Organizational learning and organizational development

In such a complex environment, challenges are imposed on organizations so that changes occur that respond to the needs of assuming capacities that allow continuous adaptation and renewal to the environment in which they operate, with the intention of giving rise to organizational development in which knowledge and skills will have a direct influence on it.

This is how organizational learning becomes a process to promote in organizations that seek to maintain excellence and high levels of competitiveness, who adopt change as part of their philosophy of action and man as their main resource, the most important, and the one that adds the greatest added value to your processes.

That is why this article proposes, in addition to an analysis of the most important theoretical aspects of organizational learning , a procedure for the development of the organizational learning process as a supportive developer of the organization, which allows the diagnosis of the organizational learning process, as well as designing strategies for its strengthening; In addition, it is conceived in such a way that it can be applied to any of the organizations of the Cuban business system according to its characteristics and particularities.

INTRODUCTION

The vertiginous development of modern society has led organizations to search for new ways and styles to achieve effectiveness in the management of their processes, where the development of activities that ensure the individual performance of their human resources is increasingly important., as well as the organizational one, through more viable processes in the fulfillment of its objectives; In this way, organizational learning becomes a sustainable way for the development of the organization.

Organizational learning is one of the greatest challenges for the development and adaptation of organizations throughout life, which is why since the beginning of the last decade of the last century, organizational learning and the so-called “organizations who learn ”have become the object of attention by academics, researchers, consultants and managers in different parts of the world, who consider that it is a vital process in order to survive and, above all, advance in that dynamic and complex environment in which they exist. the organizations.

Since then to date, the issues related to this type of organizations, their distinctive features, the processes that shape their learning, as well as the managerial and organizational practices that contribute to their success, have remained a topic of great interest for their meaning for the development of contemporary organizations, development that is increasingly oriented to the effective management of intangible assets in the context of a global economy where the generation, dissemination and effective use of knowledge assume increasing importance.

Cuban organizations are not unaware of this reality, and therefore, they will have to approach strategic approaches in their management on the basis of considering that change cannot be directed only to prioritize technological and structural aspects, but also human resources such as the key success factor in organizational development based on organizational learning as a way to make organizational development become a continuous and systematic process of reflection on the experience and daily reality of each organization until turning the organizational experience into learning, without contradict the management approaches used.

Orienting yourself towards a learning organization is to achieve a radical change through the increase of people's capacities to make effective decisions and solve problems, foster reflective and critical thinking, and transform innovation into a basic strategy of permanence and organizational development.

Even though in the midst of all this reality, the focus towards this type of learning organizations is evident and despite the fact that in our country great efforts are made to achieve higher levels of development in organizations, insufficiencies in organizational development are observed, which limit their responses to local development.

Therefore, our objective is to carry out an analysis of the most important theoretical aspects of organizational learning and design a procedure for the development of the organizational learning process as the organisation's developing support.

The study of the subject of organizational learning is very important and topical, however, those carried out in the business context of the territory are still insufficient in relation to their significance for carrying out processes of continuous change and business success in current conditions.

Promoting organizational learning to improve the effectiveness and competitiveness of organizations and thus preparing them for future challenges and responsibilities is a vital fact for Cuban organizations today, that organizations learn, is an indispensable requirement for their existence.

DEVELOPING

The study of organizational learning has a long tradition, however, its appearance as a concept is relatively recent. From different disciplines, researchers have developed organizational learning thinking, so their study in Cuba encourages people to generate elements of judgment to understand the complexity of the world and to define their leading role in the different organizations in which they must participate throughout your life.

The revolution in thinking regarding organizational learning was revealed in the 90s of the last century with the publication of Peter Senge's book “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of Organization Open to Learning” and the edition, in 1991, of a monographic issue of the magazine "Organizations Science" dedicated to the topic of organizational learning, definitively consolidating the study and its application both at the level of consulting and professional practice as well as in the academic and research field.

