Peter Senge: Assignment Two
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Peter Senge Assignment Two
Learning Disciplines
The organizational learning disciplines for this team development exercise will be team learning and systems thinking. Team learning encompasses three primary dimensions: thinking insightfully, acting innovatively and with coordination, and establishing a network that facilitates other teams to act. Thinking about complex issues involves a system thinker that can observe and decipher the events, behavioral patterns, systems, and mental models in an organizational setting. Essentially, the systems planner needs to have the ability to deeply explore the problem in an organization and observe the nuances of the problem. This involves engaging the whole team in addressing the problem as the overall intelligence quotient of a team is generally higher than that of the individual. When the whole team is engaged in assessing the problem, solutions to the problem are generated spontaneously and coherently. Time and energy are required to solve the problems and create strategies to help the company take advantage of new opportunities are saved through team learning. The main concepts in team learning are discussion and dialogue. Discussion is the exploratory process of team learning where each team member posits their view on the details of the problem facing the organization and recommends a solution. On the other hand, dialogue involves the team members going beyond their points of view and contributing ideas to the best decision based upon the recommendations of other team members. Thus, the concept of team learning necessitates the team members to understand and master the other disciplines of learning. Team members need to be committed to the truth through the principle of personal mastery. Additionally, they have to be aware of their mental models and improve upon them to be able to effectively dialogue. Moreover, they also have to implement systems thinking to be able to decipher patterns and relationships concerning the problem at hand and also understand the organization’s shared vision.
Systems thinking, on its part, is essentially about team members’ understanding of how the issues affecting the team or organization emerge. It is also about how the team members think about different courses of action that can be taken to mitigate the organization’s problems (Smith, 2007). The systems thinking approach involves a commitment to real learning, which is about understanding the reality of the situation and its contribution to the problems. Systems thinking is about accepting and appreciating the fact that what the employee and, indeed, the whole team is doing could be wrong and is a contributing factor to the problems facing the organization (Senge et al., 1994). Additionally, a systems thinking approach requires that the team members deeply consider and appreciate the different points of view to the organization and the problem facing the organization. From this step, the team members can collaborate and uncover issues that none of them can individually see. Essentially systems thinking is about valuing the collective intelligence of all the team members.
Team Exercise Plan
Schedule
| Position at the Restaurant | Role | Meeting Time |
| Manager | · Ensure customers’ orders are attended to in a timely fashion
· Ensure quality service is given to customers in terms of food quality and hygiene · Organize for adequate stocking of the restaurant · Manage the cash desk at the restaurant · Handle customer complaints
|
March 20th, 8 am – 8:15 am
Overall team meeting March 22nd, 8 am – 10 am |
| Head Chef | · Preparation of meals
· Ensure customer orders are prepared well and delivered on time · Is responsible for kitchen hygiene standards · Control the dishwashing process and stocking to ensure there is no shortage of cutlery. |
March 20th, 7 am – 7: 30 am
Overall team meeting March 22nd, 8 am – 10 am |
| Assistant Chef | · Preparation of customer meals
· Ensure timely delivery · Ensure kitchen hygiene |
March 20th, 3 pm – 4 pm
Overall team meeting March 22nd, 8 am – 10 am |
| Dishwasher | · Is in charge of ensuring kitchen cutlery is cleaned on time.
|
March 21- 7 am – 8 am
Overall team meeting March 22nd, 8 am – 10 am |
| Waiter/Waitress | · Receive customers into the restaurant
· Receive customer orders · Quality service delivery · Maintain hygiene · Address customer complaints · Lias with the manager and BOH staff to ensure quality service delivery |
March 20th, 10 am – 11 am
Overall team meeting March 22nd, 8 am – 10 am |
Problem or Issue
The main problem the team development exercise identified is that employees of the restaurant had very different perspectives on the causes of the problems affecting the restaurant. The manager of the organization believed that some employees do not appreciate the fluctuating number of customers that came to the restaurant. The manager expected that employees should appreciate the nature of the business and act diligently when there was a high influx of customers during peak hours, such as during breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. The manager insisted that while he understood that there is a need for more staff, the staff also had to understand that the restaurant was still relatively small and that hiring more employees would burden the restaurant during off-peak hours. Employees, on the other hand, argued that during peak hours it was nearly impossible for the existing staff to serve the many customers effectively and that the manager should devise a system of increasing staff during these hours. Some suggestions included adjusting the schedule so that all employees would be at work during peak hours or finding temporary labor to plug the staff shortage during these hours. With this conflict between employees and management on how to address the issues facing the restaurant, it was evident that the organization did not follow the systems thinking discipline of learning organizations.
