oEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Administration And
Resources Management
(PM-211D)
EPA 220 6-92-018
June 1992
Innovative Management
Strategies
The Learning Organization
COURAGE LEADERSHIP
Printed on Recycled Paper
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THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION
JUNE 1992
EPA Headquarters Library
Information Management and Services Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
RoomM2904 PM-211A
401 M Street, SW
Washington, CD 20460
Printed on Recycled Paper
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INTRODUCTION
THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION
In his remarks at the National Environmental Information Conference in December
1991, Deputy Administrator F. Henry Habicht noted that the EPA is in the business of
protecting the environment, not just implementing specific legislative requirements He called
for EPA employees to expand their knowledge base and think about their jobs in new exciting
creative ways. This type of organization has been described in the management literature as a
learning organization."
A learning organization is one that experiments with new ways of looking at the world
This continuous learning process is necessary for organizations that intend to avoid stagnation
and obsolescence. Individuals within a learning organization strive to increase their knowledge
skill and creativity. The learning organization as a whole adapts to the changing needs of
customers and creates new sources of growth.
Managers are responsible for leading the learning process by facilitating individual
learning at all levels, and ensuring the growth of the organization. The Learning Organization
provides information for EPA managers to use in this capacity. An overview of major writings
on organizational learning is given in the Introduction. The Learning Organization: Focus on
the Public Sector examines the requirements for learning in government. The role of the leader
in building learning organizations is addressed in The Learning Manager, while Training and
Employee Development discusses the need for learning at all levels. Learning and Change
focuses on learning as either creating or coping with change. And finally, organizational
transformation as the result of learning is emphasized in Transforming Organizations.
The Learning Organization was compiled using ABI/Inform, Management Contents,
Psychlnfo, Sociological Abstracts, and ERIC.
The Learning Organization ends with selected resources available through the EPA
Library Network. Copies of the articles cited in this bibliography may be requested from your
local EPA Library. For further assistance, contact the Headquarters Library at 260-5921
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION 7
//. THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION: FOCUS ON THE PUBLIC SECTOR 4
III. THE LEARNING MANAGER S
IV. TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT 11
V. LEARNING AND CHANGE 24
VI. TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATIONS 75
VII. SELECTED LIBRARY RESOURCES ON THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION .... 22
your ne?(t great idea is in the EPJ2 Headquarters Library
EPA Headquarters Library (PM211 A) WSM2904
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/. INTRODUCTION
The Learning Organization Made Plain (interview).
Galagan, Patricia A.
Training & Development v45 Oct, 1991, p37(8) . . .
Peter M. Senge's book, 'The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the
Learning Organization,' encourages organizations to view systems thinking, personal
growth, and work from a new perspective. Orgnizations should make learning a continuous
process, rather than an episodic event. Everyone in an organization has a responsibility to
help create a learning organization, with top managers playing a crucial role in the process.
Senge encourages organizations to realize the importance of reflection, as opposed to action,
in business. (Management Contents)
The Leader's New Work: Building Learning Organizations.
Senge, Peter M.
Sloan Management Review v32 Fall, 1990, p7(17)
Over the past two years, business academics and senior managers have been talking
about the notion of the learning organization. Ray Stata of Analog Devices put the idea
succinctly in these pages last spring: 'The rate at which organizations learn may become the
only sustainable source of competitive advantage'. And in late May of this year, at an
MIT-sponsored conference titled 'Transforming Organizations', two questions arose again
and again: How can we build organizations in which continuous learning occurs? and,
What kind of person can best lead the learning organization? This article, based on
Senge's recently published book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization, begins to chart this new territory, describing new roles, skills, and tools for
leaders who wish to develop learning organizations. (Management Contents)
Organizational Learning.
Levitt, Barbara; March, James G.
Annual Review of Sociology 1988,14,319-340.
A review of the multidisciplinary literature on organizational learning. Conceptually,
organizational learning is viewed as routine-based, history-dependent, & target-oriented.
Organizations are seen as learning by encoding inferences from history into routines that
guide behavior. Topics examined include how organizations learn ffdm direct experience,
as well as from the experience of others & how organizations develop, conceptual
frameworks or paradigms for interpreting that experience. Also discussed is how
organizations encode, store, & retrieve the lessons of history despite the turnover of
personnel & the passage of time. Organizational learning is further complicated by the
ecological structure of the simultaneously adapting behavior of other organizations, & by an
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endogenously changing environment. Limitations & possibilities of organizational learning
as a form of intelligence are considered. 42 References. (Sociological Abstracts)
The Learning Organization. (Training Terms) (column)
Zemke, Ron
Training: the Magazine of Human Resources Development v28(2) March, 1991, p79
Learning organizations are those that concentrate on continuously improving their
products, services, and processes. This management style can also be referred to as total
quality organization. The activities of learning organizations include eliminating waste,
reducing bureaucracy, offering products that meet customer needs, monitoring competitors'
activities, and encouraging employees to focus on the company's vision. The skills required
of employees in a learning organization include systems thinking, personal mastery, and
team learning. The characteristics of learning organizations include treating unexpected
events as learning opportunities, practicing open communication, and offering employees a
great deal of training. (Management Contents)
The Nontraditional Quality of Organizational Learning. Special Issue: Organizational
learning: Papers in honor of (and by) James G. March.
Weick, Karl E.
Organization Science 1991 Feb Vol 2(1) 116-124
Learning is defined as a shift in performance when the stimulus-situation and the
motivation are essentially the same. Thus, the defining property of learning is the
combination of same stimulus and different response; however, this combination is rare in
organizations, meaning either that organizations don't learn or that organizations learn but in
nontraditionai ways. The combination of same stimulus and different response is rare in
organizations because (1) each of the 2 elements separately do not occur often and it is more
common to observe their opposites (different stimulus, same response); (2) the sequence of
same-different occurs less often than do the other 3 combinations (same-same,
different-different, different-same); (3) when the sequence same-different does occur, it
occurs for reasons other than learning. Two strategies to pursue organizational learning are
discussed. (PsycINFO)
Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning. Special Issue: Organizational
learning: Papers hi honor of (and by) James G. March.
