ORGANIZATIONS AND CULTURES: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING +MANAGING CHANGE+MANAGING CONFLICT

According to Hubber (1991) organizational learning is about the effective processing, interpretation of, and response to information both inside and outside the organization. This information may be quantitative or qualitative, but in general is explicit and in the public domain. The organization tries out new methods and tactics to get rapid feedback on their consequences in order to be able to make continuous adjustments and adaptations. For this theory, there are a number of dilemmas and problems identified by Levinthal and March (1993) as the between exploration and exploitation in the use of technology, because the former may lead to the development of new strategies and knowledge in the long term and the latter may lead to high profitability in the short term. Organizations have to find the appropriate balance between latter and former.

there are 2 styles of learning:

Lower-level learning which Duncan (1974) calls "behavioral- level learning”, that level of learning that is concerned with controlling the firm as it adjusts to the environment – the desired level of learning for routine decisions
Higher-level learning aims at adjusting overall rules and norms rather than specific activities or behaviors. The associations that result from higher-level learning have long term effects and impacts on the organization as a whole.

http://digital-business-world.blogspot.com/2010/12/organizational-learning-of-chris.html

organizational learning is compounded by 4 phases:

The identification of information that seems relevant to learning
The exchange and diffusion of knowledge, either from the individual to the collective level or at the collective level itself
The integration of knowledge into existing knowledge systems at a collective level, an individual level, or both
The transformation of the new knowledge into action and the reapplication of the knowledge into organizational routines

Finally as conclusion organizational learning is a dynamic process that does not happens only through time, but also through different levels or dimensions of the organization. The dynamics is created through the tension between the organizational assimilation of new knowledge developed at individual level (feed-forward), and the use and individual exploration of organizational pre-existing knowledge (feedback).

MANAGING CHANGE:

according to Kavitta Singh (2009) change is a process of moving from present state to a desired state that individuals, or groups undertake in response to dynamic internal and external factors that alter current realities.

change can influence and modify important aspects of an organization as technology, structure and strategy.