role of learning and development in accelerating change

7/25/2019 Role of learning and Development in Accelerating Change

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ROLE OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN

ACCELERATING CHANGE

Preeti Bhatnagar

Yogesh Shastri

1.0 Introduction:

For organizations in business, its war out there. The corporate business scenario is

riddled with cut throat competition, price wars, ruthless shutdowns, hostile taeo!ers,

unwilling mergers and so on. The pace o" change in e#ternal en!ironment is blistering,so much so, that be"ore a new organizational management theor$ to counter the current

crisis is articulated, the nature o" crisis itsel" changes, rendering all the theories obsolete.

Stabilit$ and predictabilit$ in world socio%economic order is a sub&ect o" histor$.

'ie a li!ing organism, an$ organization operates within a constantl$ changing

en!ironment. (ew business realities ) in "orm o" une#pected technologies, emerging

marets and radical inno!ations that rewrite the rules o" the competition ) continuall$

present "resh challenges. To sur!i!e and sta$ ahead o" ri!als, an organization must

adapt to those realities *uicl$ and that re*uires the organization to dri!e change

e""ecti!el$.

+ri!ing change within an organization and accelerating it to the tune o" change in

e#ternal en!ironment is such an important leadership initiati!e that new paradigms "or

change management continue to emerge almost at a breanec pace. The trend is liel$

to persist as long as "ailure rate "or change initiati!es ) two out o" e!er$ three, reports


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ar!ard Business School pro"essors -ichael Beer and (itin (oharia /0in 1Breaing the

2ode o" 2hange3 )continues unabated.

2.0 4ccelerating 2hange in an 5rganization:6ith organizations sur!i!al at stae, there are no options le"t but to create and manage

a culture that will help organization in combating the uncertainties o" the "uture. 4 culture

that dri!es the change "rom within, proacti!el$ and aggressi!el$ to outper"orm the

competition is the need o" the da$. +e!eloping and sustaining such a culture in an

organization is necessar$ "or sur!i!al.

The three basic aspects o" an organization culture are people, process and s$stem and

structures 7see "igure /8 and while it is relati!el$ easier to deal with processes and

s$stems and structures, managing change is "undamentall$ a people issue. Its about

moti!ating and in"luencing beha!ior, about breaing old habits and attitudes and aboutcreating an en!ironment that is conduci!e to embracing the new. Simpl$ limiting change

initiati!es to issue management i.e. managing cost, time and *ualit$ wont wor ) the$

are but the tip o" iceberg 7see "igure 98, the attitude and beha!ior o" the people and their

acceptance is what matters the most.

Bringing about change is easier said than done, because b$ our nature, human beings

resist the unnown and un"amiliar. 6e are com"ortable with status *uo, no matter what

problems lies underneath. The once success"ul patterns wont be able to address the

new and emergent challenges. It is re*uired to re!eal the deeper problems o"ten hidden

b$ successes. ""ecti!e change agents now when to let go o" the old wa$ o" conducting

business and "orge ahead with new.

3.0 2oping with 2hange ) ;nlearning and


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energ$ ) but at the same time, the$ also constrain or disperse energ$. The$ are also the

primar$ cause o" an organizations inabilities to adapt to changes in its conte#t. In mild or

se!ere "orms, these patterns can become ingrained as com"ort zones, addictions, hiding

place o" denial and sel" protection. The large enterprises ma&or problem is not to learn,

but to unlearn the recipes that once made them big. The organizational nowledge

structures are stuc in the once success"ul pattern, and the$ are doomed to be obsolete

one da$. 5ld recipes alwa$s run the ris o" turning sour with en!ironmental changes. The

challenge here is to unlearn ) unlearn the s$stems and practices and technologies that

do not ser!e well.

