What are the right skills? An investigation of an organisation’s journey towards becoming a learning organisation, and the skills that help leaders to create the conditions and structures characteristic of a learning organisation

摘要

The concepts of organisational learning and the learning organisation have been\uddiscussed and debated extensively in the literature, with some writers arguing that many\udorganisations are not relying on continuous learning and development, and react with\uddifferent strategies to external change, and with others defending the point of view that\udorganisational learning or becoming a learning organisation is key to keeping up with\udthe changes happening in the world, such as globalisation, increased competition and\udrapid technological advances. This study addresses the above concepts within the\udcontext of the hospitality industry, in particular the international hotel industry, and\udaims to provide some measures and clarity to the question of what the right skills are\udthat help leaders creating the conditions and structures characteristic of a learning\udorganisation, as well as to address the potential gap in the literature around the limited\udavailability of research about the learning organisation and organisational learning in\udthe hospitality industry. The research follows a two-phase case study design, using an\udorganisation in the international hotel industry that had recently introduced a ‘designthinking’\udprogramme, the vehicle through which learning organisation reforms were\udintroduced into the case study organisation with the stated objective to foster innovation\udand to differentiate the organisation from its competitors, as a research setting. The\udfindings of this study suggest that organisations in the hospitality industry embarking on\udthis journey of becoming a learning organisation should consider the leadership skills\udand mind-sets as identified in this research for the design of their leadership models,\udsuch as the ability to encourage experimentation, reward and foster failure and\uddemonstrating a commitment to learning. This will assist them in the creation of a\udlearning-supportive culture where employees are involved and participate, are\udempowered to make their own decisions and have trust in leadership to take risks and\udfoster innovation. The study contributes to foster a better understanding by practitioners\udof the interaction between leadership skills and organisational learning, thus\udhighlighting the importance of those skills and mind-sets in the creation of a learning\udorganisation, and also reveals some interesting findings around the value and\udapplicability of the learning organisation concept in the hotel industry.