Re: Searching for LOs LO2467

Orbis (74363.3637@compuserve.com)
19 Aug 95 15:02:41 EDT

Replying to LO2407 --

Maria Ivancic recently wrote the following and my replies follow each
section:

>The development of core competencies seems fairly straight forward -
>provided you have the resources to achieve agreement across the company.
>The definition of the core competencies hinges only on the interpretation
>of the business objectives.

I would be wary of seeing this process as "fairly straight forward". If we
draw parallels with the job/role-based competency work in many companies,
folks too easily grasp onto fairly generic competencies and do not spend
the time identifying those that truly differentiate performance in their
company.

This differentiation is even more important for organizational
competencies or capabilities, as it will determine resource allocation
etc.. In my consulting work I find that managers are not used to
articulating the organizational capabilities required to achieve business
objectives. Therefore, they need exposure, and subsequent buy-in, to the
core competencies/organizational capabilities concepts and to go through a
rigorous process to determine those that are truly key to their future
success.

I have found Prahalad and Hamel's writings (those after the famous HBR
article) to be helpful in developing this process -- such as in The
Portable MBA on Strategy.

>What I do find difficult to tackle is the cultural change - I was thinking
>about constructing a learning program and start it off by building
>learning teams as the first stage of the program. I hoped that any
>subsequent learning (ie courses etc.) would then be undertaken in the
>spirit of enquiry and enthusiasm for continuously improving upon the
>culture the teams had been exposed to. Will this planting of small seeds
>naturally grow through out the organisation?

>Perhaps I am attempting too much by trying to implement an education
>program and changing the culture at the same time.

It seems to me that the key issue is to fully understand what it is that
will sustain/develop organizational capabilities and what needs to be
learned in order to do this. The learning process should then be designed
to achieve this learning. If "learning to learn" is a primary or secondary
objective, then that needs to be factored into the learning design. Reg
Revans original work at GTE on Action Learning had such an agenda. The
primary objective for the teams was to solve a business problem and
undertake the necessary learning to achieve this. A secondary objective
was to develop the skills to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills,
and thus develop "learning to learn" competencies.

We need to remember that the LO is a means to an end (a continuing,
successful org. etc.) and that related interventions should not lose sight
of that end. The same goes for cultural change, which should come from
business drivers, such as the need to be more customer responsive, or to
be more innovative in new product development. A desire to be an LO, or
have a different culture, is unlikely to have ongoing organizational
support without a clear business connection, i.e. a connection to your
business, not business in general.

--
Peter A. Smith
Orbis Learning Corporation
74363,3637@compuserve.com