Sustaining change in a learning organization

Abstract

This article looks at how the application of the concept of a ‘learning organisation’ can be used at a specific organisation in South Africa to change the work performance of its employees. We do this by exploring different theories, models and definitions of organisational learning, learning organisation, organisational knowledge and knowledge management in the field, and against this background examine the perceptions of employees at a South African Organisation. The article underpins this approach by uniquely balancing conceptual rigour with practical experiences of employees at this institution. The view is taken that organisations are living systems that have the capacity to renew themselves by continuously reflecting on their practices and thereby create new knowledge, share and leverage it. Knowledge acquisition and sharing is closely linked to the core values of the organisation in order to achieve business competitiveness, set goals, efficiency, and overall strategic success. The purpose of this article is to understand how an organisation's training department could use the concept of a learning organisation within the South African context to sustain change. To achieve this objective we (the researchers) used a qualitative research paradigm. A phenomenological design presented the research with opportunities to analyse, interpret, and describe the perceptions, feelings and experiences of the participants at the organisation. Eight semi-structured individual interviews provided data for the purposes of this research. The data was analysed to identify categories, themes and sub-themes. The five main themes discussed are organisational learning, organisational culture, organisational change, globalisation and knowledge management and these were linked to the theory of learning organisations and were based on the findings.     

Action learning for professionals: a new approach to practice

Following on from the article ‘Building Capacity in Social Care: An Evaluation of a National Programme of Action Learning Facilitator Development’ (Abbott, C., L. Burtney, and C. Wall. 2013. Action Learning: Research & Practice 10 (2): 168–177), this article describes how action learning is being introduced in Cornwall Council, UK and explores the relationship between social work and action learning in practice. In essence social work needs to perform well and achieve positive outcomes for users of its services. Cornwall Council's Children's Social Work and Psychology Services is introducing action learning for professionals as a new approach to practice.     

Action research and organisational learning: a Norwegian approach to doing action research in complex organisations

The purpose of this article is to present a specific approach to the practice of action research ‘in complex organisations’. Clearly, there are many approaches to the challenge of doing action research in organisations; approaches that are, and also must be, quite context dependent and specific. But my purpose is neither to give an overview nor a recommendation of how action research is or should be done in complex organisations by different schools of action researchers around the world. The approach I will present has grown through practical experience accumulated over many years with doing action research in many different Norwegian organisations with organisational change and development as the specific objective. I will limit myself to an outline of this Norwegian context, and to how I and others have worked specifically with organisational learning both practically and theoretically within or in relation to a broad Norwegian or Scandinavian approach to action research and organisation development represented by many individuals.     

Action learning in the BBC

This account tells the story of the development of an action learning culture in the BBC between 2002 and 2007. From its early beginnings as a sporadic, unsystematic intervention with a small number of leaders scattered throughout the organisation, action learning has now become embedded in our approach to the way we develop our leaders. In this paper we look at the organisational context in which we were developing action learning, the way it became an integral part of a systemic change intervention, the barriers we had to overcome on the way, how we built an internal resource capability and how action learning evolved. We evaluate the impact it has had on the organisation and on our practice, exploring lessons learned during this time and offering ideas for the way ahead.     

Action learning in China

Action learning was introduced into China less than 20 years ago, but has rapidly become a valuable tool for organizations seeking to solve problems, develop their leaders, and become learning organizations. This article provides an historical overview of action learning in China, its cultural underpinnings, and five case studies. It concludes with the six major challenges and six powerful forces that will propel the use of action learning in China.     

行动研究：建设高职学习型文化的有效路径

构建学习型文化是高职院校可持续发展的必由之路,而以解决实际问题为目的的教育行动研究是构建学习型文化最有效的方式。通过教育行动研究使教师“学会学习”,培养合作学习能力,养成反思性思维习惯,提高专业化程度。     

Action learning and organisation development: overlapping fields of practice

This paper explores the relationship between action learning and Organisation Development (OD). It proposes that they are overlapping fields of practice, with interesting similarities and differences. Both fields of practice are experienced as challenging to conventional ways of viewing organisations and people but are also subject to increasing challenge themselves and both aspects are examined. Two accounts of practice are included, which cast light on action learning and OD and some preconditions for a more fruitful future relationship between the two fields are proposed.     

