Learning organizations: Senge's disciplines and their importance

Training and Development

Senge has defined a learning organization as one that is constantly developing its future capacities. Such organizations are not built on the concept of mere survival and adaptive learning becomes essential. However, learning organizations integrate generative learning with adaptive learning to enhance the organization's capacity to produce (Dixon, 2009).

According to Senge, it is possible to achieve learning organizations. Experts have argued that the ability to learn fast is the most sustainable advantage that organizations should strive to achieve. Organizations can attain this competitive advantage through transforming themselves into learning organizations. Workforce development experts maintain that individual learning competencies must be aligned with training initiatives. In their studies, these experts have noted that a favorable learning environment is one that employers are allowed to take appropriate steps in ensuring that employees learn. First, company leaders are required to invest notable resources of time and money for workplace learning yet establish realistic expectations and goals for learning. The organization must align this commitment with employees, union leaders and the management (Marquardt, 2011).

For employees to have the motivation of participating in these programs, organizations should develop a reward and incentive systems that encourage them to participate (Noe, 2010). Senge developed these arguments based on his studies of technicians, professionals and employees in different industry sectors. In his studies, he focused on how to measure the learning environment. This involved asking employees about their workplace conditions that either motivated or discouraged them from participating in learning programs that are familiar to systems thinking. In his work, Senge has illustrated how an organization has a life cycle, just like any other organism. He has asserted that biology demonstrates how organisms influenced by both limiting and growth processes educate us about premature death and growth of organizational initiatives of change. Most organizations have embraced learning initiatives that focus exclusively on growth processes and not the limiting variables. If organizations focus on biological mechanisms of sustaining change, they are likely to overcome the challenges associated with rethinking and re-designing. In addition, it is fundamental to focus on limiting processes and address the challenges of maintaining organizational transformation. Senge has defined this as anxiety and fear, measurement and assessment, non-believers and true believers (Marquardt, 2011).

Disciplines outlined by Senge

Among the five disciplines outlined by Senge, I have chosen the shared vision discipline. According to Senge, an organization cannot randomly grow into a learning organization. Typically, new organizations tend to learn fast but end up losing this capacity in the course of structural growth procedures accompanied by increasing rigidity of individual thinking. For an organization to sustain their competitive position, it is essential that employees work more effectively and demonstrate a quick inherence to learning than competitors. This comes with the challenge of knowledge management, understanding both external and internal environments and developing creative solutions, which employs a wide range of skills and knowledge of the organization. Existences of trust, collaboration, and open discussions are a pre-requisite (Dixon, 2009).