March, James G.
Organization Science 1991 Feb Vol 2(1) 71-87
Considers 'the relation between the exploration of new possibilities and the exploitation
of old certainties in organizational learning. Some complications in allocating resources
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between the two are examined, particularly those introduced by the distribution of costs and
benefits across time and space, and the effects of ecological interaction. Two general
situations involving the development and use of knowledge in organizations are modeled The
first is the case of mutual learning between members of an organization and an organizational
code. The second is the case of learning and competitive advantage in competition for
pnmacy. Adaptive processes, by refining exploitation more rapidly than exploration are
likely to become effective in the short run but self-destructive in the long run. (PsycINFO)
Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures. Special
Issue: Organizational Learning: Papers in honor of (and by) James G. March.
Huber, George P.
Organization Science 1991 Feb Vol 2(1) 88-115
Discusses 4 constructs related to organizational learning (OL (knowledge acquisition
information distribution, information interpretation, and organizational memory)), and the '
literature related to each. Knowledge acquisition was portrayed as consisting of 5
subconstructs or subprocesses: congenital learning, experiential learning, vicarious learning
grafting, and searching or noticing. Data indicate that there is little in the way of
substantiated theory concerning OL and there is considerable need and opportunity to fill in
the many gaps. With very few exceptions, work on OL has not led to research-based
guidelines for increasing the effectiveness of OL, nor has it been presented in forums or
media typically monitored by those who guide organizational processes. (PsycINFO)
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//. THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION: FOCUS ON THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Improving Public Sector Management.
Lynn, L.EJr.
California Management Review, Vol.26,
No.2, Winter 1984, P. 112-124,
Businessmen are not always competent in the position of public sector manager. The
problems inherent to public management involve conflicting roles that public executives
must fulfill. Government and business are compared as to organizational ownership,
environmental relationships, content of decisions, and authority structure. The concept of
education as a means to develop public managers is addressed. Business schools should
provide a comparative perspective concerning public and private sectors. Through education,
business managers can use their experience and talent to improve governmental performance.
(Management Contents)
Thinking About Government Learning.
Etheredge, Lloyd S.; Short, James
Journal of Management Studies v20nl PP: 41-58 Jan 1983
A theoretical framework is presented for assessing organizational learning within
governments. Government learning must result both on growth of intelligence and increased
effectiveness, as measured by the capacities for differentiation, integration, and reflective
thought. Government learning can be characterized by several types of individual learning,
including the scientific method, intuition, creativity, skill, and good judgment. Government
capacity to learn will be determined by the intelligence of individual decision makers, as well
as by the collective intellectual coherence of the government as a whole. Use of analytical
and creative learning will increase government intelligence, while increased skill, through
experience, and enhanced judgment, through anticipation of impacts, will increase
government effectiveness. The rate of government learning will increase as the
sophistication and criticism of those outside government increase. (ABI/INFORM)
Organizational Learning and Public Policy: Towards a Substantive Perspective.
Ventriss, Curtis; Luke, Jeff
American Review of Public Administration v!8n4 PP: 337-357 Dec 1988
Although the concept of organizational learning is still in its early stages of
development, it has gained increasing attention as an important approach to administrative
theory and practice. Many of the prevailing conceptualizations of organizational learning
have tended to misplace learning's substantive meaning. Consequently, they have obscured
learning's relevance to the broader arena of public affairs and public policy. Learning is
primarily a normative category of cognitive inquiry that examines the tacit assumptions of
social reality and, as such, is incidental to the issues concerning efficiency, adaptation, and
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maintenance. An approach called substantive learning is proposed. This technique
challenges public administrators to reflect upon the intended and unintended outcomes of
policies in an intersectoral environment. (ABI/INFORM)
Building a Process for a Quality of Work Environment in the Public Sector.
Rucker, Maurice
Journal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector v!3n4 PP: 379-382
In order to combat an employee morale problem, an attempt was made to formulate
and create a process for a public sector organization which would gather the strengths and
weaknesses of the organization's human resources. The primary emphasis was on furnishing
a database for a more effective reaction to a pattern of symptoms of job dissatisfaction
while at the same time building a stronger and more self-sustaining organization The results
of these efforts are reported. The Quality of Work Program project examined these
issues: 1. the quality of work conditions at the client organization, 2. the effects of
quality of work conditions on performance, and 3. the methods that could change the
organization into an adaptive learning environment, capable of self-sustaining improvements
that would benefit and reinforce the achievement of the organization's goals, as well as the
needs of the employees. A conceptual framework for achieving these goals is provided
(ABI/INFORM)
Improving Training in the Public Sector.
Sims, Ronald R.; Sims, Serbrenia J.
Public Personnel Management v20nl PP: 71-82 Spring 1991
Conducting training programs in public agencies in a way that fosters employee
development requires the identification and management of aspects of the training program
that influence the learning process. It is important to manage the learning process in training
in public agencies by adapting training methods to a particular employee's learning style
This type of approach creates training activities and training environments that improve the
effectiveness of public agency training programs. Learning styles can be used to predict
learning difficulties, by predicting who will talk most or least or be keen to observe or to
take part. Learning styles can help in the discussion of the learning process. The learning
style can help individuals plan and expand their learning styles and can be used to allocate
roles in experiential exercises. Finally, using learning style results can help in the
formation of groups or learning teams. (ABI/INFORM)
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Public-Sector Productivity: A Success Story.
