Management Accounting For Learning Organisation

Learning Organization and its Concepts

Discuss about the Management Accounting for Learning Organisation.

Learning organisation can be considered as a commercial term, which is used for a business entity that facilitates learning of their members for the purpose of continuous transformation. The learning organisation indicates towards organisation wherein people develop their capacity in order to deliver the desired results, creative and extensive patterns are encouraged, shared goal is freed and lastly facilitates continuous learning among employees (Garvin, Edmondson and Gino, 2008). Learning organisation is featured as complete employee engagement incorporating a process of collaborative conduct, which is accountable for change leading to shared values and principles.

In accordance with the study of Garvin (2003), learning organisation creates their own future through constant learning and incorporating creative procedures for their members. Such businesses develop, transforms and adapts by considering the internal and external environment to survive in the market.

As inferred by Sandra Kerka (2003), is that the mostly the concept of learning organisation revolves around the assumption that “learning is continual, valuable and effectual when shared upon and from each experience opportunity to learn is gained”.  The traits that are identifiable in a learning organisation are that seeks to provide a continuous learning environment. They utilise learning to meet their ambitions. Further, management of such business foster investigation and discussion, building it safe for people to openly share and undertake risks. They link employee performance with the organisational performance for being conscious and aware of the change in the environment. In addition to this, they embracing creative tension

As Kerke concept comments about the learning organisation, Peter Senge has helped in identifying the keys to gain this form of a learning organisation.

The concept of learning organisation emerged through the research of Peter Senge and their coworkers. This concept was developed due to increasing pressure faced by business organisations for being competitive in a dynamic environment. Peter Senge (2014), has expressed his thought on defining the key segments, which will help in becoming a learning organisation. His works on Fifth Discipline: the art and practice of learning organisation elaborated that five discipline that one must master while incorporating learning into their organisation. These disciples are:

This begins with the notion of being committed towards lifelong learning and is identified as an integral part of learning organisation (Senge, 2014). This disciple thus focuses on becoming more realistic, turning into best possible individual and striving towards achieving commitment and development towards career development to discharging the potential.

It is imperative to manage as they inhibit creative insights and organisational practices from being implemented. The process starts from self-reflection, self-beliefs, and lastly understanding of how far these influences the manner in which one operates in their life.  Unless there are acceptance and focus of one to realisation freely, real change cannot be derived.  

Vision is not dictated; as it might not be possible that individual vision is in tune with the leader’s vision. What requires is an indisputable vision that assures commitment from all in both good and bad time. The vision expressed should altogether bind an organisation. As Peter Senge has strongly advocated that an organisation must build a shared vision that fosters commitment for the long term.

Peter Senge’s Five Disciplines of Learning Organizations

This equally holds relevance as a modern organisation are operated on the basis of teamwork, which reflects that organisation will not be competent to learn if the members of the team are not ready to get together and learn. In order to gain desirable results, it is important to develop the skill set a goal and work together to gain it.

It is the capability of perceiving the big picture and revealing the patterns rather than just conceptualising the change. The system thinking cannot be used in stand-alone it requires the use of other four disciplines to qualify as a learning organisation (Senge, 2014). It is imperative to move from being unrelated to being interlinked on the whole and from cursing on externals for our problems we should realise our own actions that have led to the creation of problems.

Thus, in a crux, it can be said that learning organisation indicate towards the mindset of senior management who does all the critical thinking for the organisation on the whole and challenge employees to identify their capabilities and inner willingness to learn.

Wesfarmers is an Australian conglomerate established in the year 1914 having its current headquarter in Esplanade Perth, Western Australia. The multinational corporation had around 205000 employees and engaged in retailing industry. They provide home improvement and office supplies and they had also expanded in mining.

No organisation is born perfect there is always some scope for improvement. Wesfarmers has been driven by the force of continuous improvement and takes sheer steps to become better than it was yesterday (Rowley and Gibbs, 2008). With continuous improvement comes constant learning. This entails on figuring out what are the flaws and areas of improvement, which instils upon trying out new ideas, observing the possible impact and ascertaining the further course of action to derive the desired results. The foundation on which Wesfarmers is done to provide supplies to western Australian farmers in order to assist them in better growth. With this approach, they were able to enhance productivity of agriculture industry by through innovative and beneficial products and services to farmers.

In accordance with the management of company, various management and learning philosophies assist them in enhancing their skills and capabilities to attain their aims and objectives in an effective manner and by this they had attained most lucrative position in the world. The last and most important principle that is highlighted by company is “Turning itself into a learning organisation by the way persistent, continuous improvement.”

