Adoption of a learning organizational culture provides numerous benefits to both the institutions and individuals within. For instance, facilitating for the process of knowledge accumulation and transfer due to developing learning infrastructure, developing the institution’s proactive and anticipatory behavior, enriching the lives of employees resulting from exposure to multiple points of views and ideas due to collaboration, and developing a commitment to lifelong learning for both the individuals and organization as a whole. Individuals whose lives are improved subscribe to the learning organizational culture because of belief in the shared vision.

Higher educational institutions are under significant pressure to adapt to the rapidly changing global labor market. The dean of the faculties need to collaborate with the tutors in developing and deciding how to structure the program. The tutors can communicate directly with the adult learners and get their input on how to structure the programs. Change management involves strategies to help employees accept new organizational developments. The change agent’s role is to select strategies or models that increase acceptance and reduce change resistance.

Figure 2: University organizational hierarchy.

However, implementing the disciplines of a learning organization effectively reduces resistance to change. For instance, employees who feel that the change is beneficial to the organization are more likely to be committed to its implementation (change appropriateness). A shared vision involves not only translating personal to shared visions, but also communicating strategies to arrive at the desired destination. All stakeholders must be informed of the change decisions and be involved in the change management process for their input, and to minimize resistance.

Strategies for Enhancing Adult Education Praxis

Adult learners are defined by the key characteristic of their participation in multiple roles and responsibilities, such as a part-time student, caretaker and worker. Moreover, adults have different kinds of experiences, which are organized differently. The adults’ experiences in addition to defining who they are, is a rich source for learning. Also, adult development differs from young learners in that their development has to do with social roles rather than physical and cognitive development. Hence, adults’ learning needs differ significantly from young learners’.

Tutors should create different curriculums for adult learners because of their distinction from young learners. Adults are problem-centered rather than subject-centered and desire immediate application of knowledge learned. Leveraging the life experiences of adult learners as a rich source for learning. Tutors can capitalize on their students’ experiences to show the practicality of the course concepts, structuring the course content in a way that facilitates application to real life scenarios. For instance, providing case studies or assignments that are relevant to the current environment trends. Adult learners are more motivated to learn when they are able to apply the course concepts to solve problems. Additionally, learning something that complements their experiences reduces resistance to learning new and unfamiliar concepts. Problem-centered learning is preferred by adults because it is engaging, leads to immediate application, and solidifies the learning.

Adoption of technologies provide flexibility to adult learners, enabling them to learn at their own pace. Adults are engaged in multiple roles of worker, spouse, parent, and community member; as opposed to the main role of young learners as primarily students. Tutors need to be trained on how to leverage the technologies to provide a learning environment that promotes engaged learning. The curriculum of adult education programs should be planned around their need for learning resulting from the social roles of adulthood. The social role of workers predominates adults’ reason to engage in formal learning activities. Hence, creating readiness for learning is possible through instructional techniques that are experiential, since adult learners are interested in immediate application.

Leveraging self-directed learning facilitates adults learning at their own pace. Adult learners have a self-concept of being independent and self-directing. Adult learners are more receptive to self-directed learning rather than instruction-based lessons. Adults have a deep psychological need to be perceived by others as capable of taking responsibility for themselves and their own growth, and imposing will without their participation leads to resistance and resentment. Adult learners must be involved in what they learn and how they learn something. Tutors need to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust to facilitate collaboration. Also, the environment should be comfortable and adult-oriented.

Figure 3: Summary of Knowles' Adult Learning Theory

SECTION 5

As explored in the previous section, organizational learning refers to the process through which an entire organization collectively acquires, creates, shares, and applies knowledge to enhance its performance, adapt to changes, and achieve its goals. It involves creating a culture that values learning, encourages the sharing of insights, and continuously improves processes and strategies based on acquired knowledge.

While this has been studied and theorized extensively, creating processes within an organization that promote learning is easier said than done. Not only does an organization have to take into account their field of operation, goals and their current level of knowledge but also the individual differences within their workforce. It is important for an organization, therefore, to take all these factors into account before taking measures that improve their organizational learning.

Implementation of Strategic Processes that Support Learning:

Integrating Learning Organization Characteristics

Learning organization characteristics, as previously explored, refer to the essential traits and features that define an organization's commitment to continuous learning, adaptation, and improvement. These characteristics create an environment where learning is not just an individual activity but a collective effort that contributes to the organization's overall growth, innovation, and success. Some of the characteristics of a learning organization that will be heavily incorporated into the solution will include a shared vision, team learning and personal mastery. These three aspects will allow the school to empower its students/workforce in determining what they know, what they need to know, how they can acquire this knowledge and why they need to continuously grow in their knowledge and abilities. The learning organization characteristics provide the framework for the vision. That is, it represents how the organization, once a learning culture is created, will look like and function. However, this does not provide the framework for implementation. In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning culture to be created, the school needs to take into account how to implement this culture. This is where Knowles’ Adult Education Praxis comes in.

Integrating Adult Education Principles

Andragogy serves as a foundational framework for the effective implementation of a learning organization culture aimed at nurturing the characteristics inherent to such organizations. By emphasizing the principles of adult learning, Andragogy recognizes the autonomy, self-direction, and life experiences of learners – essential traits for fostering a culture of continuous learning within an organization. Through personalized learning pathways, experiential learning projects, and collaborative learning circles rooted in Andragogy, employees and management alike are empowered to take ownership of their learning journeys, applying prior experiences and contributing diverse perspectives. This alignment enables the development of learning organization characteristics, including open communication, adaptability, innovation, and knowledge sharing. As a result, Andragogy provides the guiding principles that enable an organization to cultivate a learning culture.

