ORGANISATION LEARNING AND IT MANAGEMENT

Organisation Learning and It Management

Organizational Learning

Sinkula (1994) argues culture of organization promotes general value system, providing strict rules for exchange of information and reach consensus on its meaning. Day (1994) explains: "THE culture of customer-driven learning supports value of thorough market intelligence and necessity of functionally coordinated actions aimed at obtaining the competitive advantage." With its external focus on development of understanding about customers and competitors, market-driven organizational learning is able to anticipate evolving needs of its customers and respond through addition of innovative products and services . Therefore, the customer focus is an important aspect of learning orientation.

The strict interpretation of culture conducive to learning only within traditional boundaries. To develop the sound basis for broad learning, organization must provide opportunity for generative learning of all stakeholders. Only groups that already have or develop competitive orientations and enterprise-wide learning initiatives have potential to create superior customer value and competitive advantage. One could argue that the learning culture, with its focus on understanding latent needs, is inherently entrepreneurial. THE culture that values, knowledge and innovation provides environment in which learning of exploration and experimentation is more likely to take place (Hamel and Prahalad, 1991).

Anthropomorphism is attribution of human form or qualities to nonhuman entities. current acceptance of anthropomorphism involves organizational learning theory known as ignored if and how organizations learn, which is far from obvious. argument that organizational learning can not be treated as an extension of individual learning was made by Argyris and Schon (1996). Understanding that learning produces knowledge, organizations and their members often know or get to know, different things.

Although organizational learning occurs through individuals, it would be the mistake to conclude that organizational learning is nothing but cumulative result of members learning. Organizations do not have brains, but they have cognitive systems and memories. As people develop their personality and beliefs over time, so will organizations develop their views and ideologies: "Organizations select stimuli to which they respond, as they usually face the lot more information than they can reasonably process" (Hedberg, 1983).

Until recently manufacturing facilities were established on basis of capital, land and business acumen. With advent of modern technological advances, new management practices and systematic staff development initiatives, importance of capital and land is decreasing. At same time, labor, and intellectual work in particular has generated the powerful influence in all media to high technology sectors. Graham (1996) stated that for several decades, most observers in world of prophetic social changes have predicted emergence of the new economy in which no intellectual prowess, machine capacity, would be critical resource.

Although Drucker (1992) has been credited with predicting downfall of capitalism, Peters and Waterman (1982) established importance of organization of each employee within the company, regardless of size. They suggest that employees in excellent companies will be identified as the key resource. His research showed that "companies were excellent, especially brilliant in basics. Tools no substitute for thinking. intellect does not overpower wisdom. analysis did not stop ...