For Peter Senge (1992), organizational learning lies in the global understanding of the organization and the relationships between its component parts; frames its conception in a systemic perspective. Senge understands learning in a peculiar way: «true learning reaches the heart of what it means to be human, through learning we recreate ourselves, through learning we are empowered to do something that we could not do before, through learning we perceive the world again and our relationship with it, through learning we expand our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life ».

This vision of organizational learning implies the creation of internal capacities in the organization that allows it to adapt to the environment and face both the current and future situations, and it also achieves a competitive advantage that meets the necessary characteristics to guarantee sustainability over time. Learning is a slow process that requires a long and expensive period of development and is based on man as the main axis of the organization; This capacity, in turn, becomes a key success factor for the organization's performance.

Nonaka and Takeuchi (1996), when defining organizational learning, express that it is “the process by which, organized, the knowledge created by individuals is amplified and crystallized as part of the organization's knowledge system”.

For Fiol and Lyles (1985), organizational learning is “the process that uses knowledge and understanding aimed at improving actions”.

According to the author's criteria, organizational learning is understood as the social activity where knowledge and skills are developed as part of the organization, are put into practice and are integrated as opportunities to optimize learning; It requires an active contribution from people in the development of activities based on daily activities, through which they explore and discover new knowledge in the search for answers and solutions, achieving a sense of belonging and appropriation of organizational goals and objectives.

From this conception, learning not only represents the acquisition of new information and skills but, fundamentally, a social activity that is expressed in organizations that allows the collection and integration of different experiences, knowledge, abilities and skills around a community, where some they learn from others and they all work for a common goal. The key is to understand learning as inseparable from daily work where spaces are opened to address problems, clarify differences and promote a conception of mutual feeling with the organization; It implies channeling individual, group and organizational actions in flexible, adaptable and successful work environments, raising the quality of the work of individuals and teams, maintaining a continuous process of organizational development.

It should be considered that organizational learning in the organizational environment is not educationally neutral, people learn just by being in it and any action that is carried out has a formative capacity, as it generates habits and styles that exceed the best of courses.

Organizational learning is not a technique (Stacey, 1993 and Gore, 1996) but arises from an attitude, a predisposition to critically analyze actions and make sense of them.

Learning to use the educational potential of organizations is looking for ways to make sense of the experience and better understand the demands of the environment to respond to them, avoid the unproductive training and frustrations that traditionalist approaches inevitably lead to and take responsibility together with self-improvement and self-development.

Learning organizations are those that facilitate the learning of all its members, which continually transform to meet the demands of the environment; organizations where learning is not only the acquisition of new information and skills, but fundamentally a social activity that is expressed within them through various collaborative instances that allow collecting and integrating different experiences, knowledge, abilities and skills around a community in which some learn from others. They are organizations where the sense of shared responsibility, trust, creativity, flexibility, commitment and a sense of belonging is encouraged; objectives are defined,opportunities and problems are identified and characterized by efforts to effectively use institutional knowledge and capacities to learn from others and develop new opportunities; and it is oriented towards the integration of activities and visions, helping to embrace the diversity of any organization, but at the same time valuing and recognizing the experience, authority and capacity of each one.

Organizational learning practice develops tangible activities, new ideas, innovations, new management methods, and tools to change the way people do their jobs. It is assumed that when given the opportunity to take part in these new activities, individuals develop an enduring capacity for change. The process will reward the organization with higher levels of diversity, commitment, innovation and talent, where people “continually expand their ability to create the results they want, where new and expansive thought patterns are cultivated, where the collective aspiration remains freedom and where people continually learn to learn together ”(Peter Senge, 1990).

Today, the study of organizational learning is an important aspect in the field of organizations, driven by the need for their development; therefore, it is necessary to consider that organizational learning is not merely obtaining new information at the organizational level, organizational learning is increasing the ability to initiate actions and achieve sustained improvement in performance, learning that consolidates the sense of belonging to same community of knowledge. In this way, the organization promotes trust and exchange and stimulates the desire to learn in each of the organizational structures, both formal and non-formal, that allows maintaining a state of consonance,cognitive balance and consistency and achieve a uniform and consistent performance based on the common organizational objective.