Reed, G.B.
National Productivity Review, Vol.3, No.2, Spring 1984, P. 155-162., Journal.
A success story concerning productivity in the public-sector is detailed. The
Copyright Office has made sweeping changes which entail better efficiency, quality of
service, and employee job satisfaction. A consultive management approach is used rather
than a traditional management approach. All employees offer ideas concerning goals and
objectives. New techniques concerning management style and productivity are learned from
workshops. The organizational culture of the Copyright Office is redefined. Employee
involvement and commitment are keys to this approach. (Management Contents)
Should Careerists Question Public Policy?
Barth, Thomas J.
Bureaucrat v!6n4 PP: 55-58 Winter 1987/1988
From an organizational learning viewpoint, a limited role in the public policy
process for the career civil service is dysfunctional. Suppression of the career perspective
at the highest public policy debate levels is detrimental to double-loop learning, which
involves the open critique of the administration's assumptions or ideologies. The results are a
failure to serve the public interest optimally and a smothering of creativity and innovation at
all levels of government. Thus, the careerist often is confined to single-loop learning, or the
implementation of desired objectives. This level of learning is essential; however, it does
not provide for the careerist's specialized knowledge and historical experience to be applied
to basic public policy decisions. In practical terms, the careerist thus has a mandate to
question new policy constructively. If such issues are not raised, then higher level
organizational learning is not likely to occur. (ABI/INFORM)
Research Needs on the Public Service
Sherwood, Frank P.
Public Administration Quarterly v8n3 PP: 325-342 Fall 1984
Research in public administration should be directed at promoting organizational
learning in public-sector organizations. The public service, especially at the federal level,
has deteriorated in terms of motivation and satisfaction of its members. A lack of strong
leadership in the public service has led to low levels of accountability, performance, and trust
among government managers. The importance of public service leadership has not been
fully appreciated in the federal government, resulting in ineffective deployment of
leadership resources and poor incentives for individuals to assume leadership
responsibilities. Inhibitors of organizational health in the public service include: 1. citizen
attitudes toward the public service, 2. the nature of the work environment, 3. insufficient
monetary and nonmonetary rewards, and 4. failure to encourage professionalism. Research
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is needed to analyze the illness in the public service and to provide a basis for restoring it to
health through learning. (ABI/INFORM)
Meeting the needs of federal workers: How can OD practitioners become active?
Hare, Chauncey; Wyatt, Judy
Organization Development Journal 1986 Sum Vol 4(2) 57-60
Proposes the existence of a fear/distrust cycle among government employees to
explain the low productivity and low self-esteem that is common in government offices.
Based on a diagnostic survey developed to investigate this hypothesis, it is concluded that the
norm of silence (i.e., the inability to openly address and confront problems as a result of the
belief that no one can do anything to improve the situation) is one of the most outstanding
characteristics of the aforementioned cycle. Ideas for intervention are suggested
(PsycINFO) '
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III. THE LEARNING MANAGER
Organizational Learning - The Key to Management Innovation.
Stata, Ray
Sloan Management Review v30n3 PP: 63-74 Spring 1989
The primary bottleneck to a firm's progress often is management innovation. The
New Management Style group uses system dynamics to improve thinking about complex
organizations. Organization learning occurs through shared insights, knowledge, and mental
models and builds on past knowledge and experience, relying on institutional mechanisms
such as policies and explicit models. One major focus of system dynamics should be
response time. A mental model of how the organization works is necessary to create a
precise language with which to share understanding. In many cases, firms will need to
recruit a quality improvement professional to teach them how to tap the mainstream of
experience and knowledge that is accumulating rapidly in this field and to help managers
become more adept practitioners. Properly managed, learning occurs as a function of
time, independent of cumulative volume. Open and objective communication between
people and between organizations is essential for learning. Teamwork should be
encouraged as well. (ABI/INFORM)
Teaching Smart People How to Learn.
Argyris, Chris
Harvard Business Review v69n3 PP: 99-109 May/Jun 1991
Any firm that aspires to succeed in the more competitive business environment of the
1990s must first resolve a basic dilemma: success in the marketplace increasingly depends
on learning, yet most people do not know how to learn. In particular, the well-educated,
high-powered, high-commitment professionals who occupy key leadership positions in the
modern corporation are not very good at learning. Most firms are not even aware that the
dilemma exists because they misunderstand what learning is and how to bring it about.
If learning is to persist, managers and employees must look not only at the external
environment but also inward. They need to reflect critically on their own behavior, identify
the ways they often inadvertently contribute to an organization's problems, and change
how they act. Companies can learn how to resolve the learning dilemma. What it takes is
to make the ways managers and employees reason about their behavior a focus of
organizational learning and continuous improvement programs. (ABI/INFORM)
What Fate for Middle Managers?
Morton, Thomas R.; Reid, Peter C.
Management Review vSOnl PP: 22-23 Jan 1991
During the 1990s, the challenge for companies should be to determine the role of
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middle managers in restructured organizations and how their value can" be maximized.
Unfortunately, many executives view their middle managers as liabilities rather than assets
indicating that a self-fulfilling prophecy is at work. Only when management acts on the
premise that its middle managers can be a powerful force in implementing company
strategies will the results be different. A learning organization is one that offers middle
managers the major role of keeping the learning flowing throughout the company and
integrating it for practical applications. While middle managers will continue to be important
players in the corporate game, this will be a new game with a different set of rules.
Middle managers of the future will: 1. subordinate hierarchical relationships to functional
and peer relationships, 2. get things done by negotiating, 3. solve problems and make
decisions, 4. develop entrepreneurial projects, 5. emphasize speed and flexibility and 6
coach their own people. (ABI/INFORM)
Management Development Training and Learning Styles.
