an organization. Knowledge floats everywhere and especially for employees as they move from one department to the next they are bound to learn something new. The article highlights the learning points and the links to the learning points such as the managers whose presence and help facilitates more learning. Though by accident, learning still takes place and doesn’t cease from being relevant.
Reference
Renesch, J., & Chawla, S. (2006). Learning organizations: Developing cultures for tomorrow's workplace . CRC Press.