Based on the theoretical aspects investigated, a procedure is proposed for the development of organizational learning as a support for the organization's development, taking into account that it is conceived in such a way that it can be applied to the rest of the organizations of the Cuban business system and It allows the design of strategies to strengthen the development of the learning process in organizations. The procedure establishes a set of stages that describe a logical sequence of the process through various components and is supported by a set of group techniques and instruments necessary to obtain the information.

Procedure for the development of the organizational learning process as the developer's livelihood of the organization.

Stage I. General characterization of the organizational learning process

a) Definition of group levels and the sample to be investigated and selection of research instruments for the general characterization of the organizational learning process.

Group levels

For the development of the research, based on the elements presented in the characterization of the company, the need is determined, for further study, to define the group levels that will help to obtain the required information from different points of view; The formation of two group levels is considered: a strategic level (I) and an operational level (II).

Strategic level (I): company managers, to learn from their perspective the perception of the different elements or constituent features of organizational learning in the company.Operational level (II): a representative group of workers, who contribute from their position to determine essential features of the learning process in the organization.

Shows

To carry out the diagnosis of the organizational learning process, a sample corresponding to the conformed group levels is considered, selected at random, taking into account the level of significance it represents.

Research instruments

To carry out the diagnosis at the two group levels, some research instruments are taken into account, taking into account the learning elements to be investigated and the level of information that those involved can provide according to the group to which they belong.

Instruments Objectives Group level to which it is applied

Survey 1 Carry out a characterization of the learning process in the company, using general criteria about it. Operational level (II) Survey 2 Obtain personalized information on aspects related to the learning process. Operational level (II) Survey 3 Obtain criteria from workers on elements of the learning process carried out by company managers. Operational level (II) Survey 4 Know the development of essential processes that influence the learning process. Strategic level (I) Interview Assess aspects related to the learning process. Strategic level (I) Document review Obtain information that characterizes the results obtained by the workers and the organization.Strategic level (I) and operational level (II) Observation Obtain information on the operation of the general processes of the company linked to the learning process. Strategic level (I) and operational level (II)

b) Characterization of the training process

The objective of this step is to know the current situation of the training process seen from the conception of training. It is an important point in the development of companies the way in which the training of their human resources is planned, so it is necessary to carry out a study of the training process that is carried out in the company so that they can be analyzed the existing points of view in this regard. For this reason it should be considered:

Resources for training (support to the process by the company management).

The initial moment of this step is the analysis of resources and support for training, considering that the company must allocate time and budget to facilitate training programs both inside and outside the company.

Training programs developed both internally and externally, assessing their structuring on the basis of a diagnosis of needs.

The relationship between training programs and learning needs must be analyzed, it means developing programs to train staff considering their needs, those of the job or personal motivations.

Strategies for the development of human resources that add value to the organization.

The existence of strategies for the development of personnel, as part of the organization, should be considered as an internal priority, considering the positive impact of its implementation and the results that will be achieved in favor of the organization.

Relationship between training received and performance improvement.

At this point, the application in the workplace of what was received in the training activities is analyzed, so that what has been learned is applied to demonstrate whether or not the training was effective. The management of the company must create, stimulate and support an environment conducive to putting into practice what has been learned and at the same time recognizing and rewarding those who learn in order to motivate others to excel.

Relationship between training programs and organizational learning.

The emphasis will be on analyzing the programs in their conception, if it is only intended to teach people or if learning as a result of teaching is projected in its structuring and development. In this sense, it is necessary to know if they only focus on meeting expectations, objectives and clarity of the presentations or if the training is applicable and valued and recognized. This study allows us to analyze the emphasis placed on organizational learning in the company.

c) Analysis of aspects associated with the organizational learning process

The essential objective in this step is to diagnose the projection and use of learning for the development of the company.

