Types of Org. Learning Strategies

1
Types of Org. Learning Strategies

• Meetings
• Cross-functional Teams
• Workouts
• Strategic Planning
• Parallel Learning Structures

• Corporate Scorecard
• Benchmarking
• Groupware
• Distance Conferencing
• Action Learning

2
Meetings

• WHAT IS IT?
• Meetings are convenient and useful venues for
  ongoing learning. Periodic meetings can be
  dedicated exclusively to learning or learning
  activities can be scheduled as agenda items
  during regularly scheduled meetings.
• WHEN TO USE IT
• To provide a venue for an entire work unit or
  team to engage in learning together.
• To facilitate learning in teams.
• HOW TO USE IT
• Invite experts to present in a particular subject
  area.
• Invite people outside of your work unit or team
  to provide new perspective and insight on topics
  discussed during the meeting.
• Conduct periodic team-building exercises during
  meetings to improve communication and
  understanding among members.
• Have someone skilled in facilitation and
  consultations periodically observe the meeting
  and provide feedback on meeting skills and
  dynamics.
• Ask meeting members to make presentations on
  recent work assignments.
• Set aside time at the end of each meeting to
  pause and assess "What were the strengths of our
  meeting today? How can we improve our meeting
  skills?"

3
Cross Functional Teams

• WHAT IS IT?
• A Cross-Functional Team is composed of people
  with varied levels of skills and experience
  brought together to accomplish a task. These
  teams may use Action Learning as a process to
  solve problems. As the name implies,
  Cross-Functional Team members come from different
  organizational units. Cross-Functional Teams may
  be permanent or ad hoc.
• WHEN TO USE IT
• To solve a problem that impacts on multiple parts
  of the organization.
• To improve a work process that crosses
  organizational lines.
• To coordinate ongoing processes or activities
  that cross organizational boundaries.
• To accomplish tasks that require a breadth and
  depth of knowledge, skills, and experience.
• HOW TO USE IT
• Select team members who have the optimal mix of
  skills and expertise.
• Clarify the objectives and outcomes of the team.
• Identify the roles and responsibilities of team
  members.
• Use the knowledge of the entire team to determine
  strategies and solutions to accomplish
  objectives.
• Determine timelines and actions to accomplish
  objectives.
• Provide team members with access to training in
  teamwork skills such as communicating, listening,
  and facilitating.
• Periodically evaluate the functioning of the team.

4
Workouts

• WHAT IS IT?
• A Work-Out is an accelerated strategic change
  initiative pioneered by General Electric.
  Individuals representing all levels and functions
  of the organization or unit meet, without
  management, to identify ways the organization can
  work together more efficiently and effectively.
  Work-Outs can last from one to several days.
• WHEN TO USE IT
• To accomplish rapid and far-reaching
  organizational change.
• To develop creative and practical approaches to
  resolving work issues.
• To examine and redesign work processes and
  practices.
• To gain commitment to change from all
  stakeholders.
• HOW TO USE IT
• Choose a facilitator who is skilled in Work-Out
  technology (or other real-time strategic change
  approaches).
• Select members who have the optimal mix of skills
  and expertise to participate in the Work-Out
  sessions.
• Members should represent all functions and levels
  of the organization or unit. Identify and
  prioritize issues to be addressed during the
  Work-Out session.
• Develop strong recommendations and action plans.
• Provide recommendations to managers at the end of
  the Work-Out session.
• Managers make immediate public decisions to
  accept, reject, or ask for more information about
  recommendations.
• After some time has passed, managers should
  provide follow up with Work-Out group members on
  the status of recommended actions.