Wells, James B.; Layne, Benjamin H.; Allen, Derek
Public Productivity & Management Review v!4n4 PP: 415-428 Summer 1991
The appropriateness and applicability 'of a multimedia instructional strategy in the
Management Development Training Program within the Georgia Department of Corrections
were examined. Responses to Kolb's (1984) learning-style inventory (LSI) were used to
reveal whether there were any statistically significant differences in the learning styles among
the supervisors, middle managers, and upper managers in the Facilities and Probation
divisions. As a result of the study, training staff in the Georgia Department of Corrections
may wish to modify the design, method of presentation, and instructional activities of certain
courses in the training program. In a course for upper managers in the Facilities Division
for example, learning environment should be primarily behavioral, allowing those managers'
to utilize their best learning ability and preferred instructional activities. (ABI/INFORM)
Distance Learning Packages for Management and Organization Development: A Concept
for Tomorrow's Needs.
Welsh, A. N.
Organization Development Journal 1988 Win Vol 6(4) 66-71
Discusses changes taking place in the environment of the business community and
describes their impact on, and implications for, individual managers. Managers of the future
will need skills of a higher order, including mastery of electronic data processing,
communications transmission, and decision-assisting technologies. A continuing
self-development process may be assisted by recent advances in learning and training
techniques, including learner-driven distance learning packages (with a minimum of personal
interaction or physical proximity), simulation by interactive video, and accelerated experience
through action learning, experience transfer, and case method. (PsycINFO)
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The Executive Mind and Double-Loop Learning.
Argyris, Chris
Organizational Dynamics vlln2 PP: 5-22 Autumn 1982
When a problem is both difficult and threatening, most people act in ways that
compound it rather than solve it. Unwittingly, people create conditions within organizations
that inhibit the effective solution of threatening problems. They go so far as to build an
organizational culture to reinforce such limitations. Given such conditions, over a period of
time people come to accept the notion that organizations are not conducive to learning - and
this Model 1 self-sealing loop is closed. Top executives who are responsible for helping their
organizations solve problems must address these difficult underlying issues. Otherwise,
organizations will get the everyday job done, but only at increasing cost and organizational
rigidity. It is possible to convert Model 1 behavior to Model n behavior, which is designed
to promote double-loop learning, which helps even antagonistic employees learn from
each other and deal with difficult problems in a way that benefits themselves and the
organization. (ABI/INFORM)
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IV. TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Mid-Career Support: An Approach to Lifelong Learning in the Organization.
Sanderson, David R.
Lifelong Learning, v!2(7) p7-10 May 1989
Responses to midcareer issues must develop from the recognition that some values of
the emerging work force differ from those of staff in their 50s. An organization's best
interest lies in listening to the needs of staff, finding new ways to enrich their lives and
accommodate its policies to their legitimate drive for self-direction. (ERIC)
The Evolution of an Employee-training Program: A Three-year Flexible
Organization Development Effort.
Mai-Dalton, Renate R.; Barnes, F. Barry
Group & Organization Studies 1991 Dec Vol 16(4) 452-471
Describes the 1st 3 yrs of an ongoing organization development (OD) project
conducted in a rapidly growing public accounting firm to develop a flexible employee
training program. The OD project is structured in accordance with the model of R. J.
Bullock and D. Batten (1985), which includes 4 phases that describe the state of the
organization. The client-consultant relationship is followed from entry to the 1st diagnosis,
1st interventions, evaluations of the interventions, and the continuation of the cycle to the
current status of the work. Issues addressed include client and consultant goal compatibility,
power issues in top management, and the need to sense the organization's culture carefully
and to synchronize intra-organizational events, external events, and specific OD
interventions. (PsycINFO)
Training for Competence.
Sims, Ronald R.; Veres, John G., Ill; Heninger, Susan M.
Public Personnel Management vlSnl PP: 101-107 Spring 1989
A framework is described for competency training that focuses on
the importance of training the public personneHst responsible for implementing staff
development programs. Kolb's (1984) experiential learning model is offered as a
vehicle for instilling competencies that overcomes difficulties with many traditional, single
modality approaches to training. The model consists of 4 phases: 1. identifying the
particular characteristics desired, 2. reflecting on their actual application, 3. integrating
these competencies into the individual's own conceptual framework in order to test
impressions against the reality of the work environment, and 4. developing personal
implementation plans. Public personnelists can use the experiential learning model in
developing competency-based training by designing programs that focus on work-related
skills, by requiring participants to reflect on the competency being learned, by examining
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possible solutions to use the competency, and by constructing a strategy for implementing
the competency. (ABI/INFORM)
It's Time to Stop Training ... And Start Facilitating.
Crapo, Raymond F.
Public Personnel Management v!5n4 PP: 443-449 Winter 1986
In order for the "best and brightest" in an organization to become involved in
development programs, trainers must abandon classical training procedures and introduce
group facilitation. Successful group facilitators practice what currently is known as
"andragogy," or adult learning techniques and processes. They expect their audiences to
possess knowledge and treat them with that expectation from the beginning.
Facilitators also use the JoHari Window as a model to determine the degree of knowledge
the audience possesses about the particular topic being considered. The window divides
knowledge into 4 quadrants: 1. current knowledge, 2. recall from memory, 3. new things
to learn, and 4. "blind spot." Adults have a lot of "baggage" that they bring to
training programs, making it essential for the trainer to know which pane of the JoHari
Window best represents the knowledge of the subject being explored. (ABI/INFORM)
Ready, Aim, Train!