Visions, values and concepts developed by the company.

At this point, the perspective of the workers of the future is valued, to see what is wanted and is trying to be achieved; It is also valued the beliefs that the workers themselves have that contribute to the proper functioning of the organization, as well as the way of responding and facing the environment in which they are developed, making their active participation in the different activities of the organization necessary and what sense of appropriation of organizational goals and objectives each one has.

Changes and corrections made by workers based on the existing premises in the organization.

Changes are analyzed to facilitate the adjustment of the organization to the environment based on the existing premises that allow the entity to continue operating normally. It constitutes the analysis of changes that occur in the organization without affecting the values and premises established in it, which are executed on the basis of what has been established as a standard without leading to profound changes.

Changes that imply establishing new premises in the organization to overcome the current ones.

Changes made in the organization that affect what is established as a premise to adapt to the environment are valued, even if this involves profound changes in the rules and the way of thinking and acting of people in their contribution to achieve the organizational objectives..

It is related to the transformation of the environment through radical changes in structure, strategy and organizational systems.

d) Assessment of results

In this step the objective is to make an assessment of the results obtained. It constitutes the final moment of this stage, so its essence consists in the presentation of results by aspects and the evaluations based on the criteria obtained in the previous steps.

Stage II. Strategy formulation

a) Definition of groups of stakeholders and description of techniques for developing strategies

Stakeholders

For the elaboration of the strategies, the formation of a group of people who are involved in developing this activity is considered. The group includes managers and other members of the organization, the latter selected considering their experience and the role they play in it.

Techniques

The techniques defined in this stage are presented as useful tools to generate new ideas in the design of strategies for the development of the organizational learning process, which allow creative training and serve as a stimulus to find new ways of solving problems.. Two of the existing techniques for generating new ideas are proposed, but others can be used depending on the conditions of each organization.

- Brainstorming

Brainstorming is one of the best known techniques for generating ideas. It was developed by Alex Osborn (creativity and advertising specialist) in the 30s of the last century and published in 1963.

Brainstorming, also called brainstorming, brainstorming, or brainstorming, is an eminently group technique for generating ideas; people present their ideas as they arise and at the same time, each one has the opportunity to refine the ideas of others.

Its main objectives are to lead us to break the habitual limitations of thought and produce a set of ideas from which to choose; It is useful for dealing with specific problems and in situations where you need a collection of good, new and fresh ideas.

Although Alex Osborn recommended that the group have twelve members, some authors currently consider that the ideal number is 4 to 7 people, with groups of between two and ten members or more being practical, depending on the importance of the objective with which apply.

As an aid and stimulation to creativity it is always advisable to start with a warm-up session of approximately ten minutes where an imaginary problem is addressed. Then it goes to the idea generation phase. A number of ideas are established to which we want to arrive, the time during which we are going to work is marked (in a typical session it is recommended about 15 to 30 minutes and the four fundamental rules that must be kept in mind are clarified:

All criticism is prohibited. When ideas sprout no critical comment is allowed. All ideas are written down. The evaluation is reserved for later. Any idea is welcome. Freedom of expression is very important. Wild thoughts are fine, impossible or unimaginable ideas are fine; in fact, every session should come up with some crazy enough idea to make the whole group laugh. By allowing you to think outside the bounds of the usual, of the normal, new and great solutions can emerge - as many ideas as possible. It is necessary to concentrate on generating a large number of ideas that can later be reviewed. The greater the number of ideas, the easier it is to choose between them. The multiplier effect. The combination of ideas with their improvements is sought.In addition to contributing their own ideas, participants can suggest improvements to others' ideas or get a better idea from two others.

Next, the group leader (facilitator) presents the problem for which ideas are requested and ensures that all participants understand the problem, who must say everything they can think of according to the problem posed, keeping the previous rules.

