LO Assessment Questions LO3654

/S=J.SAVELAND/OU1=W01C@mhs-fswa.attmail.com
Mon, 06 Nov 1995 13:47:56 +0000

The following is something that I've shared with co-workers and
thought it may be of interest to learning-org.

A Learning Organization/Community is:

"a group of people who are continually enhancing their capacity to create
the results they want. If you think about this statement, it has two
parts to it: One, you have to know what you want to create, so you're
continually reflecting on your sense of purpose, vision. And secondly,
you have to be continually developing the capability to move in that
direction." -- Peter Senge, MIT

The following is a linear, hierarchical representation of something that
is not linear nor hierarchical. The figure consists of a circle, a
triangle, and arrows depicting feedback loops; but can not be represented
here in a text environment. This only depicts, what goes with what. (See
page 45 of The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook to see the figure).

Implicate (generative) order

Deep Learning Cycle (domain of enduring change) (Circle)

Attitudes and Beliefs
--Not espoused values
--Culture of the organic
--Carrier of culture is stories

Awareness and Sensibilities
--Listen to the whole

Skills and Capabilities
--Three core competencies
a. Creative Orientation - Love & Truth (Satyagraha)
b. Reflective Conversation - Dialogue
c. Understanding Complexity - Systems Thinking

Organizational Architecture (domain of action) (Triangle)

Guiding Ideas
--Vision, Values, Purpose
--Primacy of the whole
--Community nature of self
--Generative power of language

Theory, Methods, and Tools
--Personal vision
--Shared vision
--Left-hand column exercises
--Ladder of inference
--Dialogue
--System archetypes
--System dynamics modelling software
Management Flight Simulators
--Games

Innovations in Infrastructure
--Planning as learning
--Training as learning
--Performance measures
--Practice fields
Learning labs
Dialogue
--Learning histories - Staff Rides
--Groupware
Results

"The power of the above ideas comes when we put the pieces together. An
image emerges of the full scope of the work of building learning
organizations; an image that is both more complete and more richly
textured than can be seen from 'the five disciplines' alone." Peter Senge
p.41-42. Fifth Discipline Fieldbook.

Questions to assess progress on the path to becoming a learning
organization:

How does your organization do planning? Does your organization do
scenario planning?

What are the organization's performance measures? Does your
organization's performance measures foster learning?

What is the organization's budget allocation system? Is it linked to
strategic planning and performance measures? Does it incorporate activity
based costing?

Does information technology support learning? How good is the network? Do
the information systems facilitate/synergize teams?

How would you rate the quality of conversation in your organization? Does
your organization have regular dialogue sessions?

How much meeting time is devoted to reflection? What are attitudes toward
silence? What comes out of the silence?

Does your organization develop learning histories? Does your organization
conduct "staff rides?"

Does everyone in the organization have a personal vision? How often do
people reflect on their vision and current reality? How often do they
express their vision and their view of current reality? What is the
attitude about diversity?

What has been done to develop a shared vision? Has it been a top-down or
a bottom-up process? Both? Examine the organization's vision:
Is it an end result, not a process?
Is it a desire, not an obligation?
Is it specific?
Is it capable of being seen?
Is it in present tense?
Is it inspiring, not limited by what people think is possible?
Is it moving toward something wanted, not avoiding or getting rid of
something unwanted?
Does it focus on good works, not on standings, recognition, or being
number one?

What are the major systems in the organization? Are they aligned with the
vision?

What has been done to develop a shared sense of current reality? Is it
truthful? How do you know?

When the going gets tough, how often does the organization compromise the
vision and/or deny current reality?

How much systems thinking goes on? What evidence is there?

Does your organization have learning labs?

How much energy goes into creating (tension between vision and current
reality) and how much energy goes into problem solving (reacting)?

How much blame ("the enemy is out there") is going around?

Do teams typically sink to the lowest common denominator or create
something greater than the sum of their parts?

Does your organization's training and development programs focus on the
five disciplines of a learning organization (personal mastery, mental
models, shared vision, team learning, systems thinking)?

What percent of the organization's population know:
How to do a left-hand column exercise?
How to use the ladder of inference?
How to participate in dialogue?
How to do systems thinking, especially about mental models?

What is the level of service?

What are the stories that are moving through the organization?

What are the dominant mental models driving the organization? How did you
unearth them?

The bottom line: Does your organization increasingly create the results it
desires? Prove it.

--
Jim Saveland
/s=j.saveland/ou1=w01c@mhs-fswa.attmail.com