BUS 375 week 4 discussion 2 replies (DO NOT CHANGE THE BID)

PLEASE PLACE THE NAME AND NUMBER OUT NEXT TO EACH REPLY

Week 4 discussion 2

#1 Ulises Gomez

ThursdayOct 19 at 9:38am

Manage Discussion Entry

Describe the characteristics of the learning organization.

Peter Senge proposed the five characteristic that makeup the learning organization, Kopp 2014.

Personal Mastery: An individual’s ability to know what he or she wants and to work toward that goal; transfer of training encourages expertise seeking of KSA(Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes)

Mental Models: The employee’s internal worldview or paradigm; here, in the context of the organizational vision.

Shared Vision: Building a sense of commitment in an organization by developing shared images of the future.

Team Learning: Skills geared toward developing collective thinking skills.

Systems Thinking: A way of thinking about and understanding the forces and interrelationships that shape behavior of systems.

A learning organization, is an organization where people continue to grow (personally and professionally); a place that develops a better products/ service; this organization collectively aspires toward greater things and most importantly a place where its’ employees can continue to grow.

Based on the characteristics of your organization is it a learning organization Why or why not?

I believe that my organization is a learning organization.  This organization has many availabilities to formally education and is constantly seeking professional coaches. Through the process of Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) an employee can attend a school/ class that suites the Command. This helps when because for every mission that is carried out there is a Commander’s Intent. It is the goal of the organization to meet the Commander’s Intent. This organization also coaches newer Soldiers how to be perform better at their jobs. They get a one on one experience with their direct supervisor that coaches/teaches the do’s and don’ts of the job. There is also peer correction. What a supervisor does is assign a “battle-buddy” that is trustworthy and that will not lead the new Soldier astray. For all these reasons I believe that my organization is a learning organization.

Reference:

Kopp, D.M. (2014). Human resource development: Performance improvement through learning. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

 Reply

#2 Rachel Hewitt

ThursdayOct 19 at 12:59pm

Manage Discussion Entry

There are five key characteristics that make up the learning organization; personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning and systems thinking (Kopp, 2014).  A learning organization is thought to be more effective in training transfer because it moves beyond simple employee training into organizational problem solving, innovation, and learning (Kopp, 2014).  Knowing what the characteristics of a learning organization are I would say that my organization is a learning organization and here is why.

My organization allows members and actually encourages them to develop themselves towards their goals and what they want.  This shows personal mastery.  Every year we have to do self-assessments as to how we feel we did that year in our jobs.  The next part we have to set goals for what we hope to accomplish for the following year.  That can mean becoming a subject matter expert in something or just attending more training.  We are able to determine our goals.

I never really saw my organization has a “holistic paradigms” but the definition would suit.  My organizations thrives due to the people that make it up.  The organization lives because we breathe new life into it every day.  This would be a clear characterization of mental models.

It is hard to be part of such an organization and not have a shared vision.  Our mission in itself is to help support our members.  We are always looking to better our services and practices to make it simpler for our members and help them understand what benefits they are entitled to. 

“You are only as strong as you weakest link”.  I have never heard this motto so much as I have in the military.  However this motto really helps guide you in team learning.  If you are able to identify everyone in your team’s abilities then you know what needs to be worked on.  Being in the same department and having different knowledge skills helps create an aptitude of helping each other gain useful knowledge of the other person’s qualifications.  We grow together as a team and master our subjects to be able to provide the best service and make our organization strong.

My organization definitely uses systems thinking.  It is always trying to change systems to be more effective.  Systems can be electronic or human.  Finding where the errors are, why they are occurring and then putting a plan in motion to change that as effectively and efficiently as possible is what my department is good at.  We have weekly meeting to discuss issues, what is working, what isn’t working, what we can do about it.  It’s nice to feel like you are a part of the change.

References

Kopp, D. M. (2014). Human resource development: Performance improvement through learning [Electronic version]. Retrieved from

 Reply