Developing Learning Organizations at the Small Unit Level

摘要

Much has been written on the topic of the Army as a learning organization. The necessity of the Army becoming a learning organization, its successes and failures as a learning organization, and strategies for change have all focused on a top-down approach to becoming a learning organization. The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of a learning organization and how to apply them at the Army battalion level to optimize a unit's ability to innovate, adapt, and succeed in a complex environment. In doing so, leaders at the small unit level can parallel Army efforts to become a learning organization and better prepare their units for the future during an era of persistent conflict and full-spectrum operations. The Army has identified a clear need to become a learning organization to meet the challenges of a complex world and its ability to conduct a full spectrum of operations within it. The Army has made a concerted effort to achieve this goal, and with some success. However, a top-down-only approach to transitioning the Army to a learning organization cannot succeed by itself. Leaders at all organizational levels need to foster learning characteristics within their units for the Army to change as a whole. The approach outlined in this essay requires a commitment from senior leaders in the unit to maximize the battalion's ability to innovate and adapt in a complex environment. In doing so, they will help the Army in its efforts to change.