1 Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization V The Five Disciplines of the Learning Organization And applications to Clemson and CREDO The

1Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization

VThe Five Disciplines of the Learning OrganizationAnd applications to Clemson and CREDO

The Fifth Discipline

A review of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter M. SengePublished 1990 by Currency Doubleday (a Division of Random House)

Presented by Jonathan R.A. MaierClemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization Laboratory

February 9th, 2000


V• What is a Learning Organization?

• The five disciplines of a Learning Organization

Presentation Map

Roadmap to the Presentation:

• How can we use this stuff in CREDO and Clemson in general?


VWhat is a Learning Organization, and Why Be One?

Learning Organizations

“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage”

“It’s just not possible any longer to figure it out from the top and have every one else

following the orders of the grand strategist”

“The average lifetime of the largest industrial enterprises is less than forty years”

“A fundamental shift of mind…from seeing problems as caused by something ‘out there’ to seeing how our own actions create the problems we experience”

“What if the high corporate mortality rate is only a symptom of deeper problems that afflict all companies?”

“A Learning Organization is a place where people are continually discovering how they create their reality, and how they can change it.”


VExamples of prototype learning organizations:

Learning Organizations

• Herman Miller Furniture

• Hanover Insurance Companies

• Kyocera Electric

• Boeing

• Royal Dutch / Shell Oil

• Harley-Davidson


VWhat are the five learning disciplines?

I. Personal Mastery

II. Mental Models

III. Shared Vision

IV. Team Learning

V. Systems Thinking

The Five Disciplines


VSystems Thinking

I. II. III. IV. V.

Basic Ideas of Systems Thinking:Structure influences behavior

Structure in Human systems is subtle

Leverage often comes from new ways of thinking

There is no outside. You and the cause of your problems are part of a single system.

Cause and effect are not closely related in space and time.


V“Reality is made up of circles but we see straight lines”

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

• Systems Thinking is a discipline for seeing the “structures” that underlie complex sistuations, and for discerning high from low leverage change.

• In many systems, doing the obvious thing does not produce the obvious, desired change.

• Systems Thinking simplifies life by helping us see the deeper patterns lying behind the events and the details.


VNature’s Templates

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

• Balancing process with delay

• Limits to growth

• Shifting the burden

• Eroding goals

• Fixes that fail

• Success to the successful


VBalancing Process with Delay

Systems Archetypes

Actual conditions

I. II. III. IV. V.

Corrective action

Delay

time

Desired behavior

Act

ual

beha

vio

r

......



Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Current water

temperature

Shower tap setting

Delay

Example 1: A Sluggish Shower

time

Desiredwarm

HOT! HOT!

cold cold cold

Moral: In a sluggish system, aggressiveness produces instability. Either be patient or make the system more responsive.

......



Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Current demand for new houses

Build more or less

time to build a house

Example 2: The Real Estate Market

Notice the more drastic the response, the longer it takes to reach stability--exactly the opposite of what was intended.

time

Sustained demand

and

production

Glut: lots of houses,

no demand

High demand, no houses

Glut: lots of houses,

no demand

High demand,

no houses

High demand,

no houses

......


VLimits to Growth

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Condition Slowing Action

Growing Action

Limiting Condition

......


VLimits to Growth

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Example:A Growing Enterprise

Growth Saturation of market

niche

Morale

Size of market niche

Promotion opportunitie

s

Motivation and

productivity

Delay

time

Revenue

$

$

$

time

Morale

Moral: Don’t push on the reinforcing (growth) process. Remove or weaken the source of limitation..

......


VShifting the Burden

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Problem symptom

Del

ay

Symptomatic “solution”

Side effect

Fundamental solution

The shifting the burden structure explains a wide range of behaviors where well-intentioned “solutions” actually make matters worse over the long term.

......



Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Personnel performance

problem

Del

ay

Bring in HR expert

Expectation that HR experts

will solve problems

Develop manager’s abilities

Moral: Leverage lies in a combination of strengthening the fundamental response and weakening the symptomatic response. This usually requires a long-term orientation.

Example 1:Personnel problems

time

Staff costs

$

$$

time

Managers skills and respect

Dependency!

......



Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

StressD

elay

Alcohol

Health

Reduce workloadMoral: Notice how insidious the reinforcing cycle is, fostering dependence on the symptomatic solution. Meanwhile the underlying problem grows worse and the capability for fundamental solutions atrophies.

Example 2:Alcohol addiction

time

Alcohol consumption

Stress

Ability tocontrol workload

......


VEroding Goals

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Eroding Goals is a shifting the burden type structure in which the short-term solution involves letting a long-term, fundamental goal decline.

Gap

Pressure to adjust goals

Actions to Improve

Conditions

Dela

y

Goal

Condition

......


VEroding Goals

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Quality standards and hence quality quietly erode. Meanwhile, the customer base becomes dissatisfied, driving down revenues and undermining the enterprise’s ability to invest in the fundamental solution.

Customer dissatisfaction

Pressure to lower

budgets

Invest in new higher quality

methods

Dela

y

High quality

standard

Quality below standard

Example: Quality standards

time

Customer dissafisfaction

Quality

Quality standard

......


VFixes that Fail

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Fixes that Fail describes a system where a fix is effective in the short term, but has unforseen consequences which may require even more use of the original fix, thus perpetuating the problem.

Problem Fix

Unintended Consequence

s

Delay

......


VFixes that Fail

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Moral: Maintain focus on the long term. Disregard short term “fix,” if feasible, or use it only to “buy time” while working on a long term remedy.

High maintenance costs

Cutting back maintenance schedules

More breakdowns and

higher costs

Delay

Example: Maintenance

time

Maintenance Costs

Maintenance schedule

Break-downs

......


VSuccess to the Successful

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

In a Success to the Successful system, the more one competitor succeeds, the more resources it gets, thus starving its competitor.

Allocation to A instead of B

Resources to A

Resources to B

Success of A

Success of B

......


VSuccess to the Successful

Systems Archetypes

I. II. III. IV. V.

Because of the dominant reinforcing feedback, a Success to the Successful system is inherently unstable. The imbalances are not self-correcting. The only leverage lies in changing the underlying structure.

Example: Balancing work and home life

Only 24 hours in a day

Time at work

Time at home

Success at work

Success in family

time

Time and success at

work

Time and success at home

......


VSystems Thinking

I. II. III. IV. V.

Recap of Systems Thinking:“The bottom line of Sytems Thinking is leverage--

seeing where actions and changes in structures can lead to significant, enduring improvements.”

Translation: Systems Thinking is not a magic bullet. It only helps you understand what’s going on and what to do about it. It’s still up to you to implement the necessary change.

“The art of Systems Thinking lies in seeing through complexity to the underlying structures generating change.”


VThe Other Four Learning Disciplines:

I. Personal Mastery

II. Mental Models

III. Shared Vision

IV. Team Learning

V. Systems Thinking


I. II. III. IV. V.


V“Personal Mastery” Means:• The discipline of personal growth and learning• Approaching one’s life as a creative work• Continually clarifying what is important to us• The ability to see current reality• Pursuing a vision as a purpose rather than just a good

idea• That practicing the virtues of life and business success

are not only compatible but enrich one another• Not something possessed, but a process.

Personal Mastery

I. II. III. IV. V.


VThe Discipline of Personal Mastery

• Personal Vision• Creative Tension• Structural Conflict• Commitment to the Truth

Personal Mastery

I. II. III. IV. V.

“The way to begin developing a sense of personal mastery is to approach it as a discipline, as a series of practices and principles that must be applied to be useful.”


VPersonal Vision• Identify ultimate intrinsic desires, not only secondary goals

• Coupled with Purpose (‘why’) (abstract)

• Vision is a specific destination (‘what’) (concrete)

• True vision is not composed of negatives of the now

• Multifaceted (material+personal+service+…)

• Takes courage to hold and pursue

Personal Mastery:

I. II. III. IV. V.

Personal Mastery is a process of continually focussing and refocusing on what one truly wants, on one’s visions.


VCreative Tension

Personal Mastery:

I. II. III. IV. V.

“There are only two possible ways for the tension to resolve itself: pull reality toward the vision or pull the vision toward reality. Which occurs will depend on whether we hold steady to the vision.”

Vision

Currentreality

• This gap can be discouraging, or...

• The gap can be a source of energy, in fact...

