Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Technology Degree in Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / The UoTs are operating in an environment in which they have to deal with multifarious and complex challenges. Responding effectively to such challenges has become critical for UoTs in achieving a competitive advantage and in outsmarting competitors. Traditional approaches which deal with rapid changes in the higher education landscape have become obsolete. The fact is that UoTs are faced with transformational challenges - increasing student intake, the need for improving throughput rate, the need for remaining financially sustainable while producing the top graduates required by industry. Given this background, this study investigates the application of a learning organisation philosophy for improving processes and practices in the UoTs of KwaZulu-Natal. Learning organisation philosophy has been identified as one of the best approaches for organisations in the corporate sector. It is used to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage. Learning organisation philosophy encourages the culture of continuous learning by members of the organisation, so as to achieve strategic objectives. This study provides UoTs’ perspectives of the learning organisation theory. Data was collected from employees of DUT. The sample was drawn from both administrative and academic employees. A self-administered questionnaire was used in collecting the data. The findings of this study reveal that the application of a learning organisation philosophy will help UoTs improve their processes and practices. Based on the findings, the majority of participants indicated that they would embrace and support the application of a learning organisation philosophy at DUT. It has to be noted that in the study, DUT was used as a case study.

The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of the phenomenon of reflection. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the concept, we chose to interview four preschool teachers. The preschool teachers met with colleagues in their pre-school area regularly during the autumn and spring terms 2014-2015, to develop their skills through reflection. We wanted to examine whether these meetings influenced their understanding of the concept of reflection, as well as their ability to reflect. We tried to get a hold of these two elements through the questions in our interview. Our three most interesting findings in this study are. The preschool teachers in our study makes a fundamental theoretical difference between how you look at and define the reflection with children and how they look at peer learning. A distinction is difficult to justify theoretically. Our second interesting finding was the importance and the difficult task to keep the reflections away from mainly be about giving each other "tips and advice". Our last finding is the need of good leadership skills of the one who have the task to lead the reflection.

Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) is a national program developed by Cooperative Extension’s federal partner, Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). In collaboration with its federal partner and in concert with state extension systems across the nation, UVM Extension conducted an organizational change survey in 1998, 2000, and 2004 with a selected sample of UVM Extension professionals to determine the organization’s capacity to address issues of CYFAR. Findings from these three surveys showed that Extension had not substantively altered its organizational practices in alignment with the goals of the national program. In order to stimulate new strategic planning for the program, this study set about to assess the capacity of staff from UVM Extension to promote organizational learning. Grounded in the literature of organizational learning, this study administered a 43 item survey instrument called the Dimension of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) to Extension employees. As a strategic planning tool, the survey identifies organizational learning opportunities at the individual, team, and organizational level. Following the Total Design Method, the web-based survey was launched September 2006, with a response rate of 68% (n=63). Findings from the new survey continue to indicate limited organizational capacity to meet national goals for CYFAR program. Interestingly, nearly 70% of survey respondents reported participation in programming for children, youth and families at risk, a percentage greater than those formally assigned to CYFAR activities. Regardless of formal assignment, however, CYFAR employees and non-CYFAR employees did not significantly differ in their survey responses across a variety of organizational measures. Prior training to develop organizational capacity in line with national goals appears to be falling short of expectations. Implications for these shortcomings are discussed and used to frame an action plan for development of this program.