The "uture is not in learning. It is in how "ast we are at unlearning. The sooner we get rid

o" our old baggage, the better we are. 6e need to unlearn what our target maret is,

because it eeps changing. 6e need to unlearn the wa$ we ad!ertise and maret,

because the maret eeps getting smarter. 6e need to unlearn the wa$ we approach

our brand, because thats no longer in our control. 6e need to unlearn the wa$s we treat

our emplo$ees, because the emplo$ees e#pectations too are changing. 6e need to

unlearn technologies, methodologies and designs we use. 4nd it goes on. Progress

towards our goals ma$ sometimes re*uire an about turn. =oals ma$ not change, but the

path to success is in a constant state o" "lu#.

I" an organization is trul$ desirous o" creating a competiti!e edge, a change in course

ma$ be necessar$ "rom time to time. It re*uires the organization to essentiall$ unlearn

what it nows about being a success. Success, e#perience, sacrosanct belie"s>all

ser!e to condition the organization. The$ harden its protecti!e shell, maing it

imper!ious to change. This hardening o" the shell or the conditioning is ine!itable, and at

times e!en appropriate. It helps them to "unction more e""ecti!el$ in the en!ironment

the$ li!e in, but the$ cannot &ust hope to see better results b$ repeating the same old

patterns. ?ust as we cannot plant new crops without "irst uprooting the old roots and

gi!ing new seeds a chance, organizations and indi!iduals need to unlearn be"ore the$

can learn anew.

The argument "or organizational unlearning is to ha!e a better "it with the en!ironment in

order to thri!e and sur!i!e. It taes a sound intellect, a "air degree o" sel" con"idence

and courage to abandon something that is nown and belie!ed in, and replace it with

something new. It is a process that must be care"ull$ managed. 5ne cannot a""ord to


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unlearn the precious e#periences necessar$ "or organizational li"e. There is a di""erence

between unlearning and "orgetting ) while the "ormer will precipitate a process o"

relearning in the organization, the result o" organization "orgetting can be disastrous.

5"ten, what we alread$ now gets in wa$ o" what we want to learn. 6hen we unlearn,

we generate anew rather than re"ormulate the same old stu"". 2reati!it$ and inno!ation

bubble up during the process o" unlearning. ;nlearning is not about right or wrong. It is

about being open to e#ploring something that lies outside the nown domain. The

process o" unlearning is about liberation or "reedom "rom conditioning or "rom the nown.

I" we wish to blossom, we should remember that a seed will onl$ germinate and grow

into a tree, i" it ceases to be a seed.

4.0 5rganizational 'earning and +e!elopment:

5rganizational unlearning and relearning is not simpl$ the most "ashionable or current

management trend, it can pro!ide wor en!ironments that are open to creati!e thoughts,

and embrace the concept that solutions to the ongoing wor%related problems are

a!ailable inside each and e!er$ one o" us. 4ll we must do is tap into our collecti!e

nowledge base. It gi!es us the abilit$ to thin criticall$ and creati!el$, the abilit$ to

communicate ideas and concepts and the abilit$ to cooperate with peers in the process

o" in*uir$ and action.

4n organization which pro!ides the necessar$ s$stems and structures "or organization

wide learning is re"erred to as a 1learning organization3. 4 learning organization is one

that sees to create its own "uture@ that assumes learning as an ongoing and creati!e

process "or its members@ and the one that de!elops, adapts, and trans"orms itsel" in

response to the changing en!ironment.

owe!er, there is more to it, than simpl$ creating the s$stems and structures. -an$

researchers ha!e established that 1learning b$ doing3 is one o" the most e""ecti!e

methods o" de!elopment. The more conte#tual learning is to a &ob, the more an

indi!idual is moti!ated to learn. I" organizations can mae critical learning a!ailable at

the moment o" need, the$ create an inherent 1teachable moment3 ) an ideal time to

le!erage learning without upsetting the &ob at hand. 6hile "ormal learning is !er$ much

necessar$ "or long term competenc$ de!elopment, this t$pe o" 1embedded learning3 will

support sill de!elopment through collaboration and *uer$ inter!entions. 4nd its not onl$


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about 1hands on learning3 onl$, learning at the le!el o" emotion will also become

important. 4s +r. +ebashis 2hatter&ee emphasizes:

Learning is the new form of productivity .Those old wise habits will have to be revisited.