• This gap is the source of creative energy!

We are acutely aware of the gap between our vision and reality


VStructural Conflict

Personal Mastery:

I. II. III. IV. V.

• Our unawareness of this belief contributes to its power• We “cope” by letting vision erode, focussing on erasing

negatives, or through shear will-power• But the only real leverage lies in gradually changing the

underlying beliefs and by Commitment to the Truth...

“Practically all of us have a dominant belief that we are not able to to fulfill our desires.”Belief in

powerlessness or unworthiness

Yourcurrentreality

YourVision


VCommitment to the Truth invovles...

Personal Mastery:

I. II. III. IV. V.

• Rooting out the ways we limit or deceive ourselves• Continually updating our theories of why things are the way they are• Continually broadening our awareness• Deepening our understanding of the structures underlying current

events• Recognizing ‘coping’ with structural conflict and then making

appropriate changes• Compassion: Seeing the structures that trap all of us unless

discovered


VI. Personal Mastery

II. Mental Models

III. Shared Vision

IV. Team Learning

V. Systems Thinking


I. II. III. IV. V.


VThe Discipline of Mental Models• Involves surfacing, testing, and improving our

internal pictures of how the world works.• Our mental models determine not only how we make

sense of the world, but how we take action• Problems with mental models arise when they are

tacit--when they exist below the level of awareness

Mental Models

I. II. III. IV. V.


VMental Models and“Skilled Incompetence”

Mental Models

I. II. III. IV. V.

• A worse problem is that we tend to trap ourselves in defensive routines

• These insulate our mental models from examination• Consequently we develop “skilled incompetence,” • We become skilled at protecting ourselves from the

pain and threat posed by real learning situations (!) • Thereby we never learn to produce the results we

truly desire!!!


VExample: General Motors

Mental Models

I. II. III. IV. V.

• GM is in the business of making money, not cars• Cars are primarily status symbols. Therefore styling is more

important than quality• The US car market is isolated from the rest of the world• Workers do not have an important impact on productivity or

product quality• Everyone connected to the system has no need for more than a

fragmented, compartmentalized understanding of the business

The following tacit mental model was used at GM for decades until the crisis in the 1980’s, after losing 38% of their market share to overseas competitors:


VThe “Ah-ha!” of Mental Models:

Mental Models

I. II. III. IV. V.

• All we ever have are assumptions--never truths

• We always see the world through our mental models

• Our mental models are never complete

• Our mental models are chronically nonsystemic

So what are the skills necessary to use mental models effectively? ……


VSkills of Mental Models

Mental Models

I. II. III. IV. V.

• Recognizing “Leaps of Abstraction”

• Exposing the “Left Hand Column”

• Balancing Inquiry and Advocacy

• Excercising Scenarios in complex situations

• Facing up to distinctions between espoused theories (what we say) and theories-in-use (the implied theory in what we do)



II. Mental Models

III. Shared Vision

IV. Team Learning

V. Systems Thinking


I. II. III. IV. V.


VA Shared Vision is… • the answer to the question, “What do we want to

create?”• not an idea, not even an important idea• rather a force in people’s hearts• compelling enough to acquire the support of more

than one person• not imposed by one person or group onto others• a vision that people are truly committed to, because it

reflects their own personal vision

Shared Vision

I. II. III. IV. V.


VMastering the discipline of Shared Vision requires...• First giving up the idea that visions are always

announced from “on-high”• Sharing your personal vision and asking for support• Enrolling others vs. getting them to “buy in”• Fostering genuine commitment rather than

compliance

Shared Vision

I. II. III. IV. V.

A committed person doesn’t play by the rules of the game. He/she is responsible for the game. A compliant person just plays by the rules.


VExamples of Shared Visions:• AT&T: Universal phone service• Ford: everyone affording a car• Apple: empowering people with easy to use computers• Microsoft: a computer in every home• Herman Miller: “a gift to the human spirit”• JFK: a man on the moon by the end of the decade• Medieval cathedrals

Shared Vision

I. II. III. IV. V.

You cannot have a learning organization without shared vision. Without a pull toward some goal which people truly want to achieve, the forces in support of the status quo can be overwhelming.