Thompson, Brad Lee
Training v28n2 PP: 53-59 Feb 1991
The US Marine Corps has recently overhauled and updated its approach to professional
military education (PME). In particular, the Marines have produced a new statement of
war-fighting doctrine, FMFM-1, that provides an updated vision of what the Marine
Corps' culture is becoming. One of the central tenets of the new doctrine is a career-long
commitment by every Marine to a PME in the art and science of war. FMFM-1 calls for the
training of Marine leaders to allow and encourage their people to participate without risk of
reprisal in an atmosphere of mutual trust and common focus. The culture shift has
dramatically affected the design and delivery of training. One change involves a paradigm
shift away from the process-oriented instructional systems design (ISD) toward
performance-based ISD. Another change that emerged from the new philosophy is the
Marine Corps University, which is the focus of current efforts to promote PME, the updated
vision of ISD, and the philosophy of FMFM-1. (ABI/INFORM)
Career Development: The Linkage Between Training and Organizational Development.
Gilley, Jerry W.
Performance Improvement Quarterly 1989 Vol 2(1) 43-54
The performance improvement practitioner (PIP) is a key player in the career
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development (CD) process supported by an organization. CD combines both micro and
macro perspectives of improved organizational efficiency because it focuses on improving
organizational efficiency while relying on the development of the individual employee. The
PIP identifies, implements, and mangages 8 CD activities: developing a job posting system;
mentoring activities; developing career resource centers; training managers as career
counselors; organizing career development workshops; forcasting human resources; using
performance appraisals; and developing career pattern programs. (PsycINFO)
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V. LEARNING AND CHANGE
Taking Charge of Change.
Steinburg, Craig
Training & Development 46(3) March, 1992 26-32
Change sweeps through our lives and institutions like a fast train. How good are the
processes we have for managing change? This article is the first in a special report that
shares the collective wisdom of an ASTD Board of Governors symposium that explored the
issue last year, and venture a few predictions about the future direction of change
management. When it comes to change, we need to create some new options for syaying in
charge. In this article, change experts describe what they see, what they want, and that they
predict.
Managing Discontinuous Change: A Simulation Study of Organizational Learning and
Entrepreneurship. (Corporate Entrepreneurship)
Lant, Theresa K.; Mezias, Stephen J.
Strategic Management Journal vll Summer, 1990, p!47(33)
Established companies must assume the challenge of managing entrepreneurial
strategies if they are to respond effectively to significant environmental changes. In
managing entrepreneurial strategy, established companies should consider important
organizational implications under various levels of ambiguity; that learning traps can result
from lessons learned from experience when the environment changes; and some companies,
strategies, and entrepreneurial levels present a useful description of differential outcomes
of performance, growth, and the probability of failure. (Management Contents)
Strategic planning: A process for stimulating organizational learning and change.
Frey, Ken
Organization Development Journal 1990 Pal Vol 8(3) 74-81
Examines the types of learning necessary to help organizations function as adapting,
changing systems and considers how strategic planning can facilitate the desired types of
learning. Discussion includes 1st- and 2nd-order change, maintenance and innovative
learning, and learning systems for 2nd-order change. Variables that produce an open learning
system are presented. Key components of strategic planning include assessing key trends and
issues in the organization's external environment, determining major strengths and
weaknesses of the organization, articulating the organization's mission, defining the
organization's corporate dream, and assessing the gap between the desired future and the
present situation. A case of applying strategic planning is given. (PsycINFO)
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A Mathematical Model of the Adaptive Behavior of Organizations.
Friesen, Peter H.; Miller, Danny
Journal of Management Studies v23 Jan, 1986, pl(25)
Using a Markovian representation, a mathematical model is developed to assess
organizational adaptation to environmental change. Three environments are analyzed,
testing the effectiveness of such adaptive strategies as: generalism vs. specialism, quantum
vs. piecemeal, and gradual vs. batching changes into groups. The benefits and costs of each
strategy are examined for each environmental condition. The mathematical model developed
supports the assumptions made by earlier researchers in the fields of quantum structural
changes and population ecologies of organizations. (Management Contents)
Organizational Learning.
Fiol, C.M.; Lyles, M.A.
Academy of Management Review
Vol. 10(4), Oct. 1985, P. 803-813.
Studies in management strategy report findings of two characteristics common to
organizational changes: adaptation and learning. Further refinement of the studies yield
subcategories of learning. Organizations can be classified not only by content and level of
learning, but also as to whether cognition occured at a low or organizational level. Futher
refinement of the testing procedures is indicated. Tables listing significant studies in
organizational learning and influences on levels of learning are included. (Management
Contents)
Managing Discontinuous Change: A Simulation Study of Organizational Learning and
Entrepreneurship.
Lant, Theresa K.; Mezias, Stephen J.
Strategic Management Journal vll Summer, 1990, p!47(33)
Established companies must assume the challenge of managing entrepreneurial
strategies if they are to respond effectively to significant environmental changes. In
managing entrepreneurial strategy, established companies should consider important
organizational implications under various levels of ambiguity; that learning traps can result
from lessons learned from experience when the environment changes; and some
companies, strategies, and entrepreneurial levels present a useful description of differential
outcomes of performance, growth, and the probability of failure. (Management Contents)
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VI. TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATIONS
Organizational Transformation.
Sparks, Richard; Dorris, James M.
Advanced Management Journal v55n3 PP: 13-18 Summer 1990
• TEAMS (Training for Excellence in American Manufacturing and Services Inc.)
has developed a model that provides a conceptual basis for transforming an organization
from one that manages for short-term profits into a productive, forward-looking, competitive
business. Continuous quality improvement is the focus and underlying philosophy of the
model. Continuous improvement is the most advanced of current philosophies that seek to
control products or services that are defective or of lower quality than is desired. With this
approach, process improvement is more easily measured, cultural change is more methodical,
and the problem solving approach is institutionalized. Continuous improvement is a
long-term business perspective and requires a long-run business strategy. Choosing a
customer strategy and sticking to it are 2 of the most important decisions top management
can make. leadership, people, and method are also elements n the TEAMS approach to
training. (ABI/INFORM)
An Organizational Transformation Model: The Road to Renewal.