Learning discipline
The learning discipline that will underpin the team development exercises is systems thinking. Systems thinking, as aforementioned, is whereby employees commit to real learning, accept that their actions and that of the organization may be wrong, and collectively start to see and address the problems affecting the organization as a unit. The organization clearly lacks systems thinking, as evidenced by the split in views on what the problems of the restaurant are. From the interviews concerning the team, it was apparent that the employees of the organization had a shared vision of making the restaurant a success. Additionally, the previous team exercise had established an air of communication that helped understand each other’s mental models and overcome hierarchical constraints (Senge et al., 1994). The issue that emerged is that every employee was thinking individually based on their roles and was not aware that they were all part of a system. Hence, they needed to think collectively and uncover the problems affecting the company and solutions that could help the company.
The team development exercise for teaching systems thinking will be a simple color mixing exercise. The employees of the organization were called to an inclusive meeting, and several liquid colors were provided. The employees were then asked to mix the colors. Once the colors were mixed, employees were asked to name the color that was formed. The employees were then asked to identify some of the colors that were mixed in the initial mixture that could not be identified in the new color mixture. For example, the colors white and yellow could not be identified in the mixture. Using this exercise, employees were trained about interactions in a system that has an overall outcome on the outcomes of the entire system. Additionally, employees were trained on how a system can create and destroy elements that cannot be said to a part of it. Using this training exercise, employees learned that the restaurant’s outcomes were anchored on each of their participation, and similarly, the solutions of the problems facing the organization would be addressed could be alleviated through collective (systems) thinking.
Post-session Summary
Team Development Experience
During this second team development exercise, employees were clearly communicated about the exercise and its aims. Before the exercise, information was collected on the shifts of employees in the organization and when was the best time to conduct the training to have a smooth exercise schedule. After the initial sets of interviews, employees were informed about the observed successes and failures and the purpose of the team development exercise. Employees were told about when the team development exercise would happen but was not informed about the details. During the team exercise, employees were fascinated by the simplicity of the exercise, its poignancy, and relatability to the issues affecting the company. Employees understood that while the organization appreciated their individuality, they had to understand that they were a part of a system. Without systems thinking then forming an organization that could learn and adapt to change would be very challenging. Employees appreciated the way that the organizational interactions and processes sometimes obfuscated their roles while simultaneously highlighting how their contributions to the restaurant were what made the restaurant what it was. As such, employees appreciated that while each of them had ideas about what the restaurant should be, it was important to appreciate others’ views and establish a way of having a collective way of addressing challenges and anticipating opportunities.
Successes and Failures
The overall exercise was very successful. The simple, informal, and neutral nature of the exercise was highly appreciated as it made them all truly feel equal in the organization. With this established, employees showed a willingness to communicate openly, and there was a real camaraderie about the event. The employees showed that they had learned from the exercise and expressed a will to adopt systems thinking. The management, in particular, showed a keen interest in working with employees to find collectively thought out remedies to the problems facing the restaurant. The process affirmed that the employees had a shared vision which will undoubtedly ease the process of making the company a learning organization. Additionally, by mixing individual values, the discipline of personal mastery was taught to the employees. However, the process also had its failures. First, the scheduling of the training process was difficult, and it led to frustration among the employees. Additionally, the colors that disappeared during the exercise may have inadvertently conveyed the message that some employees’ input was irrelevant to the overall outcomes of the system. Thus, more training needs to be conducted to help employees understand that they are all important to the outcomes of the restaurant.
Lessons for Team Facilitation
The process offered significant lessons for participation. First, the smooth nature of the exercise relative to the first exercise underpinned the importance of communication. The exercise showed that if the facilitator communicates effectively with the team, then the team will respond positively. Despite issues in the schedule, clear communication was critical in ensuring that the schedule was strictly adhered to. The plan of the exercise was also successful because the restaurant was adequately researched and that the problems uncovered resonated with every employee. Additionally, given the sensitivity of the responses during the interviews, the facilitator opted to summarize the issues raised by employees into a single issue that affected every employee. As such, employees felt that the process was aimed at helping them collectively and set a foundation for the concept of systems thinking.
Lessons for Chosen Discipline
The team development exercise revealed a lot about how an exercise aimed at teaching systems thinking can be effective. First, it revealed that identifying a common problem facing an organization can be essential in teaching systems thinking because employees understand how a single problem affects the entire system. Additionally, the process showed how the disciplines each contribute to the understanding of each other. During the process, personal mastery, mental models, and team learning were important in teaching the team about systems thinking. Indeed, systems thinking cannot be mastered without an understanding of the other disciplines. The shared vision of the team made the exercise teaching systems thinking successful. The process affirmed the importance of cultivating the other disciplines even if one discipline is a critical issue.
References
Senge, P. M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., & Smith, B. (1994). The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization, 1994. N. Brealy.
Smith, P. (2007). The Learning Organization: Systems thinking and System dynamics. 14(6)