This study examines the nature of learning organisations with a special focus on how these organisations manage to sustain and reinvent themselves despite changing contexts. In particular, the study focuses on one NGO operating in the South African education field. The intention of this research report is to determine how the specified organisation has been able to sustain and expand its operations while remaining effective and relevant despite changing political, economic and social contexts. The findings of the study have been drawn from interviews held with key personnel who presently work or previously worked for the organisation under study. Data from the interviews was triangulated with data extracted from the organisation’s annual reports. The data shows that the organisation grew from a regional entity to having offices all over South Africa. In order to do so, the organisation had to adapt to changing circumstances which it did by learning from experts and other organisations worldwide that were involved in similar pursuits. From these sources, the organisation learnt about innovative literacy materials and development strategies. The spearhead for many years behind these developments was a leader with a strong and charismatic personality and so, ultimately, it is difficult to distinguish between her personal learning and the organisational learning that took place.

The Australian business environment has been changing at an ever-increasing pace since the mid-1980s. Technological, economic and social changes have altered the working environment. There have been constant technological advances with information technology influencing most categories of work. Organisations in public and private sectors have ongoing expectations of increased productivity, increased quality of processes and swifter responsiveness to clients. Team roles have changed. Team members are multi-skilled and work is designed to emphasise the whole task. The Karpin Industry Task Force described a vision for an Australian business environment that would, by 2014, be one with a flexible, skilled and motivated workforce, world class managers, a customer comes first mentality, and an internationally competitive perspective. These characteristics are congruent with those of learning organisations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the suitability of groupware as the supporting infrastructure for a learning organisation. To do this, the study assesses the use of technology to support personal and team learning in a learning organisation, studies the impact of groupware on learning within workgroups, determines the extent to which communication and learning styles influence its effectiveness, and identifies ways in which groupware can be used to capture the information used to support knowledge management in an organisation. Two case studies are used to undertake this assessment. Three distinct yet related frameworks underpin this study. The first is that of Groupware and the related research frameworks of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). The second is the Learning Organisation and its supporting disciplines. The final framework is that of learning and the action-oriented learning processes. Each is examined and the interrelatedness of the frameworks is explored. The journey to produce this written material has been one of twists and turns, blind alleys and blinding revelations, observation and reflection. My choice of techniques has been eclectic, reflecting the breadth of theoretical material covered.

<p>Uppsatsen gör en första ansats att utifrån befintliga organisationsteorier definiera de faktorer vilka påverkar Försvarsmakten och R3-organisationen. Oganisations-teorierna pekar på yttre krafter så som politik, ekonomi och teknologi samt inre logik-faktorer, vilka består av sociala processer som utvecklas och påverkar det klimat som präglar en organisation.</p><p>Förutom yttre krafter och inre logik, påverkar även organisationsformen en organisation. Inom Försvarsmakten och dess underorganisationer, däribland R3, är organisationsformen till övervägande del hierarkisk. Ett välanpassat och dubbelriktat informationsutbyte mellan de olika nivåerna inom hierarkin gör den välfungerande och effektiv. Inom R3-organisationen finns detta informationsutbyte bland annat mellan funktionsutvecklaren och utbildningsförbanden. Klimatet samt funktionen inom detta utbyte påverkar organisationens effektivitet och optimering. Framtiden är till del oviss och utveckling, omvärld och resurser förändras ständigt. Genom att sträva efter att vara en lärande organisation kan Försvarsmakten tillgodogöra organisationen de kunskaper som individerna innehar och förvärvar. En lärande organisation investerar i människor och deras fortlöpande lärande. Viktigt är att öka det subjektiva och objektiva handlingsutrymmet för individerna i syfte att gynna lärprocessen, vilket utvecklar hela organisationen. Det ökade internationella samarbetet Försvarsmakten strävar mot, främjar rimligtvis effektivitet och optimering på så vis att kunskapsprocesserna utvecklar och vidgar de referensramar individ och organisation har.</p><p>Fortsatt forskning kan bland annat ge svar på hur det internationella samarbetet skall utvecklas för att ge ytterligare positiva aspekter avseende den lärande organisationen och dess utveckling.</p> / <p>The author of this essay is Elisabet Hökerberg, a Cadet at the Swedish Armed Forces Technical School, Halmstad. The essay is written as a part of the Officer Education.</p><p>The objective of this study is to research and examine the main factors which affect the potential for an organization to function as effectively as possible. The essay also aims at describing the most preferable climate characterizing an optimal and effective organization. Factors such as politics, technical boundaries and economies are external factors which affect an organization and are often difficult for the organization to influence. These external factors also have a direct effect on the inner logic that characterizes the relations and climate between the members of the organization. Inner logics are social processes which develop without the members’ direct awareness of them. Opportunism is a typical inner logic factor.</p><p>In order to increase efficiency and realize the objectives of the organization it is important for those in command to handle these inner logics with care and to be aware of their importance. To realize the objective of an organization the executive staff must have the ability, will and means to lead and guide their employees towards the Managing Directors’ intended objective.</p><p>The Swedish Armed Forces is no exception and the external powers and inner logics influence the military organization just as it does a regular company. The hierarchic organization which the military organization constitutes also affects its efficiency and optimising. In order to make a hierarchic organization function with effectiveness it is of importance that the vertical and horizontal boundaries are flexible and variable.</p><p>The result of the study shows that the conception of <em>learning organisations</em> can be an important part of the way towards an organization with minimized negative affection from the inner logic factors. The learning organisation has the ability to assimilate not only the available knowledge of the employees, but also encourages them to incorporate new. By investing in knowledge in this way the personnel readily understand their own importance in the way towards the objective, which leads to a more efficient organization.</p>

