THE LEARNING ORGANISATION (四)

ACCA P3考試：THE LEARNING ORGANISATION

ENTERPRISE AND NETWORKS

Enlarge the organisation chart

The concept of an organisation has given way to the concept of an enterprise. An organisation gives the perception of a top-down, very structured and somewhat bureaucratic administrative structure. The enterprise concept tends to give a more integrated flattened approach in which learning can be better facilitated via greater sharing, greater access, integration of knowledge, ideas, innovation and communications. More importantly, enterprise leads to the integration of people, away from the functional departmental roles to develop a more collective team.

Learning, therefore, can be embedded more successfully in an organisation taking the enterprise perspective based around integration and the establishment of an appropriate culture, rather than the more traditional bureaucratic structure. For example, in the more traditional top-down bureaucratic structure, leaders tend to determine what should be done and how it should be done; with the enterprise approach, the outcome tends to determine what should be done and how it should be done via the combination of people, processes, systems and structures. These should be aligned again with the overall business strategy to ensure that the appropriate learning occurs.

Learning as a process needs to be a continuous evolving process and needs to be championed from the top. Leaders should influence, not interfere, and embed it by ensuring processes and systems are integrated – therefore integrating ideas and communication across the social networks and, therefore, the enterprise.

The establishment of an enterprise culture – by considering the elements of the cultural web – should create an environment that is open to learning both by sharing, innovating and drawing from external influences via networks. Network creation starts with the selection of the right people when employing them, the identification of those that are already learners, and the identification or appointment of gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are those individuals who can link the social networks inside the organisation together or use their outside links to learn from external stakeholders and external knowledge sources.

Learning is reliant on people collaborating via these social networks. The networks need to be fluid and flexible network structures. This is in opposition to the older concepts of department boundaries defining jobs. The network structure allows for the creation of new groups of people to come together quickly for problem solving or creative development, depending on their skill. It is similar to small agile project teams being established within the enterprise, combining various degrees of people, processes and systems in an evolutionary way, but driven by the need for knowledge.