A learning organization entails an understanding ofand an obligation to mobilizing the five subsystems of the systems learning organization model. Specific steps are taken into consideration when building a learning organization.

Assess the organization’s capabilities on each subsystem of the Systems Learning Organization

• Just like in other change efforts, there is a need to identify the already existing strengths and weaknesses, gaps and resources.
• Though many organizations do this in an informal way, there is a need to examine the organization’s learning competence in a systematic and comprehensive way. (John, D. 2002).
• The learning organization profile (LOP) is a tool used in assessing a company’s status. The LOP has undergone thorough field testing and,therefore, is used by more than 100 organizations. It consists of ten questions which address every subsystem of the systems learning organization model(Marquardt, M. (2011).
• Teams rates or individuals rate their organizations on a Likert scale which is rated 4 to 1 on each question, 4 is the highest and 1 is the lowest.

Communicate the vision of the learning organization

• After the organization fully commits to becoming a learning organization, the vision of the organization is communicated to all employees and stakeholders.
• Wheneveryone in the organization has the same goal, there would be enthusiasm and support of the organizational vision.
• A vision provides the entire organization and the employees with a goal that helps in guiding strategic planning and thinking. Besides, people are determined to accomplish tasks.
• Vision is a source of creative and powerful learning that leads to the production of high-qualityservices and products.
• A vision provides focus that keeps on course the efforts and learning processes in times of frustration, stress and impatience(Marquardt, 2011).
• An example of the importance of communicating the vision is Jim cannon, the former senior vice president of human resource planning and development for Royal Bank of Canada, who stated that visions are important in energizing the organization.They are the dreams that pull organizations forward and that they must be communicated effectively because even the most sophisticated vision is useless unless it can be clearly understood by others.
• Successful transformation needs a vision that can be readily communicated to and is appealing to stakeholders and employees.
• Without a vision, efforts may turn into incompatible and confusing projects that lead towards conflicting directions, the wrong direction or nowhere.
• If the vision cannot be communicated in five minutes or less and evoke a reaction of interest or understanding, then the vision has not been well communicated or understood and, therefore, the organization cannot be transformed.
• After the executives communicate the vision in a good manner, they can incorporate it into the daily activities. For examples, the vision can be incorporated into routine discussions on business problems in that the executives may decide whether or not the proposed solutions parallel the learning organization goals. In addition, during performance appraisals, they can explain how certain behaviors undermine or help the vision(Marquardt, M. (2011).
• Corporate leaders broadcast the vision through all available communication channels, for example,company newsletters. Management meetings are turned into exciting discussion boards of how the firm has become a learning organization. The management is changed in order to be at par with the vision. Organization leaders become symbols of the new corporate culture of the learning organization.

Reduce bureaucracy and streamline the structure

• Bureaucracy is the bane of every organization that hopes to develop the power of learning in the workplace.
• Bureaucracy kills creativity, energy and the willingness towards risk taking. It kills all the qualities that nourish and favor the learning proves.
• Regulations and forms for every possible scenario inhibit learning.
• It is important to get rid off of all procedures and policies that create unimportant structures and layers.

In order to get rid of bureaucracy,the organization can be streamlined using the following methods;

• Reengineer; get rid of business processes that lower learning, employee empowerment and knowledge flow. These include horizontal and vertical barriers, insignificantrestrictions and policies and hard bureaucratic structures
• Refocus; create structure around customers and projects rather than traditional functional silos.
• Decentralize; move power to the action and learning point.Introduce fluidity; build the organizational capacity to recognize and serve the marketplace needs.
• Bond; integrate all previous functional activities into a seamless whole that works in a highly unified fashion.
• Organizations can also eliminate bureaucracy through challengingunnecessary rules and forms eliminating and exposing processes and systems that discourage learning, recognizing and rewarding the actions that promote improved service and quality as well as knowledge. This is done by the Royal Bank of Canada.

For an organization to undergo transformation, obstacles to organizational learning must be eliminated. Some of the main obstacles include;

• Bureaucracy, prefers regulations, policies, forms and busywork to change.
• Competitiveness, which values individuals’ work rather than collaboration and teamwork.
• Control which disregards organizational learning.
• Poor communication which result from delays, selective listening, conscious and unconscious biases(Garvin,2000).
• Poor leadership from leaders who do not preach or practice learning but protect their turf.
• Rigid hierarchies that force ideas and people to rise and go down narrow silos.

References

John, D. (2002). Organisational Learning and Effectiveness. Routledge, pp256

Marquardt, M. (2011). Building the Learning Organization: Achieving Strategic Advantage through a Commitment to Learning. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, p280

Garvin, D. (2000). Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work.Harvard Business Press, pp256