Uppsatsen gör en första ansats att utifrån befintliga organisationsteorier definiera de faktorer vilka påverkar Försvarsmakten och R3-organisationen. Oganisations-teorierna pekar på yttre krafter så som politik, ekonomi och teknologi samt inre logik-faktorer, vilka består av sociala processer som utvecklas och påverkar det klimat som präglar en organisation. Förutom yttre krafter och inre logik, påverkar även organisationsformen en organisation. Inom Försvarsmakten och dess underorganisationer, däribland R3, är organisationsformen till övervägande del hierarkisk. Ett välanpassat och dubbelriktat informationsutbyte mellan de olika nivåerna inom hierarkin gör den välfungerande och effektiv. Inom R3-organisationen finns detta informationsutbyte bland annat mellan funktionsutvecklaren och utbildningsförbanden. Klimatet samt funktionen inom detta utbyte påverkar organisationens effektivitet och optimering. Framtiden är till del oviss och utveckling, omvärld och resurser förändras ständigt. Genom att sträva efter att vara en lärande organisation kan Försvarsmakten tillgodogöra organisationen de kunskaper som individerna innehar och förvärvar. En lärande organisation investerar i människor och deras fortlöpande lärande. Viktigt är att öka det subjektiva och objektiva handlingsutrymmet för individerna i syfte att gynna lärprocessen, vilket utvecklar hela organisationen. Det ökade internationella samarbetet Försvarsmakten strävar mot, främjar rimligtvis effektivitet och optimering på så vis att kunskapsprocesserna utvecklar och vidgar de referensramar individ och organisation har. Fortsatt forskning kan bland annat ge svar på hur det internationella samarbetet skall utvecklas för att ge ytterligare positiva aspekter avseende den lärande organisationen och dess utveckling. / The author of this essay is Elisabet Hökerberg, a Cadet at the Swedish Armed Forces Technical School, Halmstad. The essay is written as a part of the Officer Education. The objective of this study is to research and examine the main factors which affect the potential for an organization to function as effectively as possible. The essay also aims at describing the most preferable climate characterizing an optimal and effective organization. Factors such as politics, technical boundaries and economies are external factors which affect an organization and are often difficult for the organization to influence. These external factors also have a direct effect on the inner logic that characterizes the relations and climate between the members of the organization. Inner logics are social processes which develop without the members’ direct awareness of them. Opportunism is a typical inner logic factor. In order to increase efficiency and realize the objectives of the organization it is important for those in command to handle these inner logics with care and to be aware of their importance. To realize the objective of an organization the executive staff must have the ability, will and means to lead and guide their employees towards the Managing Directors’ intended objective. The Swedish Armed Forces is no exception and the external powers and inner logics influence the military organization just as it does a regular company. The hierarchic organization which the military organization constitutes also affects its efficiency and optimising. In order to make a hierarchic organization function with effectiveness it is of importance that the vertical and horizontal boundaries are flexible and variable. The result of the study shows that the conception of learning organisations can be an important part of the way towards an organization with minimized negative affection from the inner logic factors. The learning organisation has the ability to assimilate not only the available knowledge of the employees, but also encourages them to incorporate new. By investing in knowledge in this way the personnel readily understand their own importance in the way towards the objective, which leads to a more efficient organization.

