I have not fully followed this thread but I was intrigued by the anonymous
posting describing a layoff situation. For me it illustrates a certain
irony in the application of LO concepts to industrial organizations.
We advocate that organizations, and their members, should be constantly
learning. We encourage them to be prepared to revisit their mental models.
We believe that such actions will lead to survival and increasing
competitive advantage. (I know that there are folks on the list who
question whether these are valid goals, but they are what many companies
are concerned with these days.) We also need to realize that companies may
choose to address knowledge and skill gaps via other mechanisms than
in-house learning initiatives.
The Unisys layoff story shows how one company learnt how hardware
engineering had decreasing importance in their business model and they
knew there would be a shift to telecommunications. The writer goes on to
say that "the natural evolution of computer and IC technology is what
really caused it."
I suspect, like many companies in the late 80s/early 90s, that part of the
layoff was also caused by cutting back on management and administrative
staff, as they had learnt they did not need them in in order to run their
business. Business and process reengineering and reinvention definitely
caused many organizations to review their mental models about structures,
roles and associated staffing levels.
Using the Unisys story, and similar events in other companies, I believe
we can offer the following observations:
- Even with good anticipatory systems, companies will encounter
significant knowledge and skill gaps due to new technologies or new
business models
- Some of these gaps will even more significant as they involve knowledge
and skills that do not build on those already established in the company
(e.g. from hardware engineering to telecommunications, or software)
- The time required to address the gap via learning mechanisms (as
distinct from acquisition or alliances) will often be greater than the
time made available by market and competitive forces
- The attention and energy required to address the gap via learning
mechanisms will be in tension with the attention and energy required to
run the current business
- Many companies will elect not to address the gap via learning mechanisms
and will use acquisitions, alliances, outsourcing and layoffs to revise
their business model.
-- Peter A. Smith Orbis Learning Corporation 74363,3637@compuserve.com"Individual learning is a necessary but insufficient force for organizational learning." Argyris, C. & Schon, D.A.