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Transnational Learning Organizations

 

A short report about Workshop 4 by Peter Gut

1. Industrial Change in Europe

The industrial change in all European countries is accompanied by the development of new concepts for production and new organizational forms of enterprise. Briefly stated, the process of industrial change can be understood as a structural (vertical) and as an international (horizontal) change.

2. Development of new Organisational Concepts - the ideal of the learning organisation

New management concepts such as Lean Production or Business Regeneration with the aim of replacing Tayloristic production concepts, emphasize indeed the necessity of organizational learning, but they still give only secondary importance to personal development and the development of human resources.

On the contrary, learning organizations give above all utmost importance to individual and organisational learning processes precisely and because of their goal to become competitive on international markets.

The following schemata indicates what global changes are to be faced by future personal policies. The departure point is created by the changes in the productive sector with the current demand for flexible specialization, the world market orientation and customer orientation, as well as related to that, the new organizational structures based on technology. In this context, the concept of learning organization is the most advanced organizational concept, which a few European enterprises have implemented only to some extent up to now.

Global changes in Production, organizations and consequences for personal and qualification policies

Production Organisation structures Personal- and Qualification policies
Taylorism (-1980) Bureaucracy, Hierarchy Disqualification
Mass Production Delegation
Flexible Specialization (1980 - ?) New learning technologies, Transnational Flexibility, Networking, Integration Requalification, New Learning Methods (project learning) for different situations
transnationl competition, new markets Complexity, Learning organisations skills

We cannot assume at this moment, that there exists a precise definition of learning organisations. It is merely possible here to define some general basic principles; social actors will have to make them more concrete by means of a mediation process. These basic principles have to be formulated at both an organisational and individual level.

1. Organizational Learning is "the process by which the organizational basis for values and knowledge is intensified and changed, improving competencies for solving problems and taking action, while changing the common reference points of and for the members of the organization". (1) The main prerequisite for the development of learning organizations is the learning ability of the organisation at all company levels (development of organization) with the aim to adapt the structure of the organization to industrial change. Thus the Commission of the European Union states as goal:

"Adapt to changing products, markets, technologies, and organization". (2)

Promotion of organizational learning as increase in adaptability and capacity for problem solving by the organization. Orientation as to customer satisfaction.

Indicator: Quality and Customer Satisfaction

2. Individual Learning is enhanced by organizational learning. Learning at the working place, learning within the framework of further training by the company or external events, these are the prerequisites of easing the adaptation by the employed to industrial change. There have to prevail contractual regulations or internal company agreements which guarantee the right to continual education.

Promotion of individual learning within the framework of personal development at all levels of the hierarchy and in all segments of the company; creation of equal accessibility chances to further education programmes of the company by all participants; among others, integration of continual education into working time, development of concepts for times of continual education.

3. Inter-cultural Learning: However, the development of competencies has to be seen in the light of the respective cultures of different countries, that is their economic and the management cultures in Europe. The (cultural) conscious integration of European Management cultures (3) through inter-cultural learning is an essential component of European competitiveness.

Support of development of management conscious of culture, that is, orientation of management actions according to social compatible and ecological development criterion (sustainability 4).

Indicator: Basic principles of enterprise ethics and organizational culture

 

Furthermore, it is the task of the social dialogue to formulate Minimum Demands for learning organizations such as:

The European model for competitive competence vis-a-vis international competitors consists in developing and enhancing the networking of learning organizations throughout Europe. They reflect the cultural traditions of Europe and contemporary society as based on science and information.

3. "New skills for a competitive Europe"

This concept of learning organization which the EU-Commission has adopted as well, implies the steady willingness to learn by the members of an organization. "Above all, in the 1990's, a period of great change and turbulence, enterprises will need to become learning organisations in which the workforce can continuously create new problem-solving and innovation techniques. Learning skills will be a vital ingredient in European enterprise." (Commission of the European Union, Skills for a competitive Europe, p. 19)

"Skills for a competitive Europe" poses three questions:

a) Attainment of common basis for European oriented qualification

A continual European oriented education, as demanded by the joint education program (KAW) of the federal ministry for education and science of Germany. These include:

b) New occupational qualification demands

The Commission of the European Union names in its paper "Skills for a Competitive Europe" among others the new qualification demands as follows:

c) Transnational training qualification demands

In conjunction with the educational projects promoted by the Berlin Senate's department for Employment and Women's Affairs, the following qualification demands can be listed:

 

4. Transnational training for learning organizations in Europe

Transnational continual education programmes are measures by which participants can complete practical training courses within the framework of vocational training given by a foreign enterprise, while being guided and supported by a co-operating educational centre. Staying abroad follows the aim, that the participants obtain improved chances for employment by acquiring language and inter-cultural action competencies.