Honeycutt, Alan; Richards, Bill
Journal of Systems Management v42nll PP: 28-30 Nov 1991
It is important to keep pace with the accelerated technological advancements to
remain competitive. An organizational transformation (OT) approach can have numerous
potential positive outcomes. The OT effort is a long-term effort to metamorphose the
organization's competitive business ability. It is an assimilation of organizational
practitioners' experience across a wide range of industries and a variety of organizations.
Because the OT model does not prescribe solutions, but rather provides a process for
managers to develop and implement better solutions for themselves, this process has proven
consistently effective over time. The best programs and best intentions will fail if managers
stop short of shifting the very nature of the organization. Visions, missions, objectives, and
plans must be lived in every fiber of the collective organizational being. The proposed
process model proposed should underlie all efforts at achieving excellence.
(ABI/INFORM)
Transforming Organizations for Good.
Moravec, Milan; Tucker, Robert
HRMagazine v36nlO PP: 74-76 Oct 1991
Although many organizations plan for change, few are actually able to dramatically
improve their performance. Only when there is a profound, strategic shift in both
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organizational infrastructure and expectations can there be a real change in the way people
achieve goals. The organizational transformation process at British Petroleum Exploration
(BPX) has involved the active participation of employees at all levels. BPX created 2 skills
matrices for each job family - one for people who want to go into management and one
for those who want to remain individual contributors. These skills matrices are being
integrated with new types of performance assessment, reward systems, training, personal
development planning, and communication programs. BPX has realized that change should
focus on the work itself and on people's behavior, not on abstract concepts
(ABI/INFORM)
Creating Excellence Out of Crisis: Organizational Transformation at the Chicago
Tribune Tayloristic Paternalism: A Critique of the OD Management Style
Organizational Transformation and the Paradox of Creating Excellence.
Frame, Robert M.; Nielsen, Warren R.; Pate, Larry E.; Wardell, Mark
Journal of Applied Behavioral Science v25n2 PP: 109-129 1989
An organizational transformation effort involving one of the Chicago Tribune's
printing facilities is described. A walkout strike affecting 1,000 workers occurred in July
1985, prompting management to seek to change the printing center to meet its vision of
technological and managerial excellence. Consultants conducted a transformation effort that
was similar to an organization development (OD) program but differed in its focus on results
and measures of attaining them. This effort produced statements of operating beliefs and
key result areas for performance measurement. The results include a 25% improvement in
productivity in pages per hour and considerable savings in annualized advertising revenues. It
is concluded that visions of organizations of the future must be grounded, in clear,
integrated action steps permitting measurable outcomes. In a comment, Wardell states
that the long-term benefits such participation management programs have for workers
remain unknown, but workers typically have not been empowered by them. Pate
responds that the transformation effort sought to create teamwork and cooperation,
improve results, and instill a concern for excellence in various forms. (ABI/INFORM)
Understanding Organizational Transformation Using a Dissipative Structure Model.
Leifer, Richard
Human Relations v42nlO PP: 899-916 Get 1989
The dissipative structure model may provide the basis for a new paradigm for
thinking about organizational change and the behavior of organizational environments
The model, which can be used to integrate a number of system characteristics, has 4
components: 1. point of singularity, 2. transformation utilizing radical strategies,'3.
inefficient acting and experimentation, and 4. resynthesis. The 3 key assumptions of the
new paradigm are: 1. the environment is not munificent, does not promote growth, is
not stable, and is not ordered, 2. the normal evolution of organizations proceeds from'
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transformation to transformation, and 3. order by fluctuation means the organization's order
is transformed when it is faced with far-from-equilibrium conditions. While the
dissipative structure of the organization has the ability to deal with increased
complexity, the qualitative change in the organization's dynamics allows it to use large
amounts of energy in the midst of its self-organization. (ABI/INFORM)
Organizational Transformation in Total Systems Quality.
Yorks, Lyle
Survey of Business v25nl PP: 51-56 Summer 1989
The concept of organizational transformation assumes a basic and pervasive change
in a company as an organizational system, as opposed to the establishment of a small
number of pilot sites in which elements of the Total Systems Quality approach have been
implemented. From this viewpoint, success is measured when the various systems and
principles comprising the approach no longer require special efforts to sustain them.
Characteristics of transformational organizational change include: 1. Transformational
change in the workplace requires an extended period of time. 2. The process is nonlinear
and irregular in nature. 3. The process is characterized by phases; progress must be
periodically consolidated as the basis for the next initiative. 4. The process requires
building a critical mass of committed staff at all organizational levels for whom the
concepts are not unique. 5. The changes being advocated must be tied to operative goals
relevant to all organizational levels. 6. Constructive engagement from a stable coalition of
senior managers is necessary. (ABI/INFORM)
The Role of Metaphors in Organization Transformation.
Sackmann, Sonja
Human Relations v42n6 PP: 463-485 Jun 1989
Metaphors, if carefully chosen, may be a useful tool in the transformation
process of an organization. Metaphors are powerful because: 1. they can trigger a
perceptual shift, 2. they can succinctly transmit a large amount of information
simultaneously at a cognitive, behavioral, and emotional level, and 3. they can render vague
and abstract ideas concrete, provide a vivid image, and be remembered easily. There
are 2 basic metaphors, targeted and adaptive. Targeted metaphors .are appropriate only if
the envisioned future is known and can be determined. Adaptive metaphors are appropriate
when goals cannot be clearly specified. Also, adaptive metaphors imply an evolving
nature that allows testing, exploring, searching, and learning. In a case study, the use of
multiple and adaptive metaphors allowed a wide range of action and substantiated the
argument that metaphors are useful in the transformation process of organizations.