5
Strategic Planning

• WHAT IS IT?
• Strategic Planning is a process of determining
  the vision, mission, and goals of an organization
  and the strategies for achieving those goals.
  Strategic planning bridges the gap between the
  present and future. The process involves
  analyzing opportunities and threats that exist
  within and outside of the organization.
• WHEN TO USE IT
• To ensure that the organization's goals and
  objectives are aligned with the needs of
  customers and the demands of the external
  environment.
• To get stakeholder commitment to organizational
  goals.
• To link budget and resource requirements to
  performance outcomes.
• To establish the framework for the organizational
  outcomes that will be measured and reported
  annually to the Congress, the Executive Branch,
  and the public as required under the Government
  Performance and Results Act.
• HOW TO USE IT
• Begin with the end in mind by developing a vision
  for the future.
• Discuss how the vision of your work unit fits
  with the overall organization.
• Clarify the mission of your work unit or
  organization by asking "What would not get done
  in the organization if our function were taken
  away?
• Assess the current state of the work unit or
  organization by gathering data on internal and
  external threats and opportunities.
• Check that your strategic goals and performance
  plans align with the mission.
• Analyze the gap between the current state (where
  the work unit or organization is now) and the
  vision (where the work unit or organization wants
  to be).
• Identify strategies and actions for determine how
  to get from the current to the future state.
• Identify resources required to achieve your
  future state such as human resources, money, and
  intellectual capital

6
Parallel Learning Structures

• WHAT IS IT?
• Parallel Learning Structures (also known as
  Communities of Practice) promote innovation and
  change in large bureaucratic organizations while
  retaining the advantages of bureaucratic design.
  Groups representing various levels and functions
  work to open new channels of communication
  outside of and parallel to the normal,
  hierarchical structure. Parallel Learning
  Structures may be a form of Knowledge Management.
  Knowledge Management involves capturing the
  organization's collective expertise wherever it
  resides (in databases, on paper, or in people's
  heads) and distributing it to the people who need
  it in a timely and efficient way.
• WHEN TO USE IT
• To develop and implement organization-wide
  innovations.
• To foster innovation and creativity within a
  bureaucratic system.
• To support the exchange of knowledge and
  expertise among performers.
• To capture the organization's collective
  expertise.
• HOW TO USE IT
• Look for existing, informal exchanges that
  naturally occur among staff members.
• Have interested parties convene and develop a
  mission statement or list the outcomes.
• Determine what support (e.g., time, facilities,
  and technology) would facilitate the information
  exchange and learning.
• Publicize when and where the exchanges take
  place.
• Establish a process for organizing and recording
  the corporate knowledge.

7
Corporate Scorecard

• WHAT IS IT?
• A Corporate Scorecard is a tool that facilitates
  the implementation of long-terms goals and
  strategies through a mechanism of measurement.
  Also known as the Balanced Scorecard, this
  mechanism provides a medium to translate the
  vision and objectives of the organization into a
  system of performance measurements that
  effectively focuses the entire organization. The
  Scorecard tracks financial and non-financial
  drivers of performance as well as the impact of
  intangibles that are often overlooked (e.g.,
  skill development and knowledge transfer between
  functions).
• WHEN TO USE IT
• To track performance against established
  strategic goals as required by the Government
  Performance and Results Act.
• To collect data that are useful in monitoring
  customer satisfaction, employee morale, and
  organizational learning along with the more
  traditional financial management measures.
• To identify the work activities that add value to
  the organization.
• To incorporate data from customers, employees,
  learning and growth, and financial growth
  perspectives.
• To obtain a balanced view of the present and
  future performance of the organization.
• HOW TO USE IT
• Begin creating a Scorecard by setting strategic
  goals and measures in four areas
• Customer perspective Considers the organization
  through the eyes of a customer so the
  organization retains a focus on customer
  expectations and satisfaction.
• Internal perspective Focuses attention on the
  key internal processes that drive the business.
• Learning and growth perspective Focuses on the
  organization's people and infrastructure and how
  the organization can improve and create value.
• Financial perspective Measures the ultimate
  results that the business provides to its
  shareholders.
• Map the strategic goals and measures to the work
  activities and individual performance. Pilot
  test the measures and survey instruments with
  small groups and make needed revisions. Conduct
  briefings with all stakeholders (employees, union
  representatives, managers, etc.) on the Scorecard
  elements, process to be used, and anticipated
  benefits. Collect and analyze the data using the
  Scorecard. Involve all stakeholders in working
  with the results. Find ways to sustain areas of
  high performance and develop strategies for
  improving areas of less successful performance.

