12.2 Achievement of Organizational Culture in a Learning Organization

How is achievement defined in a learning organization? At this point, it must be said that learners achieve their goals with learning objectives over an amount of time. However, a more applied approach is  in the different processes that might be needed to achieve organizational success. Here is a list of the different processes of organizational culture that have an impact on the future of learning organizations:

• hiring philosophy
• institutional policies
• budgeting process
• rewards
• decision-making style

Hiring philosophy, in many ways, is how leaders or managers align themselves when  hiring individuals. For example, when looking at a résumé of an individual, does his or her ability to be proficient in Microsoft Office offer an advantage to the job prospect, or is it seen as an expectation in the modern age of computers and technology?  Should that space on a résumé be substituted by a more advanced skill? Is a cover letter important? is an attached application form on a résumé redundant? These can play a role in how effectively leaders recruit and hire members in their organizations.  This leads to institutional policies of how directives of government and society affect the direction of a learning organization. Will a learning organization guide all of their programs with a divergent method, or take on a previous method? This can all depend on internal factors (i.e. change in upper management) or external factors (i.e. change in government and legislation) to influence how institutional policies will be shaped.

Budgeting process is how learning organizations will budget programs within their walls. The challenge with this is that since the 2008 recession, most nations have bounced back financially, but are more fiscally aware, and have not left a savings-model. The classic corporate philosophy of maximize productivity + minimize wage = maximal profit seems to be a trend in some learning organizations.  This trend must be understood, so that the goal of learning falls to the wayside. Therefore, a more learning-focused budget on using funds to enhance learning will render a more utilitarian outcome, as outcomes will be dispersed throughout the organization and community, as opposed to strict savings, which benefit only a few.

Rewards should be thoughtful in a twenty-first-century framework. How will learners be rewarded in a modern society? First, there is a growing loss of work due to external factors such as technology and an increased population. Rewards in a modern sense means tailoring learning authentically and experientially to help learners gain further workplace and societal skills, and profit financially from their achievements of learning outcomes. Of course, do not forget that, as leaders, that passion and care should be paramount.  Rewards still play a significant factor, which leads to the decisions made by leaders affecting these processes. Decision-making styles follow Chapter 8, and apply to managing achievement for the future of a learning organization. Effectively being able to share important ideas and processes for success will be foremost in how  future learning organizations are impacted.

Recall Peter Senge, and his prediction of learning organizations, where he outlines a social responsibility of organizations to lead and manage effectively in the areas of diversity and environmental responsibility[8]. He points to  focused understandings and deep habits of thought, as opposed to quick-fixes, both economically and philosophically[8]. This means not just listing the processes, but using them effectively to lead, manage, and guide the learning organization into the future.