TMS: Organizational Learning (plus a bit of CI

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TMS Organizational Learning (plus a bit of CI
TQM thrown in)

• Frances Jørgensen
• frances_at_plan.aau.dk

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Organizational Learning

• What do we mean by organizational learning?
  The Learning Organization? Why the interest in
  organizational learning? What has organizational
  learning to do with your projects? How do we
  measure organizational learning? What are some of
  the challenges to creating a Learning
  Organization and/or for establishing
  Organizational Learning?
• Learning objective for the student to gain an
  basic understanding of organizational learning
  from theoretical and practical perspectives,
  especially in terms of how these relate to
  organizational structure, systems, and processes.
  

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What do we mean by Organizational Learning?

• How can an organization learn?
• Individual learning?
• Group learning?
• More?
• How do we know that an organization has learned?

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Learning as Change

• Arygris and Schön (1978) a process of detecting
  and correcting error (behavioral, observable,
  measurable).
• Probst and Büchel (1997) the process by which
  the knowledge and value base changes, leading to
  better problem-solving and capacity for action
  (cognitive with expectation of behavioral
  changes)
• Friedlander (1983) also changes that lead to new
  insights and understanding

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Learning Cyclesfrom individual to group to
organization?
PDCA Cycle
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Levels of Organizational Learning

• Single-loop learning following present
  rules/policies to achieve present objectives
  (Arygris, C. and Schön, D. Organizational
  Learning, Reading, Mass Addison-Wesley).
• Double-loop learning modification of
  rules/policies to achieve new objectives (ibid)
• Deutero-learning learning from learning
  (Bateson,1973)

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How do we know if/when an organization has
learned?

• Learning as a result learning has occurred if
  there is improvement of results
• Learning as a process routines change as a
  result of accumulated experiences

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An Organization Memory

• Experience from learning processes are stored in
  the organizations memoryroutines, norms,
  procedures, beliefs, stories, strategies, and
  technology.
• Experiences can also go against formal routines
  and procedures.
• Experiences are transferred through
  socialization, education, imitation, transfer of
  personnel, mergers, acquisitions, etc.
• Experiences can survive after those involved
  leave the company new employees may follow the
  routines developed from experience but often lack
  the background on which those routines were
  based.

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Eleven Characteristics of the Learning Company

• A Learning Approach to Strategy
• Participative Policy Making
• Informating
• Formative Accounting and Control
• Internal Exchange
• Reward Flexibility
• Enabling Structure
• Boundary Workers as Environmental Scanners
• Inter-company Learning
• A Learning Climate
• Self-Development Opportunities for All
• (Pedler, Burgoyne, and Boydell, 1997)

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A Learning Organization needs

• Systematic problem solving
• Experimentation with new approaches
• Learning from past experiences
• Learning from the experiences and best practices
  of others
• Transferring knowledge quickly and effectively
  through the organization
• (Garvin, 1993)

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Continuous Improvement

• is defined as
• ...the planned, organized and systematic process
  of on-going, incremental and company-wide change
  of existing practice aimed at improving company
  performance (Boer et al., 2000).
• is based on
• Continuous development learning
• Full utilization of employee potential
• Employee responsibility for improvement

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Kaizen (Imai, 1986)

• Kaizen
• Process-oriented results can only be improved if
  processes are improved
• People-oriented based on the belief that
  peoples natural desire for quality and value,
  and that it will pay for itself in the long run.
• Standard-oriented standards are required in
  order for improvement to occur.

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What is it all about?
Its really very simple! Basically, when you have
done something, think about what has been done
and try to do it better the next time!
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• 1 technician from each of 4 teams goes to the
  managers office at least once each day
• Accounting
• workdays i 1997 230 days
• Distance to office 2x90 180 m there and back
• 4180230 165.600 m 165 km
• Conclusion
• If these trips are cut by just one ½, 83 km
  walking is saved.
• What about coordinating the teams? What about
  another form of communication?