Franchisees in crisis: using action learning to self-organise

The present article describes the use of action learning by a group of 30 franchisees to organise themselves and work through a period of upheaval and uncertainty when their parent company faced liquidation. Written from the perspective of one of the franchisees who found herself adopting action learning principles to facilitate the group, it describes the value of this way of organising until a point where the context became both clearer and more time-pressured, for which the group adopted a project management approach to organising.     

Action learning: developing leaders and supporting change in a healthcare context

This account of practice outlines how action learning was used as the key component of a leadership development initiative for managers in an acute hospital setting. It explains how the initiative was conceived, why action learning was chosen and how action learning principles were incorporated. Insights into the outcomes and considerations for the future are also included.     

Action learning over time: an ipsative enquiry

The aim of this article is to explore several decades of experience of action learning and to distil lessons from that experience that are worth sharing with other practitioners. The method is to systematically collect the experiential data within three categories (sense-based, affective and cognitive data), interrogate them to draw out lessons and report those conclusions that have broader significance. The main conclusions are about (1) participants' readiness for action learning, (2) the development of people's abilities to self-facilitate and self-manage action learning and (3) the role of action learning in universities.     

Self-directed learning characteristics: making learning personal,empowering and successful

Due to the speedy emergent investigation in self-directed learning (SDL) over the past 40 years, SDL is an education technique used progressively within tertiary institutions. SDL can be well-defined in terms of the amount of accountability the student accepts for his or her own learning. The self-directed students regarding learning take control and apply self-determination to learn what they view as imperative for themselves. The amount of control the students are keen to take over their own learning will depend on their assertiveness, aptitudes and personality characteristics. The article thus explores what individual features and characteristics can define the student who is involved in SDL; What capabilities and characteristics need to be grasped by the students who are involved in SDL? Therefore, the objective of the article was to identify characteristics of the self-directed learner in the context of teacher education. Based on our conclusion, it is clear that teacher-students should challenge themselves within this process of SDL development to participate in SDL opportunities. The characteristics of SDL teacher-students must be strengthened to promote their self-directedness with regard to learning and it is also the lecturer’s task to create a class atmosphere of SDl to inculcate and develop SDL characteristics in students.     

Action learning: the possibility of differing hierarchies in learning sets

This paper presents the proposition that a variety of differing hierarchies exist in an action learning set at any one time, and each hierarchy has the potential to affect an individual's behaviour within the set. An interpretivist philosophy underpins the research framework adopted in this paper. Data were captured by means of 11 in-depth interviews that formed part of wider research into set members' perceptions of what makes an effective action learning set. The interviewees were all former students of the researcher and her colleagues. The research draws upon grounded theory as a dominant research paradigm and uses thematic analysis to interpret the research findings. The findings of the research serve to simply illustrate that there is the potential for a variety of differing hierarchies to exist in an action learning set at any one time. Some of the hierarchies may exist for the full duration of the set; others are somewhat ephemeral. The findings from this research also present themselves as points of consideration for academics and practioners who have used or are about to use action learning as a learning vehicle.     

Action learning: how learning transfers from entrepreneurs to small firms

This paper presents research with small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners who have participated in a leadership development programme. The primary focus of this paper is on learning transfer and factors affecting it, arguing that entrepreneurs must engage in ‘action’ in order to ‘learn’ and that under certain conditions they may transfer learning to their firm. This paper draws on data from 19 focus groups undertaken from 2010 to 2012, involving 51 participants in the LEAD Wales programme. It considers the literatures exploring learning transfer and develops a conceptual framework, outlining four areas of focus for entrepreneurial learning. Utilising thematic analysis, it describes and evaluates what (actual facts and information) and how (techniques, styles of learning) participants transfer and what actions they take to improve the business and develop their people. This paper illustrates the complex mechanisms involved in this process and concludes that action learning is a method of facilitating entrepreneurial learning which is able to help address some of the problems of engagement, relevance and value that have been highlighted previously. This paper concludes that the efficacy of an entrepreneurial learning intervention in SMEs may depend on the effectiveness of learning transfer.     