We have to learn by heart

5.0 2reating the climate "or change

The "uture is alread$ here, Sa$s ?a$ 2onger, % its &ust the matter o" recognizing it A0.e

"urther adds 1The art o" leadership is the art o" abandonment3. ""ecti!e change agents

now when to let go, what to let go and how to let go o" old wa$ o" doing business and

"orge ahead with new. 4nd, this can onl$ happen i" the organization is continuall$

e!ol!ing a culture o" learning and de!elopment, because it is learning which precipitates

change. 4s +r. P.


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Lea%ers&!': 'eadership should encourage learning to help both the indi!idual

and organization in learning. It is the leaderCs responsibilit$ to help restructure the

indi!idual !iews o" team members. For e#ample, the$ need to help the teams

understand that competition is a "orm o" learning@ not a hostile act.

'eadership must also pro!ide commitment "or long%term learning in the "orm o"

resources. The amount o" resources a!ailable determines the *uantit$ and

*ualit$ o" learning. This means that the organization must be prepared to support

this.

E#'"wer#en$:The locus o" control shi"ts to the people who are actuall$ closer

to the place o" !alue addition. People become responsible "or their actions@ but

the leaders do not lose their in!ol!ement. The$ still need to encourage, enthuse

and co%ordinate the people. *ual participation must be allowed at all le!els sothat members can learn "rom each other simultaneousl$. This is unlie

traditionall$ learning that in!ol!es a top%down structure 7classroom%t$pe e#ample8

which is time consuming.

Learn!n(:2ompanies can learn to achie!e these aims in 'earning 'abs. These

are small%scale models o" real%li"e settings where management teams learn how

to learn together through simulation games. The$ need to "ind out what "ailure is

lie so that the$ can learn "rom their mistaes in the "uture. These leaders are

then responsible "or setting up an open, "le#ible atmosphere in their

organizations to encourage their teams to "ollow their learning e#ample.

In a "ast paced continuall$ shi"ting en!ironment, resilience to change is o"ten the most

important "actor that distinguishes those who succeed "rom those who "ail. This

resilience can be built into the +(4 o" an organization through continuous continual

learning and de!elopment o" its people into leaders who see change as an opportunit$

to e#cel and thri!e.

).0 Towards a 'earning 5rganization ) The S4I' e#perience

To success"ull$ thri!e on change, we need a conscious approach towards unlearning

and relearning. (ot onl$ do we need to re"lect on our weanesses, we also need to

"oresee the pit"alls ahead. Based on our studies and research o" the a!ailable literature

in the "ield o" organization learning, we propose a 1(ormati!e sel" correcti!e model3 7see

"igure D8 "or accelerating change through learning and de!elopment.


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F!(*re 4: N"r#a$!e se+, -"rre-$!e #"%e+ ,"r a--e+era$!n( -&an(e

A PRERE/IITE

Dee+"' +ea%ers&!' s!++s:To start with we need to de!elop leaders. 'earning

organizations need di""erent leadership sills. 4s Peter Senge D0sa$s:

In a learning organization, leaders are designers, stewards and teachers.

'eaders are responsible "or building organizations where people continuall$ e#pand

their capabilities to understand comple#it$, clari"$ !ision, and impro!e shared mentalmodels ) that is, the$ are responsible "or learning>. learning organizations will

remain a Egood idea> until people tae a stand "or building such organizations.

Taing this stand is the "irst leadership act.

It has been long nown that leadership is a sill that can be learnt and practiced. 4t

S4I', we ha!e de!eloped specialized training programs, and outsourced the tas to


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the e#perts in this "ield to de!elop our leaders as learners, teachers, stewards and

designers.

