Convenience

The Learning Organization
Another recent approach to organization design is the so-called learning organization.
Organizations that adopt this approach work to integrate continuous improvement with
continuous employee learning and development. Specifically, a
learning organization
is
one that works to facilitate the lifelong learning and personal development of all its
employees while continually transforming itself to respond to changing demands and
needs.
55
team organization
An approach to
organization design
that relies almost
exclusively on
project-type teams,
with little or no
underlying hierarchy
virtual organization
One that has little or
no formal structure
learning
organization
One that works to
facilitate the lifelong
learning and
personal
development of all its
employees while
continually
transforming itself to
respond to changing
demands and needs
182
Part 3:
Organizing
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Although managers might approach the concept of a learning organization from a
variety of perspectives, improved quality, continuous improvement, and performance
measurement are frequent goals. The idea is that the most consistent and logical strategy
for achieving continuous improvement is by constantly upgrading employee talent, skill,
and knowledge. For example, if each employee in an organization learns one new thing
each day and can translate that knowledge into work-related practice, continuous
improvement will logically follow. Indeed, organizations that wholeheartedly embrace
this approach believe that only through constant learning by employees can continuous
improvement really occur.
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In recent years, many different organizations have implemented this approach. For
example, Shell Oil purchased an executive conference center north of its headquarters
in Houston. The center boasts state-of-the-art classrooms and instructional technology,
lodging facilities, a restaurant, and recreational amenities such as a golf course, a
swimming pool, and tennis courts. Line managers at the firm rotate through the Shell
Learning Center, as the facility has been renamed, and serve as teaching faculty. Such
teaching assignments last anywhere from a few days to several months. At the same
time, all Shell employees routinely attend training programs, seminars, and related
activities, all the while learning the latest information they need to contribute more effec-
tively to the firm. Recent seminar topics have ranged from time management, to the impli-
cations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, to balancing work and family demands, to
international trade theory. The idea is that by continuously immersing people in shared
learning experiences, the firm will promote an organic design populated by people with
common knowledge, goals, and expectations.
SUMMARY OF LEARNING OUTCOMES AND KEY POINTS
1.
Identify the basic elements of organizations.
• Organizations are made up of a series of elements:
• designing jobs
• grouping jobs
• establishing reporting relationships
• distributing authority
• coordinating activities
• differentiating between positions
2.
Describe the bureaucratic perspective on organi-
zation design.
• The bureaucratic model attempted to prescribe
how all organizations should be designed.
• It is based on the presumed need for legitimate,
logical, and formal rules, regulations, and
procedures.
3.
Identify and explain key situational influences on
organization design.
• The situational view of organization design is based
on the assumption that the optimal organization
design is a function of situational factors.
• Four important situational factors are the
following:
• technology
• environment
• size
• organizational life cycle
4.
Describe the basic forms of organization design
that characterize many organizations.
• Many organizations today adopt one of four
basic organization designs:
• functional (U form)
• conglomerate (H form)
• divisional (M form)
• matrix
• Other organizations use a hybrid design derived
from two or more of these basic designs.
5.
Identify and describe emerging issues in organiza-
tion design.
• Three emerging issues in organization design
are the following:
• team organization
• virtual organization
• learning organization