Flexible Organizational Structure for Learning Organization: The Case of Indonesia Open University (Universitas Terbuka)

摘要

Indonesia Open University (Universitas Terbuka/UT) was founded in 1984. The aim of founding UT is to provide higher education through distance learning. UT operates throughout Indonesia and abroad. With student population reaching 313 thousands, UT is a complex organization which requires effective management. Effective management should be supported by a flexible organizational structure. According to Marquardt and Reynolds (1994), to transform an organization into a learning organization (LO), an organization needs to pay attention to 11 components such as appropriate organizational structures, the culture of organizational learning, empowerment, environment, the creation and transfer of knowledge, learning technology, quality, strategy, climate learning support, teamwork and networking, and vision. This paper describes the design of the UT organization structure. Meta-analysis of three studies at UT in 2013 and 2014 was applied to this research. According to the Statute, UT organizational structure is a combination of a functional organizational structure and geographical divisions. But in reality, UT's management allows the emergence of new components within its organizational structure according to their individual needs, and therefore UT has created a lot of teams to support its operation and also established a networking with external stakeholders. In 1998, UT formulated its vision and mission but the real transformation of UT has started since 2001 by formulating objectives and targets and then followed by creating a quality assurance system, changes in the organizational structure and intensive use of information systems for learning and management. The transformation happened through team works. Organizational culture develops base on the value of the total quality management and good corporate governance. Departments are given authority to propose and use the budget flexibility in communication and the growth of informal groups that led to sharing knowledge and values among employees.