AM Lecture 2

The Learning Organisation

Watkins and Marsick (1993), in Sculpting the Learning Organisation, defined the learning organisation as one that captures, shares and uses knowledge to change the way the organisation responds to challenges.

The main elements to the theoretical framework are seven complementary action imperatives:

1. Create continuous learning opportunities (Continuous Learning)
2. Promote inquiry and dialogue (Dialogue and Inquiry)
3. Encourage collaboration and team learning (Team Learning)
4. Empower people toward a collective vision (Empowerment)
5. Establish systems to capture and share learning between and within organisations (Embedded System)
6. Connect the organisation to its environment (System Connection)
7. Provide strategic leadership for learning (Strategic Leadership)

Zhang took this information and created a questionnaire to test these action imperatives and to gauge the companies on these seven parameters, which are assumed to be the ideal.

Outcomes

The outcomes were that listed companies did not perform significantly better overall. Indeed, on Team Learning and Continuous Learning unlisted SOEs performed much better. This is because SOEs are more like cohesive families, so information was more freely shared.

However, companies in the service industry outperformed manufacturing firms.

This information suggests that

• Corporatization as a means of improving management practice was largely ineffective. It only improved immediate actions, but did not affect the way that organisations and individuals think
• Manufacturing SOEs maintained a management mentally less open to adaptation than service industries. In general, however, manufacturing firms tend to be more static and traditional mentality, while service firms are more adaptive
• There would appear to be (at least) an inherent capability to change

Breaking the state-management links and the mentality it creates is vital. This suggests that for firms to be more efficient, they have to completely cut loose from the State.

Change motivation

Chinese culture

Chinese management and tradition

Sinoelectronics - Case study

Other studies and remarks on Chinese management

Conclusions