What are the things one needs to consider when assessing an organization’s adaptability, agility and long-term viability?

1. An Integrated Knowledge and Learning Organization
Scenario
You have been given responsibility to assess your organization for its ability to learn and
grow knowledge capacity. You are also asked to consider if the organization is being
adaptive and flexible. You find that there are many models to choose from which would
help you assess the maturity of your organization. However, these tools are so high
level that they are difficult to implement at the operational level where the work gets
done. There is also the issue of how knowledge management intersects with learning
activities of the working groups.
Insight
What are the things one needs to consider when assessing an organization’s
adaptability, agility and long-term viability?
Application
Here is a list (while not complete) of aspects to consider when assessing at an
operational level key measures of an organization’s agility, adaptiveness, and curiosity.
These characteristics, or attributes, may also be used to help gauge the level of
organizational learning and knowledge management integration.
1. Psychological foundation: Do the team members feel safe to speak about anything?
Do they come up with new ideas? Is there a ‘safe’ way to air concerns? Do your
functional groups have a shared vision?
2.Knowledge capacity: Are there communities of practice? Are there visible methods to
help support how knowledge is acquired, shared, created? Is there a collaboration
strategy that promotes learning and expansion of your organization’s knowledge
capacity? How can you recognize the actions that have been taken using organizational
knowledge?
3. Learning attributes: Is there evidence of formal methods of inquiry? Do those who do
the inquiry have the right people and/or systems to provide appropriate understanding?
Are your employees able to reflect? Is there sufficient time to assess ‘good’ decisions?
Is there a method that enables ‘review before action’ and ‘review after action’? Are
there informal meetings where learning is encouraged? Are there avenues for the
expansion of educational or other developmental interests? Are cross-functional
exchanges and collaborations commonplace? Are there ways that your organization can
acknowledge its intellectual property? Are there specific methods to update intellectual
property?
PK & Associates / Copyright 2011

2. An Integrated Knowledge and Learning Organization
This graphic illustrates how these aspects interact in an integrated knowledge and
learning oriented organization:
Source
Karla Phlypo
President
PK & Associates Inc.
Brilliant-km.com
Karla.s.phlypo@gmail.com
PK & Associates / Copyright 2011