says “Organization learns only through individuals who learn.”(1990). The concept of a
Learning Organization is based on creating harmony among individuals who work in that
organization and harmony among various and diverse processes within an organization. It
is also fundamental to the concept of a Learning Organization to maintain harmony
among the activities carried out in that organization and with the environment it exists in.
Creating harmony within the workforce means the people have to learn to perform in a
way that conflicts are minimized. Again, harmony in processes and activities means that
individuals carrying out processes and activities are so trained that their performance
facilitates each other’s work smoothly. And finally, the activities within the processes are
coordinated in such a way that these supplement each other in promoting efficient and
effective continuity of the processes.
Now considering harmony with the environment, it is actually individuals that
mould their performance according to challenges posed by external environment. In a
nutshell, internal and external harmony could be achieved when individuals are focused
and their performance is maneuvered towards achieving overall coordination.
The Senge’s concept (1990) for personal mastery is the foundation for effective
learning among individuals. Personal mastery does not mean control or dominance over
other members of an organization. It is self-control and command of an individual. It is
the level of intellectual capabilities that enables individuals to become in charge of
things. Senge proposed two types of movements leading to initiation of the process of
personal mastery:
- Classifying what is more important and what holds high value for us and,
- Learning to see the existing reality in its true spirit.
This means that an individual first has to realize the primary purpose of his/her
life and his/her performance to achieve the desired goals of his/her personal life. This
enables an individual to see things beyond the immediate, and more critically and
analytically. Seeing reality in its true spirit means that an individual should not view
things as he/she expects them to be, instead, he/she should consider the reality, which
would enable them to choose their response more precisely and rationally.