(ABI/INFORM)
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Transform Your Organization!
Frank, Howard ,
Networking Management v7n4 PP: 34-35 Apr 1989
There are many ways companies have become involved in strategic networking
activities. These include reducing sales expenses by using telemarketing to test cold leads
over the telephone and centralizing cash management via telecommunications systems that
connect divisions, subsidiaries, and banks. As networks and networking technology continue
to invade every element of business, networkers are discovering that their systems have
become strategic tools. Although network systems were originally implemented to
reduce costs, the systems now are serving many specialized business functions. Many times,
networks are used to serve only the application for which they were originally envisioned.
The selection of the right network system requires insight into a unified system's added
complexity and cost, as well as its potential long-range benefits. The network process
should encompass communications, computing, and business applications. (ABI/INFORM)
Transforming Organisational Values and Culture Effectively.
Edwards, John D.; Kleiner, Brian H.
Leadership & Organization Development Journal v9nl PP: 13-16
1988
A study investigating corporate culture focused on the process of changing a
company's culture. There are 4 basic types of corporate culture that can be defined as
the unique character of an organization. The apathetic culture tends toward a lack of
concern for both people and performance, and its apathy is a threat to long-term viability.
The caring culture is characterized by a paternalistic orientation of low concern for
performance and high concern for people. The exacting culture is oriented toward
performance and success and possesses low concern for people. The integrative culture, the
ideal, reflects a high concern for both people and performance. While many experts
believe that it is impossible to change corporate culture, those who feel that change is
possible concede that it is a difficult and time-consuming undertaking. Effecting cultural
change involves: 1. determining the desired strategy, 2. assessing the present culture, 3.
developing and communicating the desired culture, 4. securing participation by managers
and employees in the new culture, and 5. rewarding desired behavior. (ABI/INFORM)
A Dissipative Structure Model of Organization Transformation.
Gemmill, Gary; Smith, Charles
Human Relations v38n8 PP: 751-766 Aug 1985
Modern organizations must make changes in the face of internal and external
complexity and turbulence. Transformation processes may not be understandable through
the equilibrium models most often used to describe system dynamics. More applicable system
models, which incorporate disorder, uncertainty, and complexity, may provide insight
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into the-process-of transformation^ its characteristics, and its dynamics. One such
model, develo§ed1by0fee^larfihpyl;fcist Jlya Prigogine, offers an explanatory theory of
organization transformation. The model suggests that "inherent stabilities" make
more probable a system's successful transition through highly unstable conditions. These
stabilities offer a point of convergence of current theories of organizational learning,
self-organizing systems, and high-performance teams. The model allows for analysis of the
4 key elements involved in the dissipative transformation process: 1. disequilibrium
conditions, 2. symmetry breaking, 3. experimentation,, and 4.
reformulation processes. (ABI/INFORM) _ ,
Cultural Change: An Integration of Three Different Views.
Meyerson, Debra; Martin, Joanne
Journal of Management Studies v24 Nov, 1987, p623(25)
In this article we integrate three disparate views of culture and cultural change. With
each view conies a distinct set of implications about the nature, scope, source(s), and
consequences of culture change. Each view also suggests distinct implications for those who
wish to manage cultural change in organizations. We argue that to understand how
organizations change, in general, it is important to understand these disparate, yet
interrelated processes of cultural change. We present these three views of culture and
cultural change processes in organizations. (Management Contents)
Environment, Organization and Effectiveness: A Biographical Approach.
Kimberly, John R.; Rottman, David B.
Journal of Management Studies v24 Nov, 1987, p595(28)
Answers to the question of what makes an organization effective have proved elusive
despite more than 20 years of intensive theorizing and research. This paper offers an
approach to analyzing organizations explicitly based on two of those benefits. The first is the
shift toward a more dynamic orientation for explaining organizational configurations and
outcomes. The second is the identification of strategic decision-making as the key link
between organizational environment, structures, and effectiveness. By merging these two,
we construct a biographical approach to the study of organizations. An organization's
biography - the pattern of its evolution - can be conceptualized as a succession of decisions
and their consequences, with some decisions having a major long-term influence on the
direction taken by the organization and its effectiveness, while others have but an
incremental influence. This article is an initial effort to make concrete our ideas. The
opening section discusses organizational decision-making and organizational, effectiveness.
This is the core of our approach: a basis for categorizing organizational decisions and
in particular for singling out those which can be regarded as strategic. It is
our contention that significant decisions vary across organizations and that one of the
tasks of the biographer is to specify them for each major category or type of organization.
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Our general discussion of decision-making is therefore puirsued in the context of the
rehabilitation organizations that serve as our empirical referent. A number of key
decisions for sheltered workshops are identified and their potential relationships to
environmental, structural, and effectiveness variables are considered. The possibilities of a
biographical approach are then demonstrated by locating specific features of sheltered
workshops and their decision processes within the more general theoretical concepts of the
sociology of organizations. Three models of environment, structure, and effectiveness in
sheltered workshops are derived from the literature and used to generate a testable model
that is examined empirically. The results of that exercise are sufficiently promising to lead
us to advocate replication of our exercise in other organizational domains. The basis for
advocacy is presented in the concluding section of the paper, which discusses the implications
of the findings for organizational analysis. (Management Contents)
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VIII. Selected library Resources on the Learning Organization
The following selections are highlights from the EPA Library Network on the
learning organization. These books, videos and journal articles may be requested through the
EPA Headquarters Library, and other EPA Network Libraries.
A. Boohs
Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization
Peter M. Senge.
Region 9 Library
HD58.9.S46 1990
Managing On the Edge: How the Smartest Companies Use Conflict to Stay Ahead
Richard T. Pascale.