For several years now, the healthcare service has been facing major recruitment challenges where the shortage of nurses is a reality. As time goes by and experienced employees leave the profession, managers are facing a transition to not only having a lack of resources but also a lack of competence. Insufficient staffing or competence can create negative consequences and further aggravate the basic problem of competence management. The overall purpose of this study is to create knowledge about the situation of unit managers regarding the competence management of nurses, by examining what conditions and tools   unit managers have in their leadership to handle this. The study examines the conditions and tools that unit managers describe that they have for managing competence and need thereof in the department. What tools regarding competence management / needs, how the tools look like and how they are used in relation to competence management, and whether the unit manager lacks any tools. Finally, the study describes how the unit manager handles the unit’s competence needs and competence management, through leadership. The study is based on theories in competence management, learning organizations, learning in the workplace and leadership. Specifically, four different departments are examined at an emergency hospital in central Sweden using a qualitative method. The empirical material comes from completed semi-structured interviews with a total of eight unit managers, which were analyzed based on a qualitative content analysis approach. The results of the study show how the unit managers have adopted different strategies for working with the prevailing competence management situation. Competence management is mostly described in terms of competence development. The unit managers describe limitations regarding the shortage of nurses and there are major challenges regarding the competence level of the department. The unit managers describe a need for a larger proportion of the group of nurses who have solid professional experience within the specialty of the   department. The results show different obstacles at different levels, where the goal to have a long-term and forward-looking focus, may stand aside. The unit managers describe that other things take up their time, where a large proportion of the worktime is spent on staffing, with the right competence. The study shows how the unit managers use or develop their own competence tools to facilitate competence management. Support from the organisation is in many issues lacking but demanded. About half of the unit managers use the region's competence tools. The unit manages describes some elements of a learning organization, but the holistic approach for the entire hospital is not in focus. Leadership is described as clear, present and that the goals of the unit are linked to the employees' motivation and development needs. The lack of nurses remaining, and the lack of experienced nurses in the unit affects the unit managers' daily work. A large part of the worktime is spent on recruitment, but also on constantly developing the competence of the employees in order to ensure good patient care.

Organisations need to learn from their current and past experiences to optimise their activities, decisions and future strategies. Non-governmental organisations are similar to public or governmental departments in that learning is crucial for their existence. One of the key factors influencing learning is the development and maintenance of a functional organisational memory. The organisational memory is a dynamic entity encompassing more than the storage facilities provided by an information technology system. It also resides in human form, acting as reservoirs and interpretation centres and feeding the organisational memory as a whole. Previous research in organisational memory focussed mostly on describing the structure of the storage systems, with the current focus on developing management information systems to enhance organisational memory storage and retrieval. Some work has been undertaken to describe the processes involved, which include accessing, storing and retrieving the memory. Other functions that need special attention are the development of data to information, and especially creating and using knowledge. The studies mostly involved existing organisational memory as it was represented at a specific time of the organisations’ development. This study looks at all the different developmental phases of a regional NGO, which include start-up, expansion in target territory, expansion in activities, consolidation and close-out. To investigate the temporal changes of organisational memory in a regional intermediary NGO, a retrospective case study methodology was used. The NGO was closing down, providing an opportunity to investigate all the stages of development. The data collection, analysis and interpretation involved various in-depth interviews with current and past staff members and other key stakeholders, such as beneficiary organisations and consultants. In addition, a complex set of documents were studied, including proposals, strategic documents, minutes of meetings, and audiovisual material. The main themes and factors, such as individuals, leadership, electronic and other management of the organisational memory, culture, including the importance of a vision and theory of change, policies and global developments are discussed using a temporal ecological framework. The key findings of this study illustrate the importance of directories as part of the metamemory in accessing seemingly dormant organisational memories. The conclusion is that organisational memory survives after the demise of the organisation and that it is accessible through directories. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Consulting Psychology)

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa experience one of the highest failure rates in the world with 75% to 80% of SMEs failing in their first ten years. This data suggests that few small organisations in South Africa are sustainable entities and this in turn impacts on employment and the GDP of South Africa. In order to be sustainable, organisations should be learning ones (Garvin, 1993; Marquardt in Hattingh & Smit, 2004, p2). Senge’s (1990) ground-breaking model of a learning organisation identifies the disciplines companies should practice in order to contribute to their sustainability. This model, previously researched in large global companies, is used as the basis of researching a small company in a local, South African context. This study explores whether by being a learning organisation, a small company is able to sustain itself. Senge’s concept of a learning organisation includes five disciplines. These disciplines have adult and workplace learning theories embedded in them. The study attempted to identify whether the small company drew on these learning theories in day-to-day operations and practise, and if this contributed to its development as a learning organisation. In addition to learning theories, literature reviewed included factors that impact on small business sustainability in the South African context. The study reveals an interesting blend of a business management concept (“the learning organisation”) with adult education principles that give insight into developing a small company as a learning organisation. A qualitative, ethnographic case study approach was used for this study, using an interactive model to accommodate the dynamic nature of the workplace with its variety of events and activities. Data collection took place during two intensive research periods in 2008 and 2012, in a single Johannesburg-based company. A multi-method approach was used and included observations, document analysis, questionnaires, transect walks, auto-photography, focus groups and interviews. The study revealed that a small company can ensure its sustainability by being a learning organisation, even though the company did not hold the same understanding of a learning organisation that Senge (1990) did. By practising various adult and workplace learning theories, especially the theory of communities of practice, a small company can develop the disciplines of a learning organisation. Furthermore, organisations may practise the disciplines of a learning organisation organically, without specific intent, and this may assist in their sustainability.