In order to improve the status of the leaders within a field and improve efficiency and effectiveness, it is important for an organization to continuously develop its capabilities as a whole. However, organizational learning stems from individual learning which is guided by the principles of Andragogy, studied and promoted by Knowles.

Intergrating Appropriate Organizational Culture

Westrum [footnoteRef:1]studied organizational culture and how culture impacts the flow of information, learning, within an organization. He concluded that: [1: Westrum, R. A. (2004). A typology of organisational cultures. BMJ Quality & Safety, 13, ii22-ii27.]

· 1. Cultures could be classified into three types: pathological, bureaucratic, and generative.

· 2. The most important and noticeable feature of organizational culture is how new information spreads within it.

· 3. Cultures that adeptly embraced and reacted to new information showed significantly better performance than those that faced challenges in doing so.

How members of an organization learn is deeply influenced by the existing culture within the organization. It is therefore important to conduct an assessment and ensure the existing overarching culture promotes the seeking and dissemination of information within the organization. There are three organization cultures, as studied by Westrum, summarized below:

·

Figure 4: Summary of the types of cultures within an organization

Pathological cultures are marked by mistrust, fear, and dysfunction, hindering collaboration and innovation through blame-shifting and self-interest. Generative cultures prioritize cooperation, experimentation, tolerating failure and learning, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are valued, and change is embraced. In contrast, bureaucratic cultures rely on rigid processes and hierarchy, limiting responsibilities potentially stifling innovation and slowing the implementation of learning initiatives due to excessive rules and centralization.

Incorporating a generative organizational culture, in contrast to pathological and bureaucratic cultures, is paramount when implementing a learning culture within an organization. A generative culture fosters innovation, adaptability, and collaboration, creating an environment that values new ideas and embraces change. This is essential for learning to thrive, as it encourages employees to experiment, share insights, and collectively drive improvement. In contrast, pathological and bureaucratic cultures hinder learning by stifling creativity, discouraging risk-taking, and favoring rigid hierarchies. A generative culture empowers both employees and management to be proactive in seeking new knowledge, sharing experiences, and collectively evolving the organization. By promoting open communication, experimentation, and a growth mindset, a generative culture not only supports the implementation of learning initiatives but also amplifies their impact, enabling the organization to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and continuously advance.

Aligning the Generative Approach, Adult Learning Praxis and Learning Organization Characteristics

Taking all of the above into account the implementation of the following strategies in the school environment could create meaningful change within the learning organization culture:

1. Embracing the Generative Approach to instill a culture of innovation and forward thinking: By developing a compelling vision that underlines the importance of perceptual learning and growth for both students and faculty, fosters an environment of limitless possibilities. Bearing fixed institutional visions hinders adaptability which reduces the school’s responsiveness to evolving educational needs. However, by taking on a generative approach an agile institution that thrives on anticipating and meeting the dynamic demands of education is fostered.

2. Creating personalized Learning Pathways for both faculty (management and workforce) and students: The uptake of a uniform curriculum without catering to individual learning preferences leads to uneven engagement and disinterest among students and faculty. However, by applying adult learning praxis by offering personalized learning pathways a motivated academic community is fostered where learning is tailored to individual strengths and aspirations. This approach acknowledges that learners have diverse backgrounds, learning styles, and aspirations, and aims to provide a more relevant and engaging learning journey. This could be achieved by determining the different learning styles within your workforce, taking time to set learning goals and thereby creating a suitable learning plan. In order to implement this, managers will have to be empowered to have personalized discussions with employees about their learning needs and goals. This might also include them supporting employees in creating individualized learning plans that align with both personal and organizational objectives. Concerning the last facet, processes, technology that allows for self-paced learning will allow employees to access resources and modules at their convenience whereas developing a system to track individual progress and achievements, could aid in promoting a sense of ownership over learning journeys.

3. Provision of Experiential Learning Projects: By providing cross-functional projects that require employees to collaborate, problem-solving the workforce is able to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges which is one of the principles of Andragogy. They are hence equipped with the skills and insights needed to excel in real scenarios even within the organization. Thereafter, faculty/students could be encouraged to reflect on their experiences and extract insights to share with their peers. In order to integrate these practices as part of the organization’s culture, a mechanism for capturing best practices and innovative solutions that arise from experiential learning could be established by the management team. Such projects could be further enhanced by including the management team. Embodying the Generative Approach in leadership by cultivating a culture that values continuous learning no matter the level. For instance, leaders could set an example by participating in learning activities alongside our students and faculty.

4. Creating Collaborative Learning Circles: Although one of the key principles of Knowles' assumptions of Adult Learning Praxis includes self-direction, aligning with the Generative Approach by creating collaborative environments that facilitate idea-sharing and problem-solving could prove useful. Self-direction promotes individual learning, however, to move information throughout an organization, the creation of collaborative learning circles could prove more useful. As previously established, the organizational learning culture is determined through the movement of knowledge throughout an organization as opposed to within the individual. By establishing physical and virtual spaces that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and discussion among students and faculty employees can discuss topics of interest and share insights which could in turn encourage peer mentoring and knowledge-sharing sessions within these circles. The organization could then establish a platform where employees can share resources, articles, and discussions related to their learning circle topics.