The Learning Organization

Lauer, Sabine; Wilkesmann, Uwe

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-02-2017-0012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to link two modes of governance (transactional and transformational) to organizational learning by examining the example of academic teaching. Consequently, the “transformational” strategies of best practices that have been used by German universities to achieve teaching excellence are interpreted as double-loop learning. In delineating two exemplary cases of double-loop learning concerning the university-wide implementation of a new teaching formats as part their institutional strategies to develop teaching excellence, the authors want to answer the following research question: Which kind of governance is required to manage double-loop learning processes?Design/methodology/approachThe purposive sample comprised four universities that had won awards for their teaching excellence. In 2014, a total of 21 semi-structured expert interviews were conducted in these universities within the following status groups: members of the rectorate, full professors, and university management professionals. The coding procedure followed a directed content analysis.FindingsBoth forms of governance are required for the management of double-loop learning. In the case of a top-down instigation of organizational learning, transformational governance is especially required in terms of idealized influence and inspirational motivation. In the case of a more bottom-up trigger of organizational learning, intellectual stimulation becomes more important. Transactional governance is required for the university-wide implementation of new routines (e.g. a mandatory quality management tool, obligatory coaching for newly appointed professors or competitive teaching grants).Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the empirical research on organizational learning in higher education institutions by adding a governance perspective.

Gentle, Paul; Clifton, Louise

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-02-2017-0019

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to draw on empirical data to interrogate the correlation between participation in leadership development programmes by individual leaders and the ability of higher education institutions to learn organisationally from such participation.Design/methodology/approachApplying a multi-stakeholder perspective, this paper focuses on the experiences of both senior and entry-level university managers and how these are connected systematically to institutional climates and structures conducive to learning.FindingsThere is a tendency for vice chancellors, directors of human resources and other senior managers to identify participants to sponsor programmes without putting in place mechanisms and cultural processes to incorporate their individual learning into organisational improvement.Originality/valueThe paper raises questions as to how societal needs are served by the organisational behaviours of universities with respect to developing leaders, and what higher institutions might do differently to increase the impact of developing leaders on their organisations. Suggested approaches include facilitating constructive dialogue in an experimental, reflective environment and integrating action learning and mentoring into institutional practices.

Friedman, Hershey Harry; Kass-Shraibman, Frimette

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-12-2016-0098

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine established leadership paradigms in the context of institutions of higher education. The old ways of running a college, which might have worked several decades ago, no longer work in the age of flux characterized by super-fast breakthroughs due to technology and the internet. Organizational change is especially difficult in academe where many faculty are tenured and satisfied with the status quo.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines and synthesizes the relevant literature in leadership and higher education administration, focusing on critical issues and recommendations to ensure the long-term viability and relevance of colleges and universities. It also describes meaningful metrics that should be monitored by university leaders to strengthen their institutions.FindingsSome of the findings are as follows: the old ways of running an institution of higher learning need to be overhauled; colleges and universities need leaders who can transform their institutions into learning organizations where knowledge is shared; and leaders must have the ability to tap into their organization’s intellectual capital and creativity. In addition, several new metrics are needed for evaluating the leadership of a college of university, including vision, employee engagement, student satisfaction and image/reputation.Originality/valueThis study provides an original approach to reform colleges and universities and enable them to thrive in the age of chaos and disruption.