The primary objective of this thesis is to evolve a method for assessing and developing features of a learning organization . To fulfill this, I approached the thesis by examining several research questions and using multiple research methodologies. The research questions were not all established at the outset. Rather, they evolved as features of a journey down a road less traveled. With this journey came the decision to write the thesis in the first person. The first research question was Q1: What will bridge the divide between organizational learning and the learning organization? By reviewing the extant literature on organizational learning and the learning organization, I developed a theoretical framework that linked these two streams. The framework suggests that the extent of divide between the two streams is determined by the extent of learning transfer. The learning transfer is affected by the learning barriers operating at the levels of learning (i.e., individuals, groups, and organizational). This led me to my second research question Q2: What are these barriers to learning transfer and how do they impact the levels of learning in the organization? I cumulated the dispersed literature on learning barriers, and synthesized the learning barriers into five key dimensions: Intrapersonal, relational, cultural, structural, and societal. I then used the Delphi technique on 17 individuals to investigate the impact of the learning barriers on the levels of learning. This generated two additional research questions. The third research question was Q3: How do individuals initiate a double-loop change? This deals with the little researched area of initiation of double-loop change whilst engaging with the interfaces at the levels of learning. I used multiple case studies to examine this question and found that individuals transit through four distinct stages when initiating double-loop change: 'embedded', 'embedded discomfited', 'scripted', and 'unscripted'. Once double-loop learning has been initiated at the individual level, it is important that it is transferred across the organization. Therefore, my fourth research question was Q4: How does a new shared understanding for a double-loop change develop across the organization? I did an in-depth, single case based investigation of an organization. Using Identity and Complexity theory perspectives, I tracked the evolving new shared understanding through four phases: de-identification phase, situated re-identification phase, transition phase, and identification with core ideology phase. The key insights from examining these research questions, particularly insights from examining Q3 and Q4, enabled me to suggest nine key organizational interventions necessary to overcome the learning barriers and develop a learning organization: Identifying, developing, and dispersing double-loop mastery; Enabling constructive contradictions; Creating a superordinate organizational identity; Building emotional intelligence (in individuals and groups); Ambidextrous leadership; Strategic support for experimentation; Promoting 'systems doing'; Accessibility of valid information; Institutionalizing scanning across industry boundaries. When these nine organizational interventions are implemented, they produce five new learning organization orientations: genetic diversity, organizational ideology, organizational dualism, organizational coupling, and strategic play. These five new learning organizational orientations provide the archetypes of the learning organization. I then developed an instrument to assess these five new orientations, and did a preliminary testing of the instrument. While aspects of my work overlaid with previous knowledge, new advances in knowledge were established by: Postulating a link between the streams of organizational learning and learning organization Synthesizing learning barriers into the five key dimensions, and investigating their impact on the levels of learning Understanding the stages of double-loop learning initiation by an individual, whilst engaging with the interfaces at the levels of learning Understanding the process of a new shared understanding evolving Postulating five new orientations of the learning organization

<p>This essey discuss competence development for the employees in a unit of the Swedish police authorities. The purpose with this survey has been to show an understanding for how this unit within the Swedish police authorities works with competence development and what kind of competence investments they carry out and also why competence development is important in their organisation. To answer the purpose of the survey and the questions a qualitative method has been used remaining interviews with five involved respondents working in the investigated unit. The result shows that needs for competence development are made clear during meeting for personal development and during the local educational council inventories. Competence development for the employees is prioritated for the policemen comparing to the civil employees on account of that the policemen have a demanding work and they have to develop their work all the time because of the resisting circumstances. The policemen always have to retain and develop their competence to always feel safe and secure and they have to be able to handle the situations that their profession require. According to the result it has been shown that evaluation and follow- ups after carry out an education shuld be more effective and should be performed after every education occasion. According to the investigated unit the work with evaluation and follow-ups in the unit are not taking place in the extent it should be doing. The result of the survey has further shown that a development concentrated on learning takes place in the daily work of a policeman despite their experiences about the learning within the organisation has gone from collective learning to individual learning. This unit of the Swedish police authority does an extensive work with competence development for their employees. They have a positive attitude to competence development when they think retaining and development of competence are very important within the profession of a policeman.</p>

This essey discuss competence development for the employees in a unit of the Swedish police authorities. The purpose with this survey has been to show an understanding for how this unit within the Swedish police authorities works with competence development and what kind of competence investments they carry out and also why competence development is important in their organisation. To answer the purpose of the survey and the questions a qualitative method has been used remaining interviews with five involved respondents working in the investigated unit. The result shows that needs for competence development are made clear during meeting for personal development and during the local educational council inventories. Competence development for the employees is prioritated for the policemen comparing to the civil employees on account of that the policemen have a demanding work and they have to develop their work all the time because of the resisting circumstances. The policemen always have to retain and develop their competence to always feel safe and secure and they have to be able to handle the situations that their profession require. According to the result it has been shown that evaluation and follow- ups after carry out an education shuld be more effective and should be performed after every education occasion. According to the investigated unit the work with evaluation and follow-ups in the unit are not taking place in the extent it should be doing. The result of the survey has further shown that a development concentrated on learning takes place in the daily work of a policeman despite their experiences about the learning within the organisation has gone from collective learning to individual learning. This unit of the Swedish police authority does an extensive work with competence development for their employees. They have a positive attitude to competence development when they think retaining and development of competence are very important within the profession of a policeman.