II. Mental Models

III. Shared Vision

IV. Team Learning

V. Systems Thinking


I. II. III. IV. V.


VTeam Learning involves…

• Alignment

• Thinking insightfully about complex issues

• The need for innovative, coordinated action

• Dialogue and discussion

• Practice

Team Learning

I. II. III. IV. V.


VAlignment

Team Learning

I. II. III. IV. V.

An unaligned team

An unaligned team with individual empowerment

An aligned team

An aligned team with individual empowerment

When a group of people function as a whole


VDialogue (‘dia’ + ‘logos’)• Occurs when a group becomes open to the flow of a

larger intelligence IQgroup > IQindividual

• attempts to go beyond any one individual’s understanding

• Allows people to become observers of their own thinking

• Differs from discussion in that there is a free exploration of a complex issue, rather than presenting and defending individual viewpoints

Team Learning

I. II. III. IV. V.


VThree Conditions for Dialogue:• All participants must suspend their assumptions,

literally to hold them “as if suspended before us”• All participants must regard one another as colleagues• There must be a facilitator who holds the context of

the dialogue

Team Learning

I. II. III. IV. V.

In dialogue, different views are presented as a means toward discovering a new view. Discussions converge on a single conclusion or course of action. Dialogues are diverging; they do not seek agreement, but a richer grasp of complex issues.


VDealing with ConflictThe difference between great teams and mediocre teams lies in how they face conflict and deal with the defensiveness that invariably surrounds conflict.

Team Learning

I. II. III. IV. V.

This is often a classic “shifting the burden” type structure

LearningGap

Defensive routine

Need for inquiry and

change

Dela

y

Perceived need for new

understanding and behavior

Threat

Current understanding and behavior

Skillful facilitators learn to confront defensiveness without producing more defensiveness


VBuilding a learning organization • Read The Fifth Discipline

• Define our shared vision

• Begin using systems thinking (every day)

• Practice exposing our own mental models

• Begin to foster individual’s personal mastery

• Practice team learning as a team

Applications


VExample: Trying to improve writing skills in ME 221:

Applications

Writing problems

Del

ay

Marks on papers

Dislike of good writing

Improve writing skills

I realized this was a classic “shifting the burden” type structure. Consequently I am focussing on implementing the fundamental solution.


VExample: Why the graduate school is having trouble recruiting (1st stab)

Applications

Lack of enrollmen

t

Increase foreign

students

Xenophobia

Delay

Good economy

“Fixes that fail”


VExample: Why the graduate school is having trouble recruiting (2nd stab)

Applications

Lack of enrollment

Del

ay

Increase foreign students and/or lower standards

Xenophobia, students returning

overseas, & ???

Make graduate

school more economically

valuable

Good economy

“Shifting the burden”


VExample: Why the graduate school is having trouble recruiting (3rd stab)

Applications

“Eroding Goals”

Gap

Pressure to lower

admissions standards

Make grad school more economically valuable

Dela

y

Goal: great

graduate students

Lack of enrollmen

t

Good economy


VExample: Why the graduate school is having trouble recruiting (4th stab)

Applications

“Success to the Successful”

Students go to industry rather

than grad. school

Industry get students

faster

Grad school gets less students

Success of economy

Grad. School struggles


VApplications

Students go to industry rather

than grad. school

Industry get students

faster

Success of

economy

Grad. School

struggles

Gap

Pressure to lower admissions standards

Increase foreign and/or

mediocre students

Dela

y

Goal: great graduate students

Lack of enrollment

Foreign students return overas +/-

mediocre students get grad. degrees

Xenophobia, (+possible less commitment to

university / state / national vision)

Make graduate school more economically

valuable

Delay Delay

Success to the successful

Eroding Goals

Fix that fails

Shifting the burden:

fundamental solution

Unintended consequence

Shifting the burden: symptomatic solution

Management principles from the combined systems archetypes point toward a long term focus, strengthening the fundamental solution, holding the vision, and disregarding the short term symptomatic solution if possible.

My solution:


VWe have now had an overview of Learning Organizations, the Five Disciplines, and how we might apply these techniques to CREDO and Clemson…

Conclusion

The obvious question is,

Where do we go from here?

Opportunity for dialogue…

Documents

1 Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization V The Five Disciplines of the Learning Organization And applications to Clemson and CREDO The