Trevitt, Chris; Steed, Aliya; Du Moulin, Lynn; Foley, Tony

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-03-2017-0027

PurposeThe study aims to review the entrepreneurial and educational innovations in technology-enabled distance education in practical legal education (PLE) accomplished by a unit “on the periphery” of a strong research-led university. It also aims to examine the learning organisation (LO) attributes associated with this initiative.Design/methodology/approachThis is a longitudinal case study based on interviews and reflective analysis, and reviewed using three “models” drawn from the literature: breaking the “iron triangle” (containing costs; widening access; enhancing quality); a tailored version of distance education appropriate for research-intensive universities; a strategy for successful adoption of disruptive technologies in higher education.FindingsEntrepreneurialism yielded growth (PLE student numbers went from 150 to 2,000 in 15 years) and diversification (two new programmes established). The PLE programme advanced in two “waves”: the first centred on widening access and the second, on enhancing quality. Costs were contained. Both the presence and absence of LO attributes are identified at three different organisational levels.Research limitations/implicationsChallenges to academic identity may act to inhibit educational change, especially in research-strong settings.Practical/implicationsBusiness logic, and the creation and institutionalisation of educational development support – an “internal networking” group, were keys to success. “Organisational learning” in complex institutional environments such as universities involves understandably lengthy timescales (e.g. decades or more).Practical/implicationsTechnology-enabled disruption in higher education appears relentless. While institutional and individual performance metrics favour research, proven cases of “how to do things differently” in education may well not get exploited, thus opening the market to alternative providers.Originality/valueThis is the only empirical example of a tailored version of distance education appropriate for research-intensive universities that we know about.

Nguyen, Nhien; Hansen, Jens Ørding

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-05-2017-0046

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to revive interest in the question, never definitively answered, which Stephen Watson raised in the title of his 2000 paper, “Why is it that management academics rarely advise on their own institutions?” It is argued that finding the answer to the question would not only be interesting in and of itself but could also lead to valuable contributions to the theory of the learning organization.Design/methodology/approachInspired by Watson’s original paper and a new interview the authors made with him in 2017, this paper discusses the possible explanations for why management academics rarely advise on their own institutions and sets out an agenda for future research.FindingsThe authors suggest a simple three-way categorization of the nine hypotheses identified by Watson (2000), grouping them by the themes of management knowledge, motivation of higher education institution (HEI) managers and incentives for academics to engage. This study proposes an integrated framework to illustrate how these three categories of hypotheses are connected and can jointly explain the observed phenomenon. The study provides theoretical underpinnings for the most promising hypotheses and suggests an agenda for future research, emphasizing the potential of such research to contribute to the learning organization field.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper should not be interpreted primarily as an attempt to provide support for any particular hypothesis. Rather, the principal aim of the authors is to sketch out a future research agenda and inspire others to contribute empirical evidence that can help shed light on the paradox of why management academics rarely advise on their own institutions.Originality/valueThe theoretical contribution of this paper is to revive the important research topic of “why management academics do not seem to be widely engaged in advising university managers” (Watson, 2000, p. 99) and to introduce a research agenda that can help realize the potential contribution of this topic to the learning organization literature. The practical contribution is to re-address the difficulties of HEIs in becoming full-fledged “learning organizations” and to suggest that HEI managers re-examine the possibilities for using hitherto untapped internal expertise.

Leisyte, Liudvika; Vilkas, Mantas; Staniskiene, Egle; Zostautiene, Daiva

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-02-2017-0025

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand how the countervailing processes for enhancing academic excellence based on professional norms are balanced out with the market-oriented processes of standardisation and performance management in a university. Further, the authors aim to explore how and if organisational learning occurs in balancing these processes.Design/methodology/approachThe longitudinal, inductive three-year study of a higher education institution in Lithuania was used to understand how a higher education institution based on the norms of academic excellence was balanced out with the market-oriented processes and what mechanisms of leaning took place during the process. The authors drew upon three data sources – archival materials, observation and interviews with academic staff and administrators – to capture the processes of rebalancing and learning.FindingsA complex balance is observed between the strive for academic excellence and market relevance. Market relevance has been the dominant reform tone for the central administration of a Lithuanian university (LTU), while maintenance of academic excellence prevailed among academic staff. The LTU manages the countervailing processes by standardising, financialising, surveying and disciplining. The rebalancing resulted in dissent from the academic community. Organisational learning could be observed in the example of the introduction of a new examination procedure, while it could not occur during the process of new performance management system introduction. The process led to mutual distrust between the academic staff and the management of the LTU.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on organisational learning in higher education, showing how an eager entrepreneurial university engages in the reform process and how it engages in the complex balancing of countervailing processes of academic excellence and market relevance. The authors contribute with empirical evidence on how rebalancing processes in a professional organisation works and what limitations it faces. The study shows the vital multi-stakeholder involvement and understanding of the process of change. The authors further contribute to the discussion on the adoption factors of performance-based systems and the process of institutionalisation using a longitudinal perspective as called for in previous research.

