Clyde Howell said:
>Consider this, when an organization says that it wants to be a learning
organization, then it starts laying people off indiscriminately, how can it
be a true learning organization? All of its learning resources have been
stifled ... those who are laid off are now gone and those left behind are
scared to do anything to draw attention to themselves lest the same fate
befall them
Geof then asked:
>It would be interesting to hear from someone a AT&T...
I'm not from AT&T but we have experienced a considerable downsizing effort
here. In 1993 we lost approximately 11,000 people and another 3400 in
1995. Plus thousands to retirement. I don't know of any company who
undergoes such turmoil and does it indiscriminately. We spent a lot of
effort and $$$ on attempting to mitigate the effects of this downsizing.
People leaving the company were offered a variety of services to help them
find new positions and acquire new skills. We also spent a great deal of
time assisting those who survived. But the message we continue to give is
one of not guaranteeing employment security but rather supporting skills
training and re-deployment opportunities. I'm not sure any organization,
learning or not, can guarantee life-time employment. It just isn't the
contract for today.
Companies today must offer opportunities in the form of learning and
growth. They must also be prepared to help place individuals outside their
doors. People will move. The average half-life of skills in the future
will be 3 years (that's our assumption). So in learning organizations,
people will need to know how to join and how to leave while keeping the
processes and organizational continuity intact. They must be prepared to
ask themselves is it time to change? Where can I contribute more?'
Jobs will come and go. Skills will come and go. And, employment will also
change. A learning organization must understand how to cope with these
factors. By promoting changing skills and work opportunities and embracing
processes that support them, an organization will help itself succeed. Our
people do not appear to be scared, but rather they are speaking out more
and questioning everything. That is the natural course of action when work
is re-defined. We question the rules that went with the old way. We have
asked for their input and we have received.
So in closing, I am trying to say that a learning organization does not
mean employment security as Clyde infers but, rather, it means how to
learn to deal with change.
-- For now... David Reed (206)655-3245 Web:dpr9989@kgv1.bems.boeing.com Human Resources Strategy Development