Becoming an effective agent of development in the challenging and complex context of the development NGO in Sub-Saharan Africa necessitates prioritizing learning and adaptation. But NGOs are often not characterized by such a strong learning culture and commitment; and Christian NGOs are no exception. Reforming both the commitment to learning and the structures that support it is a pressing challenge facing Christian NGOs committed to being effective agents of development. Such reform requires careful analysis of the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, special consideration of the complex broader socio-political structure of the NGO world, and systematic research into understanding organizational dynamics that facilitate learning. Data from this research contributes to building an integrated learning model. Applying this model through a case study of specific Christian NGO—World Vision Burundi—leads to both identifying factors that undermine learning and proposing a set of recommendations that will help this NGO become a more effective learning organization.

Becoming an effective agent of development in the challenging and complex context of the development NGO in Sub-Saharan Africa necessitates prioritizing learning and adaptation. But NGOs are often not characterized by such a strong learning culture and commitment; and Christian NGOs are no exception. Reforming both the commitment to learning and the structures that support it is a pressing challenge facing Christian NGOs committed to being effective agents of development. Such reform requires careful analysis of the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, special consideration of the complex broader socio-political structure of the NGO world, and systematic research into understanding organizational dynamics that facilitate learning. Data from this research contributes to building an integrated learning model. Applying this model through a case study of specific Christian NGO—World Vision Burundi—leads to both identifying factors that undermine learning and proposing a set of recommendations that will help this NGO become a more effective learning organization.

The field of organizational learning (OL) has been characterized by a wide diversity of opinions, definitions, and conceptualizations. After the publish of Senge's ¡mThe fifth discipline¡Gthe art and practice of the learning organization¡n, OL becomes a biblical important management topic after 1990s. In Taiwan, many business enterprises have been continuously accumulated OL management practices for near 20 years. However, the researches about how to build learning organization or OL were inadequate and insufficient empirical studies are made. This paper is an exploratory research employs mainly the ¡§case study¡¨ method to study the OL activities and processes in a Taiwanese company (C Company), an OL pioneer of practice, which has been continuously establishing OL for over 10 years without stop even facing the financial crisis. In C¡¦s case, 2-stage OL transformations are demonstrated with different learning strategy, value, structures, mental models, and results/consequences The major findings of this study are summarized as following: 1.The C company leader¡¦s personal experience is the key influence factor to C¡¦s OL. 2.The reform in the OL evolution of C company shows as practical example/model how organization can adapt and unlearn from single-loop learning to double-loop learning then deutero-learning eventually.

Abstract The 21st century is knowledge-economy era. In the era of knowledge economy, those who dominate the knowledge and the technology are able to meet the challenges in the future. Because of the competition in knowledge and technology, couple with the rise of information and internet technology, innovation strategy has also taken into the new century. In order to improve organizational performance, management and sharing of corporate knowledge as well as innovation strategies are getting more important, therefore, effective knowledge management and innovation strategy will be one of the key factors of corporate success. Knowledge is the core competitive advantage the most important and the most difficult to imitate. Only through constantly improving, attracting, creating and utilizing abundant knowledge, and integrating in its core competence can it superior to competitors. This thesis adopts case study on one leading domestic company in semiconductor packaging and testing industry. Conduct questionnaire methodology at managers and engineers, and survey five dimensions on knowledge management processes, leadership, corporate culture, information technology and performance evaluation. The main purpose is to realize current implementation of corporate knowledge management, activities and performance, and to conclude the development of knowledge management in the company. Specifically, the purposes of this study are as follows: First, summarize existing literature to understand the effective implementation method for knowledge management. Second, realize corporate current status of knowledge management activities. Third, research on how the company strengthens existing knowledge management practices to retain the core knowledge, enhance manpower quality, and create added value after merging into a fast-growing organization. Finally, the suggestion on KM implementation is proposed for reference. By way of questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews to understand current application and direction of knowledge management, and to conclude specific suggestions for improvement reference, hopefully this thesis benefits the company to enhance corporate competitiveness.