Voolaid, Karen; Ehrlich, Üllas

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-02-2017-0013

PurposeThis paper aims to measure the organizational learning in two of Estonia’s Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and identify connections between the organizational learning and various characteristics of HEI, such as ownership form and market participation rate.Design/methodology/approachWatkins and Marsick’s learning organization questionnaire, the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ), as one of the most popular organizational learning measurement instruments, was taken to measure the organizational learning of HEIs. Employees from a total of two Estonian HEIs, which differ in several characteristics, completed the Watkins and Marsick’s questionnaire. To identify the dependence of organizational learning on two observed HEIs’ characteristics, the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis method was used. The analysis was performed at the DLOQ dimensions level.FindingsThe average organizational learning rate of the two universities under study was over average (3.72 on six-point Likert scale) which allows arguing that both observed institutions are learning organizations. The organizational learning rate based on samples of employees from two HEI-s depends on the institution`s market participation on the 90 per cent level in the first dimension, 95 per cent in the second dimension and 90 per cent in the sixth dimension. Correlation between the HEI ownership form and any of the DLOQ dimensions is weak.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on two universities. The sample size is insufficient; therefore, the results cannot be generalized to HEIs as a whole.Originality/valueThe relationship between higher education institutions’ organizational learning and higher education institutions’ characteristics has not been investigated before. The results of this paper allow a better focus on different aspects of organizational learning in HEIs’ development and relate to their specific development needs.

Dee, Jay; Leisyte, Liudvika

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-04-2017-0034

PurposeOrganizational learning in higher education institutions depends upon the ability of managers and academics to maintain a flow of knowledge across the structural boundaries of the university. This paper aims to understand the boundary conditions that foster or impede the flow of knowledge during organizational change at a large public university.Design/methodology/approachInterview data were collected from 51 academics and 40 managers at the selected university. The analysis focused on two initiatives that managers sought to implement to improve organizational performance.FindingsFor one of these initiatives, managers engaged in knowledge transformation that enabled managers and academics to learn and collaborate across group boundaries. For the other initiative, managers relied on knowledge transfer practices, which failed to establish productive cross-boundary interactions to support organizational learning.Practical/implicationsWhen seeking to implement new initiatives to enhance institutional performance, university managers and academics can view organizational change as a learning process that involves creating and moving knowledge across organizational boundaries. Under conditions of change, the creation and movement of knowledge may require the development of new structures and the use of communications that have a high level of media richness.Originality/valueThis study provides one of the first empirical investigations of knowledge sharing dynamics during organizational change in a higher education setting.

Veer Ramjeawon, Poonam; Rowley, Jennifer

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-03-2017-0030

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to contribute to research on knowledge management in higher education institutions (HEIs), by studying the enablers and barriers to knowledge management in a country with a developing higher education sector, Mauritius.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with senior staff in the main public and private HEIs in Mauritius. Questions focused on knowledge management, including relevant barriers and enabling factors to knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer.FindingsAlthough participants were able to discuss knowledge management, none of the universities had a knowledge management strategy. Moreover, more barriers than enablers to knowledge management were identified. Barriers included: a lack of policies and reward mechanisms, resources, data, funding and time for research, coupled with frequent leadership changes, a lack of a knowledge-sharing culture and research repositories and weak industry–academia linkages. Enablers were perceived to be: qualified and experienced academic staff in public HEIs, information technology (IT) infrastructure and library/digital library and some incentives for knowledge creation and transfer.Originality/valuePrevious research on knowledge management in universities has focused on countries with a relatively well-developed higher education sector. This research contributes by focusing on the perceived barriers and enablers to knowledge management in a country with a small and developing higher education sector.

Reese, Simon

2017 The Learning Organization

doi: 10.1108/TLO-05-2017-0041