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Balancing Radical Change CI
continuous improvement
Practice or performance standard
maintenance
continuously improved practice or performance
standard
radical innovation
maintained practice or performance standard
practice or performance standard development
without maintenance
radical innovation
Time
Kilde Imai, 1986
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Kaizen/Innovation Comparison (Cole, R., CI2000
Conference, Aalborg)
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Kaizen/Innovation Comparison (contd)
INNOVATION
KAIZEN
FEATURES
Maintenance Improvement
Scrap and Rebuild
Mode
Spark
Tech breakthrough
Conventional know how
Requires great investment, little maintenance
Requires little investment, lots maintenance
Practical Requirements
People
Effort Focus
Technology
Evaluation Criteria
Process focus
Results focus
Works well in slow growth economy
Suited to fast growth economy
Advantage
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• The Maturity Model
• Natural CI No formal CI structure,
  problem-solving is seldom often conducted by
  specialists.
• Systematic CI Formal attempts at creating,
  supporting, and maintaining CI formal
  problem-solving procedures are used and supported
  by basic CI tools. CI often run parallel to work
  processes.
• Goal-oriented CI In addition to above, formal
  diffusion and application of strategic goals,
  with monitoring measuring of CI in relation to
  these goals.
• Pro-active/self-driven CI In addition to above,
  with the responsibility for CI being assumed by
  the problem-solving units themselves (department,
  groups, etc.)
• Strategic CI Full implementationthe learning
  organisation, a dominate lifestyle involving all
  in organisation. Active learning occurs naturally
  and is shared automatically. Combined large
  small innovations

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Key Aspects of CI

• Suggestions, support of recognition, pay, and
  educational systems
• Application of production techniques
  quality-related management methods, tools, and
  techniques.
• Individual group-based contribution (within and
  across functions)
• Not obligatory or volunteer rather, normal,
  daily activities.
• Organization-wide support involvement
  (production, management, departments e.g.
  product/process development)

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Key aspects of CI (contd)

• Top down / bottom up planned, strategy driven
  and emergent contributions to strategy
  development.
• Various levels of integration between action and
  reflection PDCA cycle (problem
  identification/solution proposals in Japan/USA)
  full ownership of entire cycle (analysis,
  solutions, implementation in Scandinavia).
• Encourage individual organizational learning as
  part of daily activities
• Numerous projects occurring simultaneously not
  hit and miss
• Not just in production moving into service areas
• Not just internal processes moving into supply
  chain and networks

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Benefits of CI

• Small improvements in quality, costs, delivery
  time, safety, job improvement, etc.
• Establishes foundation for other (larger)
  improvements (i.e. radical changes)
• Maintenance improvement of larger changes (e.g.
  Lego maintenance of BPR project results)
• Development of competencies, learning,
  self-management (e.g. Coloplast autonomous teams)

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Plan Do Check Act
Planning and preparation, based on an analysis of
existing practices and performance Plan
Act The new practices are standardized but
opportunities for further improvement remain open

Do Implementation of the plan
Check Check whether changes have resulted in
expected improvements
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TQM

• A change in organizations technology (way of
  doing work), in the organization's culture (its
  norms, values, and belief systems), and a change
  in an organization's political system (decision
  making processes and power bases), with the
  objective of satisfying internal and external
  customers and suppliers .
• Significant changes cannot be expected unless all
  of these dimensions are aligned. TQM implemented
  as simply technological change will not be
  successful (Tichey, 1983).

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TQM
Total Quality involves everyone and all
activities in the company. Quality Conformance
to Requirements (Meeting Customer Requirements).
Management Quality can and must be managed.
TQM A process for managing quality it must
be a continuous way of life a philosophy of
perpetual improvement in everything we do.
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Principles of TQM

• Quality can and must be managed.
• Everyone has a customer and is a supplier.
• Processes, not people are the problem.
• Every employee is responsible for quality.
• Problems must be prevented, not just fixed.
• Quality must be measured.
• Quality improvements must be continuous.
• The quality standard is defect free.
• Goals are based on requirements, not negotiated.
• Life cycle costs, not front end costs.
• Management must be involved and lead.
• Plan and organize for quality improvement.

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Implementing TQM

• A first step in TQM implementation involves
  assessing
• the current state of the organization (history,
  needs,
• preconditions, factors leading to decision to
  adopt
• TQM, and employee relationships).
• One method of conducting this assessment is the
• force field analysis

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Sample Force Field Analysis

DRIVING FORCES RESTRAINING FORCES
Environmental pressures leading to reduced funds Middle management fear of loss of control
Staff who may like to be more involved in agency decision making Lack of time for line workers to take time for TQM meetings
Successful applications of TQM elsewhere Skepticism based on the organization's poor performance regarding change
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Process management and improvement

• Define the process
• Measure process performance (metrics)
• Review process performance
• Identify process shortcomings
• Analyze process problems
• Make a process change
• Measure the effects of the process change
• Communicate effects to all parties

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