F"r(e a s&are% !s!"n an% #!ss!"n:Building a shared !ision is crucial earl$ on

as it E"osters a long%term orientation and an imperati!e "or learning. -ass

communication e#ercises b$ top leadership are a pro!en tool "or this e#ercise. S4I',

in past has used tools lie 2


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d. 4dd the necessar$ hardware and so"tware

e. Strengthen the communication networ using tools lie "orum discussion

7blogging8 and e%learning.

The leadership has taen se!eral steps to reduce the communication bottlenecs,

which include

;se o" plant wide intranet to communicate with people

Introduction o" AGH "eedbac s$stem

Facilitating use o" mobiles inside the plant premises

Introduction o" 1Ispat Sandesh3 % a newsletter in local language

E#'&as!e $ra!n!n(: !en the trainers need to be trained.

It was "elt that our < personnel need to eep themsel!es abreast o"

de!elopments in e#ternal en!ironment to maintain their e""ecti!eness.

Training is identi"ied as the most important tool "or sill building. To create a culture

o" organizational learning, we need to de!elop special leadership sills and strong

communication sills amongst S4I' leaders. 2ompetence mapping started at

-erchant -ill o" +urgapur Steel Plant, +urgapur and in some o" the areas o" Bhilai

Steel Plant is a welcome step towards bridging the sill gap. Tools lie

ps$chometric pro"iling also need be used to identi"$ the training and learning needs

o" an indi!idual to help people learn better.

6e at S4I', also need to enhance our "ormal training to the ne#t le!el ) both in

*uantitati!e and *ualitati!e sense, as it is !er$ signi"icant in two respects: to

communicate wh$ and how compan$ is changing and to enable people at all le!els

to generate a positi!e change "or themsel!es in their own area and "or the whole

compan$.

In%!!%*a+ +earn!n(: The process o" organizational learning begins with an

indi!idual. ?ob enrichment with incenti!es is the most power"ul dri!er "or indi!idual

learning. -ultisilling was implemented in man$ units o" Bhilai Steel Plant

success"ull$ onl$ because there was an incenti!e associated with learning new

sills and trade.


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4nother important dri!er o" indi!idual learning is &ob rotation. It pushes the

indi!iduals out o" their com"ort zones, and moti!ates them to unlearn their old

nowledge and learn anew. owe!er, &ob rotation must be an 1upward spiral

process3, in which learning and growth go hand in hand.

It is a matter o" e#perience that people learn best b$ doing. This rein"orces the

theor$ o" 1embedded learning3 as one o" the most e""ecti!e means o" indi!idual

learning. 'ining this process with nowledge management, will de"initel$ result in

a power"ul step towards organizational learning.

S4I' also sponsors its managers and leaders "or higher education in rele!ant

areas. 4n inno!ati!e dri!e e%abhi$an was also started b$ uman


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a. +irect team learning inter!entions

b. Fair and tough team appraisal s$stems

c. onest team rewarding

n"w+e%(e Mana(e#en$:4t Bhilai Steel Plant, we ha!e identi"ied three main

bottle necs in nowledge management:

a. Important nowledge is not "ormall$ captured and stored

b. Poor contribution to nowledge repositor$ o" organization

c. ;se"ulness o" the nowledge pieces in nowledge repositor$

6e need to address all these three issues. 6e need to mae in!estment in eas$

and e""ecti!e usage o" nowledge management s$stems, because i" it is not done,

the *ualit$ o" data gets worse, the trust in data reduces, which in turn leads to

decline in usage o" nowledge management s$stems 7see "igure 8. 6e must stri!e

to de!elop nowledge management as a mo!ement ) mae it a "unctional s$stem

rather than ornamental accessor$. 4nd, all the while we need to eep it in mind that

nowledge management is not about data management ) its all about people. It

should be people based, people oriented and people dri!en. It should stimulate the

unlearning and relearning "rom within, because nowledge is the e$ % to trans"orm

S4I' into a learning organization.

In addition to this, it is also suggested that participation in nowledge management

dri!e must be made compulsor$ b$ accepting it as a e$ per"ormance area. 6e

also suggest that a s$stem o" incenti!es 7and disincenti!es as well8 will also

promote a greater participation in nowledge management s$stems.