Organisations need to learn from their current and past experiences to optimise their activities, decisions and future strategies. Non-governmental organisations are similar to public or governmental departments in that learning is crucial for their existence. One of the key factors influencing learning is the development and maintenance of a functional organisational memory. The organisational memory is a dynamic entity encompassing more than the storage facilities provided by an information technology system. It also resides in human form, acting as reservoirs and interpretation centres and feeding the organisational memory as a whole. Previous research in organisational memory focussed mostly on describing the structure of the storage systems, with the current focus on developing management information systems to enhance organisational memory storage and retrieval. Some work has been undertaken to describe the processes involved, which include accessing, storing and retrieving the memory. Other functions that need special attention are the development of data to information, and especially creating and using knowledge. The studies mostly involved existing organisational memory as it was represented at a specific time of the organisations’ development. This study looks at all the different developmental phases of a regional NGO, which include start-up, expansion in target territory, expansion in activities, consolidation and close-out. To investigate the temporal changes of organisational memory in a regional intermediary NGO, a retrospective case study methodology was used. The NGO was closing down, providing an opportunity to investigate all the stages of development. The data collection, analysis and interpretation involved various in-depth interviews with current and past staff members and other key stakeholders, such as beneficiary organisations and consultants. In addition, a complex set of documents were studied, including proposals, strategic documents, minutes of meetings, and audiovisual material. The main themes and factors, such as individuals, leadership, electronic and other management of the organisational memory, culture, including the importance of a vision and theory of change, policies and global developments are discussed using a temporal ecological framework. The key findings of this study illustrate the importance of directories as part of the metamemory in accessing seemingly dormant organisational memories. The conclusion is that organisational memory survives after the demise of the organisation and that it is accessible through directories. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Consulting Psychology)

The purpose of this qualitative research was to investigate the relatively new concept of knowledge management as it applies to schools as learning organisations. Literature on knowledge management abounds and is covered by authors in a wide variety of fields. However, literature relating to knowledge management in schools is limited, particularly literature by in-school practitioners. The study provides a teacher-librarian’s view gleaned largely from interactions with colleagues in the profession. The fieldwork for the study was undertaken in a small cross-section of Australian and New Zealand schools in 2001. Semi-structured interviews yielded answers to questions on how teachers shared their knowledge, on how ICTs enabled knowledge management, the implications of knowledge management for teacher-librarians and the concept of the knowledge-enabled school. The findings relate to the structuring of human resources and decision making processes, information literacy and knowledge construction, the critical learning community that optimises learning, the parallel development of social and ICT infrastructures, information management tools, the role of the teacher-librarian and the incorporation of knowledge management into systemic reforms. The study recommends that the ways in which teachers share knowledge requires further scrutiny, that research should establish the capacity for knowledge management in schools, that tools and systems are integrated as a KM Toolbox and that one particularly successful model of systemic reform based on knowledge management principles be piloted in South African schools. The study provides a singular record of knowledge management practice and potential in schools. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

To be a humanitarian aid worker [HAW] in the field entails working in a demanding environment, and in this milieu, interpersonal conflicts [IC] sometimes arise which may risk the entire project. The ones responsible for dealing with ICs, should they occur, are HAWs in management positions employed by various humanitarian organisations [HO]. However, the hypothesis presented in this thesis is that HAWs are not always provided with the training necessary. This thesis aims to critically analyse how HO prepare and train HAWs, specifically in IC management, and whether two significant HOs, Médecins Sans Frontières [MSF] and the International Federation of the Red Cross [IFRC], can be described as learning organisations [LO] according to Senge’s (1990) five disciplines. Through qualitative content analysis, involving interviews and literature reviews, the author seeks to identify training gaps, how MSF and IFRC can become LOs, and how these organisations would benefit from becoming LOs.  According to interview participants, the author found that more training would be beneficial, both for themselves and for MSF and IFRC, since many ICs go unmanaged. Furthermore, it was identified that MSF and IFRC had taken a few steps in a direction that could lead to them becoming LOs. However, more can be done, and through Senge’s disciplines, MSF and IFRC would benefit from more involved HAWs, improved wellbeing of HAWs, and possibly lower staff turnover.  In conclusion, the hypothesis of this thesis was proven to some extent. HAWs do receive training; however, more training can be provided. The wellbeing of HAWs is also a vital problem that HOs have to consider to lower retention rates, encourage their HAWs to stay employed, and further encourage learning within the organisations.