The next day (not the same day) the group would have to meet again; First, the ideas thought from the previous session would have to be shared and then the group would have to evaluate each of the ideas and develop those that promise the most in order to put them into practice.

Narrowing down is a way to process brainstorming technique production of ideas or other similar idea generation techniques. The goal of listing reduction is to clarify options so that group members understand them and can later reduce them to a manageable number.

Before being able to reduce the list, everyone in the group must have a clear understanding of each of the aspects of the list, therefore, the first activity is for the leader to clarify the doubts that may exist at each point; At this time, the discussion should not go beyond simply clarifying ideas.

Subsequently, the group identifies some filters (criteria that must be met for an aspect to be kept under consideration). Taking into account the above criteria, the members of the group vote for each aspect, affirmatively if they agree or negatively if they do not. However, because perhaps all group members have not had an opportunity to react to each of the suggestions in the list, any individual may request that a particular item remain under consideration until everyone has had an opportunity to react to he.

The process can be repeated with different or more rigorous criteria until the list is reduced to approximately half a dozen options.

b) Elaboration of strategies

The process of developing strategies is based on a set of techniques that facilitate the generation of ideas and concentration on those elements that are essential and allow various alternatives to be generated and select, with the application of the techniques, the strategies and most feasible actions in accordance with the current conditions of the organization.

Stage III. Implementation of the strategies

Implementation constitutes an important stage of the investigative process developed, it is the moment in which the strategies proposed by the organization's management are applied through a set of actions that are elaborated to strengthen the organizational learning process in the organization.

Stage IV. Evaluation of the impact of the implementation of the strategies

The final stage is the evaluation of the impact of the implementation of the strategies, since it will be the moment in which the results achieved will be known and with them correct any deviation caused in the implementation process. The evaluation of the impact of the implementation of the elaborated strategies becomes a task that cannot be postponed due to the importance it has at the moment.

Below are some considerations, which contain general aspects to assess the impact of the application of the strategies, important questions to keep in mind as they serve as a guide for the managers of the organization to carry out this stage; these are:

The responsibility of the company executives for the execution of the strategies and for the application of what has been learned, as well as the evaluation of the impact that this has. Shared responsibility between the Human Resources Department and the organization's management regarding the Changes that are generated as a result of the proposed strategies. The main evaluation of the impact caused by the application of the strategies to develop the learning process will be fundamentally by performance, by the results obtained and by the changes observed both at the individual and organizational level..

It should be borne in mind that one of the elements that supports the strategies is the underwriting of their actions.

In order to follow up on the proposed strategies and thus be able to determine their impact, it is proposed to also take into account some important elements or indicators such as:

Carrying out a quality diagnosis of the organizational learning process. The participation of the main managers in the design of the strategies. The quality in the elaboration of the proposed actions. The human and material assurance required for the execution of the strategies and their actions. The definition of the indicators that will help to assess the impact, either individually (such as improving the efficiency of the job and its performance in it, its potential for promotion, among others) or organizational (such as the work environment), productivity, efficiency, etc.).

It is necessary that the managers of the organization adopt the corresponding measures in the execution of the actions proposed for the implementation of the strategies. Then the effectiveness of the strategies must be evaluated, taking into account the correspondence of the same with the individual and collective needs, which includes communication, participation of those involved, understanding and mastery of the process, making it necessary to carry out systematic evaluations of its development..

CONCLUSIONS

The theoretical aspects addressed on organizational learning become the support that justifies the need to establish a procedure for the development of organizational learning as a support for the organization's development..The design of the procedure is elaborated in such a way that it becomes a valuable methodological instrument in the hands of the management of the companies to promote the development of the organizational learning process in them. The application of the procedure allows to know the main aspects that limit the development of the organizational learning process and elaborate strategies for its strengthening. The design and application of the procedure for the development of the organizational learning process as sustenance for the organizational development constitutes a process that generates the organizational learning itself.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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