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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
learning. A climate of trust and equality is created where failures are a part of the
learning process and leaders help employees to identify performance gaps. Third,
experimenting with the new ideas must be encouraged, risk-taking should be rewarded,
and problems are taken as opportunities for experimentation in a learning organization.
Fourth, information related with organizational problems should be passed onto each unit
and function with clearly and fast. Fifth, teams help employees share their knowledge and
become aware of needs of others, and nature of work in different parts of the
organization. Teams should have the ability to work cross-functionally.
Gephart and Marsick (1996) define a learning organization is the organization that
has an enhanced capacity to learn, adapt, and change. They identified six essential
features of a learning organization. First, continuous learning at the systems level means
that individuals share their learning in ways that enable an organization to learn by
transferring knowledge across it and by integrating learning into organizational routines
and actions. Secondly, emphasis is placed on creating, capturing, and moving knowledge
rapidly and easily so that people the people who need it can access and use it quickly.
Third, critical systemic thinking means that people are encouraged to think creatively and
systemically in order to see link and feedback loops, and to identify assumptions. Fourth,
a culture of learning should be built in which learning and creativity are rewarded, and
supported. Fifth, a spirit of flexibility and experimentation demands that people are free
to take risks, experiment, innovate, explore new ideas, and perform their in a new way.
Sixth, a caring community that nurtures, values, and supports the well-being,
development, and learning of every individual should be nurtured, which is called as
people centered. They favored the concept of a shared leadership in a learning
organization. Leaders and managers provide support to the learning and development of
individuals and teams by providing resources to get the commitment to organizational
objectives and new learnings and ensure dissemination of knowledge.
Bennet & O‘Brien (1994) state that a learning organization facilitates the change
and improves business and the individual employee as well. They gave twelve key factors
that influence an organizations ability to learn and change: strategy/vision; executive
practices; managerial practices; climate; organization/job structure; information flow;
individual and team practices work processes; performance goals/feedback;
training/education; individual/team development; and rewards/recognition (cited in
Neefe, 2001).
In similar vein Garvin‘s (1993) states five activities of a learning organization.
First is concerned with the systematic problem-solving which demands that the problems
must be explored scientifically rather than relying on assumptions. Second,
experimentation is motivated by opportunities and expanding horizons, and not by
current difficulties. Third, organization should learn from the past experience and history
and lessons must be recorded in a form that employees find open and accessible. Fourth,
learning only from self-analysis is insufficient therefore; one should look outside one‘s
immediate environment to gain a new perspective which reveals best industry practices.
Transfer of knowledge. Fifth, learning is not a local affair. Knowledge should be spread
across functions immediately.
McGill & Slocum (1993) have mentioned seven road blocks that hinder learning.
First, a learning culture that features openness to experimentation, encourages risktaking,
and accept responsibility of failures and learn form them must be instituted in
COPY RIGHT © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 263
JANUARY 2011
VOL 2, NO 9