Learning Organization by Peter Senge
GROUP 5 MEMBERS:
Salma Adan 662302
Stella Musyoka 661434
Bonaventure Nabongo
661776
Fredrick Kinoti 646423
Vanessa Ochieng 660883
Gad Matoke
661917
Introduction
Born in 1947, California.
Named as a “Strategist of the Century” between Sep & Oct 1999.
Described himself as an “idealist pragmatist”.
Reason; He was able to explore & advocate abstract ideas.
Learning organizations; described as places/org.s where people are
constantly expanding their capacity to create desired results.
According to Peter firms that possess; flexibility & adaptiveness excel.
Survival learning/ adaptive learning necessary to create capacity.
5 disciplines learning organization
Peter Senge identified 5 disciplines that converge to innovate
learning organizations. They are:
1. Personal mastery 2. Mental models
3. Building shared vision 4. Team learning
5. Systems thinking
Personal Mastery
The need for an individual to learn, and constantly strive to bridge the gap between vision
and reality. It is the discipline for continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision,
focussing our energies, developing patience and of seeing reality objectively. He suggests
that the gap between vision and reality is the source of creativity.
5 disciplines learning organization cont’
Mental modes
We have implicit mental models of our world and our organizations. These are the
sets of assumptions, generalizations, or internal images that allows us to make
sense of the world and its complexities. We use them to interpret events. Our
decisions and judgement are only as good as the qualities of our observation and
our mental models and thus the ability to take effective action.
Shared vision
When team members create a vision that they share and jointly own, it brings
them together. It is a basis for creativity, and readies them for change. In a true
learning organisation people will commit to the organisation because they value
the vision and they believe in what it's trying to achieve
5 disciplines learning organization cont’
Team learning
Group development will outpace individual development in driving team
performance. Senge also distinguishes between dialogue (exploring options and
understanding circumstances) and discussion (a process for narrowing down options
and making choices). By working together, a team can tackle complex problems and
bring multiple angles of insight.
Systems Thinking - the cornerstone of the learning organization
It requires us to see an organization as a system of interactive parts that form an
interconnected whole, with a complex set of inter-relationships. Processes do not
work as simple chains of cause and effect, but as complex interacting feedback loops
that reinforce or counteract each other.
Leading a learning organization
Senge highlighted that, ‘The traditional view of
leadership is based on the assumptions of
people’s powerlessness, lack of personal vision
and inability to master the forces of change;
issues that can only be remedied by a few great
leaders’.
He went on to set a new “non-conventional” view
of leadership that focuses on subtle, high priority
and more important tasks.
Aspects of Leadership
Leader as designer
● Peter argues that the functions of design are rarely visible yet no one has a more sweeping influence than the
designer.
● Organization’s policies, strategies and ‘systems’ are key area of design, but leadership goes beyond this.
● First task entails designing the governing ideas – the purpose, vision and core values by which people should live.
Building a shared vision is crucial early on as it ‘fosters a long-term orientation and an imperative for learning’.
● In essence, ‘the leaders’ task is designing the learning processes whereby people throughout the organization can deal
productively with the critical issues they face, and develop their mastery in the learning disciplines’.
Leader as steward.
● Stewardship involves a commitment to, and responsibility for the vision, but it does not mean that the leader owns it. It
is not their possession. Leaders are stewards of the vision, their task is to manage it for the benefit of others.
● Leaders learn to see their vision as part of something larger.
● Leaders have to learn to listen to other people’s vision and to change their own where necessary. Telling the story in
this way allows others to be involved and to help develop a vision that is both individual and shared.
Leader as teacher.
● By building on an existing ‘hierarchy of explanation’ leaders can influence people’s view of reality at four levels: Events,
Patterns of behavior, Systemic structures and The ‘purpose story’ - leaders can cultivate an understanding of what the
organization (and its members) are seeking to become.
● Leader as teacher” is not about “teaching” people how to achieve their vision. It is about fostering learning, for
everyone.
Issues & problems
● Employee resistance to change. ● Employee resistance to change.
● Ignoring the elephant in the room. ● Ignoring the elephant in the room.
● Lack of leadership training. ● Lack of leadership training.
● Disregard of team success. ● Disregard of team success.
● No motivation for growth. ● No motivation for growth.
● Short-term focus. ● Short-term focus.
● Complexity. ● Complexity.
Peter M. Senge’s The Fifth Discipline has three key take-aways:
1. Understand the system dynamics.
Only by understanding the system dynamics, we can choose the actions that have the greatest leverage. By doing so, we may
cure the cause, not only ameliorate the symptoms.
Discipline: Systems Thinking.
2. Realistic view of the world.
A prerequisite for successful learning is seeing the things as they are – and wanting to see them as such. It does not mean
that there would be one truth, which one should seek. By contrary, there are usually many aspects to the same matter.
Understanding of the complexity of the world is also one of Senge’s messages.
Disciplines: Personal Mastery, Mental Models.
3. Active learning from other people.
Openness, inquiry mode, and positive visions are tools for promoting constructive interaction between people. In a
constructive environment, a team and an organisation may achieve a level of performance which no individual could have
achieved alone.
Disciplines: Shared Vision, Team Learning
References
Senge, P. et. al. (1994) The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a
Learning Organization
Smith, M. K. (2001, April Thursday). Peter Senge and the learning organization. Retrieved
from Peter Senge and the learning organization: [Link]
senge-and-the-learning-organization/
THANK YOU!
