Organizational learning + Managing change

Nowadays, organizations face the constant and growing changes in the whole environment surrounding them. High product quality, customer expectation and good services, aggressive competition, technologies, cheaper production; that is why organizations can not get stuck in the past, they need to be in constant updating to fight or diminish the impacts of their environment.

Each organization has its own rites and communication approaches, that is why a particular culture within the organization drives and leads the actions, thoughts, feelings and working styles of the members of that organizations and also the members of that particular culture. And this is the concept of organizational culture.

By trying to link the two concepts above, it is clear that organizations must merge both concepts into one. As it was mentioned, organizations have to be aware of the changing environment, but also they need to improve and learn from what things they handle everyday. This is the proper answer of why organizations require a culture that supports and facilitates learning, if not; they organization is not concern about the changing environment.

Regarding the changes, there two There two main kind of them. Planned change is when you decide to make some alteration inside your organization, different to the unplanned change when you can not have control over it; it just comes up by the imposition of the unpredicted environment.

However, as changes provoke negative consequences, they also provoke positive consequences. In order to organizations struggle against changes, their culture builds new ideas and strategies, enhance the union of the organization, establish identities, and show the capacity to struggle against problems. In the end, it demonstrates if the organizational learning is unified with the organizational culture

Questions

What is the relationship between organizational learning and individual satisfaction?

If inside of organization, the people are improving their shelves and having increasing learning from every single situation, this would influence the people’s work satisfaction and therefore personal or individual satisfaction. When you are doing really well in your job or your study, it is reflected in your achievements and satisfaction.

Is it possible to change corporate culture? If so, how?

For sure, when they relations and dynamics inside of organizations are not generating value for the company, it can be due to corporate culture. Maybe, there is not a single or important approach that the staff can follow. Maybe they are trying to pursue their own interest and seeking their own achievements rather than work in the same way; together to reach a single goal for the organization. In such a case, organizations leaders must focus on developing a new and ownership organizational cultures and procedures, which is concentrated on well being of the organization. 

1) Images Retrieved from google images

2) video source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0eP5yza5gI

3) Singh. Kavita. 2010. “An Analysis of Relationship Between the Learning Organization and Orgaizational culture in Indian Business Organizations”. Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies. Vol 1. 142-165 

4) Mangaliso. Mzamo. 2003. Building competitive advantage from Ubuntu. In Thomas, David Clinton, editor, Readings and cases in International Management: A cross-cultural perspective. 

5) Von Glinow, Mary Ann, Debra L. Shapiro, and Jeanne M Brett. 2004. CAN WE TALK, AND SHOULD WE? MANAGING EMOTIONAL CONFLICT IN MULTICULTURAL TEAMS. Academy of Management Review 29 n.4: 578-592