Nurturing the H in HR: using action learning to build organisation development capability in the UK Civil Service

In the UK, the Civil Service Reform Plan is being implemented with urgency. This requires Civil Service departments and agencies to reform their structures and ways of working in order to deliver effective services in a climate of economic austerity and rapid social and technological change. Historically, Human Resource (HR) professionals have provided services based on the HR Business Partner model which has meant a focus on strategic and operational HR services. As part of these changes, HR managers and other professionals are now required to develop their capabilities in providing Organisation Development (OD) advice to their internal clients. In order to make this happen, the Civil Service's expert OD and Design Service launched an OD Capability Building programme and engaged OD specialists Mayvin to deliver it. The programme incorporates the postgraduate level-accredited Action Learning Question method developed by Dr Richard Hale called, in this context, OD Questions (ODQs). Participants on the OD Capability Building programme are required to complete an ODQ over a five- to six-month period. This entails scoping an OD challenge with key stakeholders, conducting some research and making recommendations for change or implementing such change. The participants work in ‘action learning sets’ and support each other with their problem solving and learning. A final report is written up by each participant leading to the award of postgraduate-level credits. Examples of ODQ areas include: How can I support a newly appointed Director General to align his team to address their challenges at a time of rapid change? How can I help my client department to improve employee engagement? How can I develop my own capability in working as a business partner and adding value alongside my client?     

Action learning as invigoration

The present account of action learning describes its adoption for pragmatic reasons by the University of the Third Age (U3A). The reason for the existence of this movement is the education of retired people. The account seeks to explain why the action learning method spread from one local U3A to another and across it to other local U3As. The case is that the directness of action and its power to involve people brought action learning a following among persons so that they could carry out specific activities even though the persons concerned would never have heard of the term action learning. The successful use of the method fed through into the users' minds and brought about a mode of thought, one which unconsciously was capable of extension into an outlook that could be applied to a variety of situations. Thus two types of learning took place: that between U3As and that within U3As.     

行动学习法与行动研究辨析

行动学习法和行动研究都是针对解决教师实际工作中遇到的问题,反思他们的经验,以促进教师专业发展的一种教师培训模式.本文概要描述了行动学习法与行动研究的内涵缘起及意义,分析了他们共同的特征,并从内涵与外延、主体活动的形式、目标的侧重点、内容、过程的运作方式等方面探讨了它们之间的区别.     

Learning to support learning together: an experience with the soft systems methodology

An action research approach called soft systems methodology (SSM) was used to foster organisational learning in a school regarding the role of the learning support department within the school and its relation with the normal teaching‐learning activities. From an initial situation of lack of coordination as well as mutual misunderstanding and distrust among some of the actors in the situation, eight months of work yielded as a result a better working environment among the participants, the creation of a volunteer discussion group functioning on a permanent basis, and a clarification and modification of some of the learning support activities. This change can also be described as learning by learning support staff, school teachers and administrators on how to work together, as well as on how to support children's learning in a better way. Nevertheless, another event that occurred after the intervention shows the importance of considering a wider system than that limited by the participants in the intervention.     

Action learning: cultural differences

The article describes the experience of forming a set in a higher education institution and offers some observations and insights gained from the perspectives of the role of the set adviser, cultural differences and the challenges of attempting to align theory, practice and experience.     

Action learning in virtual higher education: applying leadership theory

This paper reports the historical foundation of Northeastern University’s course, LDR 6100: Developing Your Leadership Capability, a partial literature review of action learning (AL) and virtual action learning (VAL), a course methodology of LDR 6100 requiring students to apply leadership perspectives using VAL as instructed by the author, questionnaire and survey results of students who evaluated the effectiveness of their application of leadership theories using VAL and insights believed to have been gained by the author administering VAL. Findings indicate most students thought applying leadership perspectives using AL was better than considering leadership perspectives not using AL. In addition as implemented in LDR 6100, more students evaluated VAL positively than did those who assessed VAL negatively.     

Incorporating a transformational learning perspective in action learning sets

A field study focused on learning capabilities within action learning sets was used to evaluate potential opportunities between action learning and transformational learning. The use of action learning as a methodology for the acquisition, sharing and transfer of information while integrating an added perspective for transformational learning within the action learning set was investigated. There could be occurrences of transformation within action learning and critical action learning sets. However, there could be the added possibility of using action learning as a potential vehicle for an enhanced or more specific focus on transformational learning. It is useful to explore this potential, especially when there is an increased awareness regarding associations between action learning and transformational learning. Within such learning environments, there could also be the increased potential for outcomes that transform an individual, group or organization. The use of transformational elements based on discussions and resulting themes that occur within action learning sessions are discussed with the aim of encouraging personal development, enhancing skills and engaging in adult learning that could lead to organizational development. Recommendations for these environments are also presented.