Learning Theories
This article presents a different perspective on learning organizations, more focused on the individual and how the organization best serves them. How can an organization avoid "losing out on its learning abilities when members of the organization leave"? What are the six factors related to time? These relate not only to constraints on learning but also to operational and project activities of organizations writ large. Keep these in mind whenever you plan a new project or for your current projects or operational support roles, and make sure they are considerations for defining your scope. Managing up is something analysts do all the time. This happens when you work with your managers to refine requirements, develop your TOR, and define your scope. It is also a key skill for ensuring your analytic findings find a receptive audience, despite expected results. Have any of these tips helped you to effectively "manage up" in the past? How could you apply some of them in the future to communicate more effectively with your decision-makers?
Group factors influencing organizational learning
Factors that influence group learning are explored by McConnell and Zhao. In their study, they designed a diagram to show group learning in by integrating factors together. The first step was group planning. The planner has to be very clear about the learning task and the objectives. The learning community has elements that must be considered such as "creativity, norms, belief, and status". Factors that must be considered "interaction, communication, negotiation, skills, strategies, feedback, leader, role play, brainstorming, and motivation". Lastly in evaluation, the following factors must be considered, " performance, effectiveness, outcomes, contributions, history, experiences, and productivity".