Sunday, 23 March 2014

Week 3 : Organisational learning and academic leadership

With reference to Senge’s 5 disciplines - to what extent is your organisation a Learning Organisation?
Personal Mastery
Senge said that an organization will never start a learning process if persons in that organization does not start learned. We must define our target that we want to achieve and how far we want to go with it. Therefore, each person must have their own vision to be a responsible, motivated and determinant with their job.
In my organization, each school must have their own vision and target. The involvement of each department in setting a clear mission and vision is very important to each institution from the beginning.
Shared Vision
This focus on the mutual purpose. People with common purpose can learn to nourish a sense of commitment in an organization by developing shared images of the future they seek to create and the strategies, principles and guiding practices by which they hope to get there.
The idea and concept in the vision of an organization more efficient to achieve the result if sharing of information and inspiration happen between the top management and subordinates. This was clarified in the proposal given by (Tan and Higgins, 2002).
In my organization, this part is not been fully implement. We do have our sharing session to set and discuss the vision but the main vision come from the top management. All institution/school must make sure the vision will be accomplished no matter what happen.
Mental Models
This discipline will determine how we think and act. It focused around developing awareness of attitudes and perceptions for our own and those of others around us.
In my organization, they have this model but not been develop among the subordinate at all level. Even though there are some effort to give a briefing, discussion and training to promote this model, the implementation still at the minimum level. Top management always try to make sure each person at all level will implement this model through special programs that been organised and there will be introduction for new programs / workshop to enhance people to use this model.
Team Learning
(Senge, 1990) give a definition as a process to coordinate and develop the capability to achieve the result that the group had been set earlier.
This is a discipline of group interaction where a small groups of people (expertise) transform their collective thinking, learning to mobilize their energies to achieve their goal.
In our organization, this process had been the most popular activity. Every level have they own team to perform and achieve their goal. (Teachers, non-academic staff, student)
Systems Thinking
This system can improve learning process by focusing on the whole system. People learn to better understand interdependency and change and thereby are able to deal more effectively with the forces that shape the consequences of their actions.
In my organization, we always been remind to use this discipline in any process that we going through to achieve the standard quality that been set up. However, there will be a certain level/subordinate did not really on to it. Mentoring take part in this matter to ensure the standard of the quality.

Fullan, Framework for leadership: What can we learn from this framework?
  • To be an effective leader, we must have some special characteristic to tackle people around us. The first component that should be taken placed is the moral purposed which must be involve in the process and at the end product as well.  Moral purpose should have a purpose and a passion. Leaders also must understand the change process & the complexity involved in change. Leadership must re-culture the organization during the change process. People will work towards a higher goal if they see the purpose of the change and if it makes sense to them.
  • The second most important component that will give the biggest impact to the leadership environment and lead to a successful change initiative is the relationship building. Managing human resource is different from machine or any other creatures in this world because human is the most special and complex creature.  There must be a sense of belonging to the project to get their commitment involved. According to Steele (2008) trust between the leadership and the other members is one of the most important relationships that can occur. ‘It is the interactions and relationships among people, not the people themselves that makes the difference in an organizational success” (Fullan). Leaders must create learning communities that enhance the skills and knowledge of the people in the organization.
  • The culture of the organization and sharing information will create a harmony cycle between these two processes towards organization. Organizations that create and share knowledge are characterized by the ability to sharing tacit and explicit information, sharing the same beliefs, create professional development opportunities and communicate both up and down in the hierarchy.
  • Coherence Making is the final step of understanding the change. Once people start to make meaning of the change and it has coherence, new patterns may emerge. When the changes are perceived positively it creates energy, enthusiasm and generates other positive changes.
What are the implications in our workplace?
Once people start to make meaning of the change and it has coherence, new patterns may emerge. Then it will creates energy, enthusiasm and generates other positive changes. New ideas will come out and leadership will be developed at all levels of the organization, and new leaders cultivated for the future. Any changes that will be made will succeed if these framework been applied in any organization that try to making any changes in the organization.

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