Wesfarmers had begun learning since 20^th century, Peter Senge books of discipline have defined what needs for an organisation to become a learning organisation. Management of Wesfarners has exclusively promoted all the segments of these five disciplines stated to successfully turn into a learning organisation (Thomsen, and Hoest, 2001).

For an organisation to develop a common commitment towards the long-term goals and achievements it is important that the members accept a shared vision. In Wesfarmers, the philosophy of Kaizen has been excessively used which not only relies on making improvement and implementing them by management but rather it incorporates all, depending on the proficiency, knowledge and experience of people that are a part of the process of improvement (Grieves, 2008). For instance at research and development team of Wesfarmers is engaged in finding creative ways to solve problems that previously had not been thought of.

Wesfarmers: A Learning Organization

An organisation learning is a much more dependent on the ability of its individual member desirability to learn. Personal mastery indicates towards motivating individual to learn and become enhanced. At the beginning of every event at Wesfarmers, the first question that is asked is about what are your expectation? The answer that is most commonly received is, “To learn”.  With learn they may indicate towards the processes it would like to improve, the area of the company, which are not so familiar, or with the Wesfarmers production system and means on how it can be improved (van Eijnatten and Putnik, 2004).

Team learning is another core aspect that helps the organisation achieve extraordinary results. The Production System of Wesfarmers is to encourage team member to do the creative thinking and develop ideas that are responsible for evaluating ways to meet successful improving operations (Murray, 2013). Management of company believed that No one individual is responsible for delivering the desired results but by gathering a team of employees, it is possible to achieve results that could have not been accomplished by just one individual.

Mental models are the beliefs and assumption an individual presume to form its interpretations. These models are likely to drive behaviours. There is a need of an individual to look at him or her and examine his or her own thought to improve us continually. The self-sufficiency helps individual learn about its capabilities it holds within himself to meet the organisational goals. Wesfarmers flourished by forming a culture of innovation as their leadership approach was willing to risk short-term failure for the longer-term outcome. Management of Wesfarmers is focused with the fact that it takes time to develop a culture for innovation, but rapid adoption of innovation is not possible it.

System Thinking is a way in which organisation is required to perceive organisation on the whole and not in a discrete manner; with a broad perspective, an organisation can shape future of the organisation. The Production System of Wesfarmers is the aptest example of system thinking affecting the business organisation (Murray, 2013).

Every organisation is required to develop learning within the culture to deliver the desired performances. The reasons why organisation growth enhances due to learning are motivating and developing moral of the employee as they feel valued which help in delivering prospective results effectively (Yeo, 2015). Further, learning is directly linked to development. Learning help in developing sound practices of working which are aligned to organisation targets. It has the potential to increase the overall productive capacity of the organisation. People, attitude and the service are an integral part of organisational success. All these factors are promoted through learning (Inkpen, 2010). Learning encourages change and facilitating such change progressively help in attaining success.

Reference

Murray, B., 2013. Creating a Culture for Innovation. Effective Executive, 16(1), p.55.

Garvin, D.A., 2013. Learning in action: A guide to putting the learning organisation to work. Harvard Business Review Press.

Garvin, D.A., Edmondson, A.C. and Gino, F., 2008. Is yours a learning organisation?. Harvard business review, 86(3), p.109.

Grieves, J., 2008. Why we should abandon the idea of the learning organisation. The Learning Organization, 15(6), pp.463-473.

Inkpen, A.C., 2010. Learning through joint ventures: a framework for knowledge acquisition. Journal of management studies, 37(7), pp.1019-1044.

Kerka, S., 2013. Appreciative Inquiry. Trends and Issues Alert.

Rowley, J. and Gibbs, P., 2008. From learning organisation to practically wise organisation. The learning organisation, 15(5), pp.356-372.

Senge, P.M., 2014. The dance of change: The challenges to sustaining momentum in a learning organisation. Crown Business.

Thomsen, H.K. and Hoest, V., 2010. Employees’ perception of the learning organisation. Management Learning, 32(4), pp.469-491.

van Eijnatten, F.M. and Putnik, G.D., 2004. Chaos, complexity, learning, and the learning organisation: towards a chaotic enterprise. The Learning Organization, 11(6), pp.418-429.

Yeo, R.K., 2015. Revisiting the roots of a learning organisation: A synthesis of the learning organisation literature. The Learning Organization, 12(4), pp.368-382.