D PROVIDING OPPORTNITIE

People o"ten learn in response to a need. 6hen the$ dont see the need, the$ o"ten

ignore or re&ect it and "ail to assimilate it in meaning"ul wa$s. 6e need to generate

the 1creati!e tension3 that stimulates the need to unlearn and relearn b$ pro!iding

opportunities to the people and b$ moulding them to percei!e challenges as


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opportunities. S4I' has embared upon an ambitious growth plan to enhance and

sustain its position as the leader in Indian steel buisness. 2orporate plan 9G/9 7or

shall we sa$ 2orporate Plan 9G/G8 is !iewed as a great opportunit$, to learn,

unlearn and relearn. The magnitude o" tas is monumental and we need to come

out with some !er$ good creati!e solutions to a!oid time and cost o!erruns. Pro&ect

management is the area o" "ocus and since, we ha!e not handled pro&ects o" this

magnitude in recent past, it is necessar$ that we learn it "ast ) learn it while doing

it. 6e also need to document the whole process and turn this e#perience into

!aluable nowledge.

There are other a!enues which pro!ide S4I' and its people, the opportunities to

unlearn and relearn and gain competiti!e ad!antage in the process.

a. Pr"-ess Reen(!neer!n(: Business or operation process reengineering is a

process o" unlearning and relearning. The


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people, management, mareting practices and a wonder"ul product mi#. So

wh$ not position that in the maretplace and create the correct perception in

the mind o" the customerJ S4I'-4, S4I'4


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4s the new centur$ un"olds, business is poised "or signi"icant changes in its content,

emphasis and boundaries. 6ith competition becoming more intense, customers

e#pectations are increasing and business outcomes are decided b$ abilities o" the

companies to outper"orm their ri!als. The signi"icant "eature o" our times is shaping up o"

the nowledge dri!en societ$ in which nowledge is the basic resource "or growth.

Sur!i!al and growth in a nowledge dri!en business en!ironment implies radical shi"t in

strategies ) strategies that would lead towards organizational e#cellence through

learning and de!elopment.

The "uture belongs to those organizations, who in!est in the "uture o" people, the "uture

o" the organization ) through power"ul learning opportunities ) continuous continual

learning opportunities "or e!er$ member, e!er$ leader o" the enterprise )"rom the leader

on the shop "loor to the 25. 'earning as a !alue must permeate the culture and mo!e

into the li!es o" people and throughout the organization, until there is no *uestion as i",

onl$ how, when and where.

Anne9*re A: F!(*res an% Ta+es:

Figure /: 2omponents o" organizational culture


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Figure 9: The change iceberg

Figure A: Building blocs "or creating a climate "or change

Climate

for

change


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F!(*re 4: N"r#a$!e se+, -"rre-$!e #"%e+ ,"r a--e+era$!n(

-&an(e


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Figure : +$namics o" team learning


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Figure : Poorl$ designed nowledge management s$stems

Figure L: nowledge is the e$ to trans"ormation


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Anne9*re : !+!"(ra'&;

/. Beer -ichael, (ohria (itin: Breaing the code o" change, 79GGG, ar!ard

Business School Press89. +r. P.


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Anne9*re C: A"*$ $&e A*$&"rs

Pree$! &a$na(ar

+ate 5" Birth : ?anuar$ /Dth, /ON

5rganization : Bhilai Steel Plant, S4I', India

Ruali"ication : B.. 7-echanical8, Sun 2erti"ied ?a!a Programmer

+esignation : Senior -anager

4chie!ements :


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Anne9*re C: A"*$ $&e A*$&"rs

6"(es& &as$r!

+ate 5" Birth : ?anuar$ /Dth, /ON

5rganization : Bhilai Steel Plant, S4I', India

Ruali"ication : B.. 7-echanical8, Sun 2erti"ied ?a!a Programmer

+esignation : Senior -anager

4chie!ements :

role of learning and development in accelerating change

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