8
Benchmarking

• WHAT IS IT?
• Benchmarking is a process used to compare the
  performance and best practices of an organization
  with those of other organizations. The ultimate
  goal is to identify improvements that can make
  significant changes to the organization.
• WHEN TO USE IT
• To calibrate an organization's performance
  against well-respected organizations.
• To obtain information on the best practices of
  other organizations.
• To set priorities and allocate resources by
  learning from what others are doing.
• HOW TO USE IT
• Identify activities and practices to benchmark.
• Collect data from organizations that have
  recognized ability or accomplishment in the
  activity.
• Suitable "benchmarkers" may include primary
  competitors, other divisions in a larger
  organization, and "world class" performers in a
  particular area.
• Be prepared to share as much information as you
  receive from benchmarking partners.
• Integrate and analyze the data.
• Act on the information collected by implementing
  features that can be adapted to your own
  organization.
• Monitor improvements and conduct ongoing
  benchmarking.

9
Groupware

• WHAT IS IT?Groupware is a technology used to
  facilitate a group's communication, problem
  solving, and decision making processes. Groupware
  technologies can be either synchronous (real
  time) or asynchronous (different times). In
  addition, users can either work together in the
  same place (co-located) or in different places
  (non co-located). One of the most widely used
  Groupware applications consists of a meeting that
  allows participants to be in the same room
  inputting information simultaneously.
  Participants provide ideas, comments, and
  decisions at individual networked workstations. A
  projected computer screen displays the anonymous
  input of all participants. Information can be
  weighted, prioritized, and voted on.
• HOW TO USE IT
• To facilitate communication by making it faster
  and clearer.
• To bring together multiple perspectives and
  expertise.
• To facilitate and accelerate group problem
  solving and decision making.
• To encourage collective learning.
• To bring together geographically dispersed team
  members or stakeholders whose input is needed for
  decision making and/or problem solving.
• WHEN TO USE IT
• Develop or lease a Groupware meeting setting that
  includes individual networked stations and a
  computer projection screen.
• Determine the goals and objectives of the
  Groupware meeting.
• Prioritize issues to work on during the meeting.
• Use a facilitator to manage the process of the
  meeting.
• Use an operator to run the computer system
  tabulations.

10
Distance Conferencing

• WHAT IS IT?Distance Conferencing allows for
  learning and knowledge exchanges using computers
  and telecommunications. Distance Conferencing
  technology is versatile. This technology can be
  used to conduct an actual training class or to
  hold meetings among team members who are not in
  the same location.
• WHEN TO USE IT To deliver training to the
  employee's desktop. To allow people to
  communicate and participate when they are unable
  to be co-located. To reach large audiences while
  reducing travel costs.
• EXAMPLES
• Determine goals and objectives for using
  Distance Conferencing. Train instructors and
  facilitators in how to work with large groups of
  people from several different locations. Prepare
  any needed materials and send them to the remote
  sites in advance of the conference. Involve all
  of the sites by structuring meaningful
  interactions (e.g., questions, reports from each
  site, etc.). Solicit feedback after each
  conference.

11
How to use Action Learning

• Clarify the objective of the Action Learning
  Group
• Convene a cross-section of people with a
  complementary mix of skills/expertise to
  participate
• Hold initial meetings to analyze the issues and
  identify actions for resolving them
• Return the group to the work place to take action
• Use subgroups to work on specific aspects if
  necessary
• After a period of time, reconvene the group to
  discuss progress, lessons learned, and next
  steps.
• Repeat the cycle of action and learning until the
  problem is resolved or new directions are
  determined.
• Document the learning process for future
  reference. Record lessons learned after each
  phase of learning.