In order to absolve successfully a training course abroad, co-operating educational centres must have compatible curricula. Consideration must be given here to the fact that the participants will be confronted by various enterprise, organisational- and occupational cultures. In planning such practical training programmes for abroad, the following aspects have to be taken into account:

1. In Europe, the existence of various national cultures has to be taken as a given, the typical expression thereof being the respective language of the country. Researchers assume that Europe's cultures can be located between convergence and plurality. (5)

2. Enterprises which act in the context of these cultures have developed their respective unique organizational and entrepreneurial cultures. At the same time, the different national educational systems have a tremendous influence upon the respective enterprise culture. (6)

3. Finally, it is possible to distinguish occupational cultures from enterprise and organisational cultures. (7)

Given this background, it can be seen that transnational measures have the aim of developing international qualifications and are based on the possibilities of employees to attain practical experiences within the framework of continual education programmes by being abroad for a long time under the supervision of an educational centre. The contents of such transnational measures cannot be described concretely in this context, but it is possible to name certain prerequisites such as language training, the becoming acquainted with another culture, the learning of occupation know-hows in another country's management and enterprise culture. The presentation on the next page shows variation possibilities, schematically speaking, and the factors which have to be considered when it comes to transnational vocational training programmes as part of continual education.

...

Transnational vocational continual education requires 'time' for further learning. This ought to be made available by the learning organization. The opposite is true as well: the moment learning organizations make available times for further training, then there can develop out of this more opportunities for the necessary transnational vocational continual education. Possible measures are:

In Europe, there exist already a number of examples standing for learning organizations: at the European level there has been founded the "European Consortium for the Learning Organization" (ECLO).

5. Promotion of a learning oriented Entrepreneurial Culture through State Programmes

In the discussion it became apparent, that enterprises have to be encouraged in the direction that they incorporate transnational exchange and make use of the respective EU-programmes. Nevertheless EU-programmes are foremostly directed towards encouraging student exchange (ERASMUS) or university mobility (Tempus), rather than mobility by employees between firms. Because of this, it becomes quite clear that an essential prerequisite for learning organizations is to make available time for continual education within working time.

a) Supports through the programmes of the European Union (N. Potaminides):

All stand for an active vocational training policy directed towards coping with industrial change. Transnationality, Innovation and Transferability of methods and contents are essential conditions of the program. The promotion of projects oriented towards KMU's aims plays here a decisive role.

b) Support through regional, that is "Laender"-programmes such as the orientation policy of Berlin

for the labour market (Mr. P. Walch)

Subsequent measures are implemented according to the basic principles of the European employment policy as defined by Articles 123, 126 and 127 of the Treaty of the European Union (Maastricht Treaty).

In exchange and co-operation with centres and institutions in member states of the EU and in Eastern and Middle European countries, there are being developed projects and measures for international qualification possibilities. It is the aim to build-up in Berlin an international pivot point for qualifications while improving chances of integration and re-integration for specific target groups.

The promotion of continual transnational vocational training is based upon policy measures for the labour market as implemented by the Senate's department for Employment and Women's Affairs:

These measures are directed towards the unemployed and persons threatened by unemployment.

Vocational Training and Projects in Berlin

Supported by the Senate Department of Employment and Women's Affairs

Information, Counselling, Motivation

Support of business-oriented training for small and medium sized enterprises:

Support of training for target groups

Support of model- and pilot projects:

Support for transnational vocational training and projects:

Evaluation referring to Labour Market Efficiency

6. Recommendation by the Berlin Senate's Department for Employment and Women's Affairs

Within the time framework for continual education, there should be developed jointly with enterprises a concept on how transnational programmes for continuing education can be incorporated in the practical job training, so that an exchange will become possible with learning enterprises in other member states of the European Union. Transnational vocational training would then mean the organized and employment related transfer of knowledge and culture between the participating member states.

In Berlin the Senate's Department for Employment and Women's Affairs supports a project under the title "Time for Continual Education" as an essential building stone of this concept. Within the framework of this project companies situated in Berlin are counselled as to implementation possibilities of time for continual education. The Berlin Senate's department for Employment and Women's Affairs recommends, that at the next seminar the topic for one workshop should be,

"Time for continuing education" as Element of Learning Organizations

This topic is closely correlated with the subject matter "Culture driven Economy" (Chairman G. Lenssen of Workshop 5) as well as with the field of subjects handled by Prof. R. Picht (Workshop 7: Education for Cultural Diversity). Furthermore, it is recommended that there will be created an European Network of Learning Organizations for the Implementation of Transnational Vocational Training Programmes (N. Potamianos).

Footnotes:

  1. see Probst, G.J. / Buechel, B.T. (1994, p. 17): Organizational Learning. Competitive advantages for the future. Wiesbaden. Pautzke, G. (1989): The evolution of the organizational knowledge basis. Munich.
  2. Commission of the European Communities (o.J.): Skills for a competitive Europe, p. 15
  3. compare Roland Berger & Partner (1994): In Search of Europe's Strength: Management Cultures and factors of success. Landsberg / Lech.
  4. compare Winter, G. (1993): The firm conscious of the environment. Munich.
  5. See Bekemans, L. / R. Picht (1991): European Societies between Diversity and Convergence. Brugges
  6. See Kieser, A./H. Kubicek (1992): Organisation; Berlin/New York. Hofestede, G. (1993): Inter cultural Co-operation. Wiesbaden. Zarifian, Ph. (1993): Quels models d'organisation pour l'industrie europιenne?. Paris
  7. see Heidenreich, M. (1993): Computer and Culture in Organisations. Berlin

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