Why your company should be a learning organisation

The concept of “learning organisations” is an old one, dating back to the 1970s. But SANDILE KHOZA says that it is essential to the survival of companies today.

The concept of learning organisations encourages people to continuously learn and adapt to changes around them. The logistics and supply chain industry has evolved over the past few years, and the only organisations that have managed to remain competitive and relevant are those that have adopted the principles of learning organisations.

Characteristics of learning organisations

Innovative and agile: A creative organisational culture encourages innovation, change and improvement. Innovation is the new normal: no organisation will survive if they don’t invest in research and development. Competition is actually forcing organisations to be innovative and adaptable to change.

Technology-driven: In learning organisations, a concerted effort is made to use the most advanced technology to improve business processes, products and services. Achieving desired goals faster, cheaper and with fewer resources can only benefit organisations and help them meet their customers’ expectations.

People-oriented: The learning organisation seeks to integrate tasks and people, in order to optimise the talent of employees. Most successful organisations have realised that spending on equipping their employees is the best investment they can make. Being people-oriented does not necessarily mean it is a “one-way street”; on the contrary, it acknowledges that most valuable ideas and innovative initiatives will come from employees.

Learning opportunities: The learning organisation encourages learning at all levels.

So, how can we use the concept of a learning organisation within the logistics, transport and supply chain industries?

We can leverage the concept of a learni ng organisation by:

• Continuously promoting networking within the industry.
• Fostering collaboration between industry leaders by discussing industry challenges.
• Understanding that benchmarking is actually a tool that can be used to advance knowledge.
• Encouraging the participation of young professionals within the industry who have an innovative approach and by simplifying ways of doing things.

Unless we all embrace the fact that the world is rapidly changing and that we need to adapt, we will be left behind! A few years ago, we were talking about the first industrial revolution, and today we are talking about the fourth and fifth versions, which shows that there is no end to learning. Organisations that acknowledge that the principles of a learning organisation can be incorporated within any vision and mission will thrive in the future.