2.1. The Learning Organization -The Context
Learning Organization is identified to be the one which continuously learns and adapts
itself to the changing environment. The concept of Learning Organization is a recent one
however it applicability to today’s challenges faced by organizations has given it
significance in the business world. Due to the complexity of environment, organizations
have realized that gaining and sustaining competitive edge is not possible without
resorting to the Learning Organization strategies (Farago & Skyrme, 1995). It was then,
that organizations in the business world clearly understood that achieving the required
quality standards was not possible unless each and every employee plays his/her role
efficiently and effectively in the organizational process (Gilley & Maycunich; 1999).
This was only possible when an employee understood the importance of their role and
could see it in relation to the whole business process. The concept of learning
organization had all what the business community needed. The concept of Learning
Organization has been defined as:
A group of people pursuing common purpose (individual purpose as well)
with a collective commitment to regularly weighing the value of those
purpose, modifying them when that makes sense and continuously
developing more effective and efficient ways of accomplishing those
purpose (Leithwood, Jantzi and Steinbach, 1995).According to this definition all the individuals share the same purpose, but it also
adds that this purpose also does not remain the same all the times and the possibility is
that it changes in response to the changes in the needs. Discussing the environmental
impact Vecchio, Hearn and Southy (1997) have highlighted that “It is obvious that
environment interacts with the organization and has the potential to threaten the very
existence of the organization”.
A common purpose and collective commitment may be there but still that will not
improve the proficiency level of the organization. The people of an organization who run