Building Learning
Organisation
Madhukar Shukla
I. Objectives
·
to
develop a comprehensive framework to understand knowledge as a strategic edge
in a turbulent business environment;
·
to
gain insight into the organisational learning processes and capabilities, and
how they can be fostered and enhanced; and,
·
to
appreciate the learning techniques necessary to facilitate building corporate
competency- and knowledge-base.
II. Course Design & Coverage
The
course is designed in the form of lectures, case discussions, and exercises,
covering a minimum total duration of 30 hours of classroom sessions. You are
expected to do a considerable amount of preparation out of class on cases and
presentations.
The following are the sessions, the coverage and the
prescribed readings for the course. Readings and cases marked (*) are from the
book:
Shukla Madhukar, Competing
through Knowledge: Building a Learning Organisation. New Delhi: Response
Books, Sage Publication, 1997.
(We have about 10 copies in
the library in the reserve shelf;
however, it is suggested
that you get your own copy)
The other readings and the cases are given in
separate booklets.
A large part of learning in the course will be
through discussion, analysis and presentation of cases in the class. It is,
therefore, very important to come to the class after having read the case (s)
and readings for that session.
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1.
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Introduction & Overview
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Readings:
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1.
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M Shukla*
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Introduction: The New Vocabulary
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2.
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J Micklethwait & A Wooldridge
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Knowledge, learning and innovation
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3.
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Jason Hughes
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The Learning Organisation (page 1-9)
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2&3
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Emerging Business Realities
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Readings:
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1.
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M Shukla*:
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Ch 1: The Whirlwind of Change
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2.
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S Davis & J Botkins:
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The Coming of Knowledge-Based Business
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3.
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James F Moore
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The Advent of Business Ecosystems
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Cases:
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a.
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Turnaround of Danish Economy: The Power of Networks
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A Quiz 1 (session
4)
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4-5
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How Organisations Learn (or don't learn)
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Readings:
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1.
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M Shukla:
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Corporate Failures: Why Organisations Fail to Learn
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2.
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M Shukla:*
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Ch 2: Learning Imperative
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3.
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M Shukla:*
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Ch 3: Learning Capabilities (page: 74-81)
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Cases:
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a.
b.
c.
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IBM: Roots of Decline
Hertz: Skidding on the Track
PAL: Driving with Blinkers On
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d.
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Xerox
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6-7
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Organisation Learning: A Capability-Based View
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Readings:
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1.
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M Shukla:*
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Ch 3:Learning Capabilities
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2.
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AJ DiBella, EC Nevis, JM Gould:
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Understanding Organisations as a Learning System
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3.
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D Garvin:
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Building a Learning Organisation
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4.
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Nancy Dixon:
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Accelerating the Learning Cycle
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Cases:
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a.
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British Airways*
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A Quiz 2 (session
8)
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8-9
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Managing Tacit Learning
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Readings
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1.
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Etienne Wanger
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Communities of Practices: Learning as a Social System
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2.
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Rob Cross
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Technology is not Enough: Improving Performance by
Building Organisational Memory
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Cases:
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a.
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Xerox: People are the Company
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b.
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Microsoft: Building a Learning Organisation
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10
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Organisation Learning: Cases
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Cases:
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a.
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General Electric*
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c.
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British Petroleum
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12-13
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Knowledge Creation & Acquisition Process
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Readings:
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1.
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I Nonaka & H Takeuchi:
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The Theory of Organisational Knowledge-Creation
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2.
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V Pucik:
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Strategic Alliances, Organisational Learning and
Competitive Advantage
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3.
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Larry Kahaner:
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Competitive Intelligence: Japanese Style
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Cases:
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a.
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Monsanto: Creating a Fertile Ground for Knowledge
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b.
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Praj Consultech
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c.
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Citicorp*
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A Quiz 3 (session
11)
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14-15
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Knowledge-Based Competition
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Readings:
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1.
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M Shukla*:
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Ch 4: Leveraging on Knowledge
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2.
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Z Achi, A Doman and O Sibeny:
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The Paradox of Fast Growth Tigers
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3.
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W Brian Arthur:
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Increasing Returns and the New World
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4.
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W Brian Arthur:
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Positive Feedbacks in Economy
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Cases:
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a.
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Cease and Desist, Say Website Creators
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b.
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Intel Makes its own Chip Obsolete
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c.
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Xerox: The Power to Invent the Future
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A Quiz 4 (session
16)
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16
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Architecture of Learning Organisation
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Readings:
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1.
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M Shukla*
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Ch 5: Architecture of Learning Organisation
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17-19
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Designing a Learning Organisation
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Readings:
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1.
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Charles Savage:
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Confusingly Complex and Elegantly Simple Enterprise
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2.
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R C Huseman & JP Goodman:
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Realm of the Red Queen: The impact of change on the
corporate structure, corporate education and the emergence of knowledge
organizations
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3.
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M Shukla:
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Self Designing Organisation
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4.
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M Shukla:
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Dissipative Structure Model of Organisational
Transformation
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5.
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M Shukla*:
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Ch 6: The Learning Organisation: An Emerging Paradigm
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Cases:
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a.
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Chaparral Steel*
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b.
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Oticon
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c.
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Semco: Managing without Managers
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A Quiz 5 (session
20)
Evaluation
The
evaluation for the course will have the following components:
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Quizzes*
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40 Marks
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Case Write-up & Presentation
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25 Marks (10 + 15)
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End-Term
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35 Marks
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* There
will be 5 quizzes, each of 8 marks (given the time in this term, a make-up will
not be possible).
Grading
A+ = 80.0 - 100
A = 75.0 - 79.5
B+ = 70.0 - 74.0
B = 65.0 - 69.5
C+ = 60.0 - 64.5
C = 55.0 - 59.5
D+ = 50.0 - 54.5
D = 45.0 - 49.5
F = 44.5
and below
******