Headquarters Library MGMT HD58.8.P365 1990
Organization Development Theory, Practice, and Research
Publisher BPI/Irwin.
AWBERC Library, Cincinnati
MGMT HD58.8.0724 1989
From Vision to Reality Strategies of Successful Innovators in Government
Russell Matthew Linden.
Region ,3 Library JF1525.073L56 1990 TQM
Training in Organizations Needs Assessment, Development, and Evaluation
Irwin L. Goldstein.
AWBERC Library, Cincinnati MGMT HF5549.5.T7G543 1986
Training and Development in Organizations
Irwin L. Goldstein.
Headquarters Library
AWBERC Library, Cincinnati
MGMT HF5549.5.T7G542 1989
MGMT HF5549.5.T7G542 1989
Changing Ways a Practical Tool for Implementing Change Within Organizations
Murray M. Dalziel.
AWBERC Library, Cincinnati MGMT HD58.8.D34 1988
MVEL Library, Ann Arbor HD58.8.D34 1988
Managing Organizational Change
Patrick E. Connor.
NEIC Library, Denver
HD58.8.C653 1988
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Toward a More Organizationally Effective Training Strategy & Practice
Richard R. Camp. ....'•
Headquarters Library MGMT HF5549.5.T7C25 1986
Transforming Work: A Collection of Organizational Transformation Readings
John D. Adams.
Headquarters Library MGMT HD58.8.T7
Region 8 Library HD58.8.T7
Employee Development Programs an Organizational Approach
Bobby C. Vaught.
Headquarters Library MGMT HF5549.5.T7V34 1985
Time, Chance, and Organizations: Natural Selection in a Perilous Environment
Herbert Kaufman.
Headquarters Library MGMT HB58.8.K38 1985
B. Videocassettes
All Change: Change for the Better
Video Arts, 1988.
(29 minutes) Headquarters Library
John Cleese stars in this half of the two part "All Change: The Management of Change"
video series that illustrates that change must be built into the heart of any organization. The
video features three managers who fail to plan ahead, to make changes or. to respond to
changes which will be forced on them by competition, technology or the market. Each is
visited by H.G. Wells in his Time Machine. In this video Wells show each manger two
alternative futures.
All Change: The Shape of Things to Come
Video Arts, 1988.
(20 minutes) Headquarters Library
In the second half of the two-part "All Change: The Management of Change," John Cleese
continues illustrating that change must be a central value of any organization. H.G. Wells
pays a second visit in his time machine to three formerly-change-resistant managers to see
the impact of their new attitudes.
Brain Power .
MTI Film & Video, 1982.
(12 minutes) Headquarters Library
Houseman discusses Albrecht's three key principles of perception: recognition (attention to
details, interpretation (allowing room for ambiguity), and expectation ( unlimited
expectations).
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Lnagineering: Team Up to Think Up New Ideas
MTI Film & Video, 1986.
(16 minutes) Headquarters Library
The viewer is instructed in pooling collective imagination to spark new ideas, unleash
creativity, engineer ideas into problem-solving strategies, and build team spirit which will
fuel cooperation and productivity at all levels.
Manager-to-Manager: Overcoming Resistance to Change
MTI Film & Video, 1987.
(12 minutes) Headquarters Library
In one of five programs, Jack Noon describes critical steps to diffuse natural fear and
resistance to change in organizations, including outlining benefits of change, anticipating
rational and irrational objections and offering solutions, uncovering real concerns and
offering time to adapt to change.
Managing the Journey: Understanding and Implementing Change
Video Publishing House, 1989.
(75 minutes) Headquarters Library
Part of the One-Minute Manager series, this video deals with the implementation of change
in going to the one-minute manager system and the new relationship between manager and
employee that results from this new process.
C. Audioes ssettes
The Art of Innovation
Rosabeth Kanter.
Creative Thinking
Mike Vance.
Thriving on Chaos
Tom Peters.
Headquarters Library
Headquarters Library
Headquarters Library
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D. Management Journals
The Journal of Human Resources
Published by the University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.
Management Science
A monthly journal published by the Institute of Management Sciences.
Performance and Instruction
Published monthly by the National Society for Performance and Instruction.
Personnel Journal
Published monthly by ACC Communications Inc.
Public Personnel Management
Published quarterly by the International Personnel Management Association.
Sloan Management Review
Published quarterly by the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Training & Development
Published monthly by the American Society for Training and Development.
Training: The Human Side of Business
Published monthly by Lakewood Publications Inc.
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MANAGEMENT BIBLIOGRAPHY COLLECTION
Bibliographies on topics of current management interest are produced on a quarterly basis
by the Headquarters Library staff. Following is a list of the most recent management
Bibliographies.
1. THE CUSTOMER STRATEGY
by Sigrid N. Smith, March 1992
EPA/IMSD/92-01
2. LEADERSHIP STYLES
by Sigrid N. Smith, December 1991
EPA/IMSD/0/91-019
3. TEAMWORK: EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
by Sigrid N. Smith, September 1991
EPA/IMSD/91-013
4. PUBLIC POLICY MECHANISMS: NON-REGULATORY OPTIONS FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
by Sigrid N. Smith, June 1991
EPA/IMSD-91-006
5. EFFECTIVE CONFERENCE PLANNING
by Sigrid N. Smith, March 1991
EPA/IMSD-91-002
6. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
by Mary Hoffman and Sigrid N. Smith, January 1991
EPA/IMSD-91-001
7. MANAGING A DIVERSE WORK FORCE
by Anne Twitchell, June 1990
EPA/IMSD-90-007
8. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
by Anne Twitchell, June 1990
EPA/IMSD-90-1990
9. STRATEGIC PLANNING
by Anne Twitchell, March 1990
EPA/IMSD-90-005
10. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
by Anne Twitchell, December 1989
EPA/IMSD-89-009
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