My previous workplace was a learning centre for university students. This centre conducts several activities for university students, such as seminars (historical, cultural, economy), workshops (arts, drama, filming) and service-learning programs in Hong Kong and overseas.
The director have establish the vision, mission and strategic directions for the learning centre. The programme manager, instructors and administrative staff are responsible to organize and conduct learning activities for university students.
According to Senge’s five principles, my experiences could be described as below:
Personal mastery – According to Senge, personal mastery allows the individual to take part in a continuous creative process. And it ensure s faster learning, commitment to work and formation of a learning organization.
The director is willing to encourage all staff members to observe the present reality explicitly and bear in mind that why he/she is pursuing a particular route. For example, the director assign me to handle the preparation of a service-learning programme, he would let me to think some new idea and encourage me to make it happen.
Mental models – mental models are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures of images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action.
Mental models are not obvious in the learning centre. Although staff members may use reflection and inquiry skill to improve their attitude and ability, change or self improvement is not an important thing to them. Especially, most staff would think that self improvement maybe equal to get more duty.
Shared vision – It is a practice of unearthing shared pictures of the future that foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than complianceMental models are not obvious in the learning centre. Although staff members may use reflection and inquiry skill to improve their attitude and ability, change or self improvement is not an important thing to them. Especially, most staff would think that self improvement maybe equal to get more duty.
Shared vision would occur at several discussion and meeting. Normally, the director or the meeting leader should be capable of revealing shard pictures of the future.
Team learning – It starts with dialogue, the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into genuine thinking together
The director allows staff members to share and pool their skills to cooperate and solve problems. During meeting, most of staff are willing to provide their ideas to achieve the work smoothly.
The director allows staff members to share and pool their skills to cooperate and solve problems. During meeting, most of staff are willing to provide their ideas to achieve the work smoothly.
Systems thinking – Senge states the underpinning character of the above four disciplines. In my experience, the director has used systems thinking and try to recognize the effects of one level of learning on another.
Ref. Systems Thinking with Peter Senge of The Fifth Discipline:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1G0Fs__u4g&feature=related
Ref. Systems Thinking with Peter Senge of The Fifth Discipline:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1G0Fs__u4g&feature=related
For personal mastery, I agree that director should let the front line staff to generate new ideas, because most of the time, front line staff are more familiar with the actual needs of the target group.
ReplyDeleteBesides, by encouraging the front line staff to contribute in their work, they will become more confident to work independently.
Hi Alec. It seems that the service-learning programme is good to allow staffs learning. In my opinion, reflection is necessary and important for staffs because they need to think about their working performance and how to improve. If staffs improved themselves well, the whole company would be benefited from it.
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