Page 205 - Fundamentals of Management Myths Debunked (2017)_Flat

204 Part 3 • Organizing
How Do You Build a Learning Organization?
learning organization
An organization that has developed the capacity to Doing business in an intensely competitive global environment, British retailer Tesco real-
continuously learn, adapt, and change
ized how important it was for its stores to run well behind the scenes. And it does so using
a proven “tool” called Tesco in a Box, which promotes consistency in operations as well
as being a way to share innovations. Tesco is an example of a learning organization, an
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organization that has developed the capacity to continuously learn, adapt, and change.
The concept of a learning organization doesn’t involve a specific organizational design
per se, but instead describes an organizational mind-set or philosophy that has significant
design implications. In a learning organization, employees are practicing knowledge man-
agement by continually acquiring and sharing new knowledge and are willing to apply
that knowledge in making decisions or performing their work. Some organizational design
theorists even go so far as to say that an organization’s ability to learn and to apply that
learning as they perform the organization’s work may be the only sustainable source of
competitive advantage.

Watch It 2!
If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of mymanagementlab.com to
complete the video exercise titled CH2MHill: Adaptive Organizational Design.

::::::: Technology and the Manager’s Job :::::::
THE CHAnGInG WORLD OF WORK

It’s fair to say that the world of work will never be like it was • Cell phones switch seamlessly between cellular networks and
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10 years ago. IT has opened up new possibilities for employees corporate Wi-Fi connections.
to do their work in locations as remote as Patagonia or in the The biggest issue in doing work anywhere, anytime is security.
middle of downtown Seattle. Although organizations have always Companies must protect their important and sensitive information.
had employees who traveled to distant corporate locations to However, software and other disabling devices have minimized secu-
take care of business, these employees no longer have to find rity issues considerably. Even insurance providers are more comfort-
the nearest pay phone or wait to get back to “the office” to see able giving their mobile employees access to information. For instance,
what problems have cropped up. Instead, mobile computing and Health Net Inc. gave BlackBerrys to many of its managers so they can
communication have given organizations and employees ways to tap into customer records from anywhere. One tech company CEO said
stay connected, be more productive, and be more environmentally that all types of organizations should start thinking about identifying
friendly. Let’s look at some of the technologies that are changing and creating innovative apps that their workers could use in doing their
the way work is done. jobs more efficiently and effectively and get those to them.
• Handheld devices with e-mail, calendars, and contacts can be If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of
used anywhere there’s a wireless network. And these devices mymanagementlab.com to complete these discussion questions.
can be used to log into corporate databases and company
intranets. TAlk AboUT IT 5: What benefits do you see with being able
• Employees can videoconference using broadband networks and to do work anywhere, anytime? (Think in terms of benefits for an
Web cams. organization and for its human resources.)
• Many companies are giving employees key fobs with constantly
changing encryption codes that allow them to log onto the TAlk AboUT IT 6: What other issues, besides security, do you
corporate network to access e-mail and company data from any see with being able to do work anywhere, anytime? (Again, think
computer hooked up to the Internet. about this for an organization and for its employees.)