Senge’s Five Disciplines

Background of Senge’s Five Disciplines of Learning Organizations

According to Peter Senge, one-third of 500 companies will disappear within 15 years, and the average
lifetime for the largest enterprises is approximately 40 years. It addresses the question how today’s
organizations can experience continuous growth to perform better than its competitors.

Instead of visualizing a traditional hierarchy, today’s companies can survive when it succeeds in creating
a learning organization.

Learning organization

A learning organization is one that constantly learns and develops itself through the process of creating
new knowledge. It's goal is to create a culture where employees are encouraged to learn and grow, which
leads to sustainable competitive advantage.

Senge’s Five Disciplines

According to Peter M. Senge, there are 5 characteristics of a learning organization. These are:
1) Systems thinking
2) Personal mastery
3) Mental models
4) Shared vision
5) Team learning
1. System thinking

Systems thinking states that all the characteristics of a learning organization must be apparent at once in
an organization for it to be a learning organization. If some of these characteristics are missing then the
organization will fall short of its goal. However, O'Keeffe believes that the characteristics of a learning
organization are factors that are gradually acquired, rather than developed simultaneously.

2. Personal mastery

Learning organizations require team members to engage in continuous learning. It’s an approach to
learning and personal development that involves understanding one’s values, goals, strengths, and
weaknesses. The overall goal is to keep acquiring new knowledge and skills and apply them to real-world
situations and problems. For example, a team leader could ask each member to set their own goals for the
year and check in on their progress monthly offering guidance as needed.

3. Mental models

These are assumptions and generalizations held by individuals and organizations. Mental models help you
understand life. For example, supply and demand is a mental model that helps you understand how the
economy works. Individuals tend to espouse theories, which are what they intend to follow, and theories-
in-use, which are what they actually do. To become a learning organization, these models must be
identified and challenged. Similarly the most successful companies are those who can learn and adapt to
new models to become faster than its competitors.

4. Building shared vision

In learning organizations, the vision should be created through interaction with the employees in the
enterprise. Many leaders have personal visions that lack transferring them to a shared vision. The only
way to create a shared vision is by compromising the organization’s and individual’s visions. People who
do not share the same vision might not contribute as much to the organization. The effect of sharing the
same vision is that employees do tasks because they want to do so instead of they are told to do so.

5. Team learning
Team learning focuses on the learning ability of the group. The benefit of team or shared learning is that
staff learns more quickly and the problem solving capacity of the organization is improved through better
access to knowledge and expertise. It is crucial for the workforce to consider its colleagues as team
members instead of rivals. In team meetings members can learn better from each other by concentrating
on listening, avoiding interruption, being interested and responding. In such a learning environment,
people don't have to hide or overlook their disagreements, so they make their collective understanding
richer.

Senge’s Five Disciplines

Communication styles

A communication style refers to the way a person communicates with others.

The Four Communication Styles

The four communication styles are passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and assertive.

1. Passive
People with a passive communication style are generally more quiet, reserved, and less likely to openly
express their feelings. Instead, they are happy to go with the flow and support the needs of others. Passive
communicators usually aren’t confrontational, and they may even come off as submissive.
Passive communicators don’t like to be the center of attention so they rarely speak up, nor do they like to
take a hard stance on anything. This doesn’t mean they don’t have opinions, they just may not feel
comfortable sharing them, especially at the risk of conflict or upsetting someone. Their nonverbal
communication may include things like crossing their arms while avoiding eye contact.
2. Aggressive
A person with this communication style is very confident in their point of view—to the point where they
may not listen to their teammate’s opinions. They often interject their own ideas into a conversation, and
may sometimes use confrontational language like “you’re wrong” or “you don’t get it.” This often takes
the form of yelling, shouting, dominating the conversation, and speaking forcefully before
thinking. Nonverbally, this person will maintain eye contact.
3. Passive-Aggressive
People with a passive-aggressive communication style tend to have a disconnect between their strong
emotions and how those emotions are expressed. While they might seem passive on the surface, their
behavior often manifests as covert aggression. For example, they may say they’re excited, but display
contradictory body language like a frown or slumped shoulders.

4. Assertive
A person with this communication style stands up for themselves. They are the type of communicator
who knows how to explain and advocate for what they want, the rights of others, or their own well-being.
Assertive communicators may use hand gestures while communicating nonverbally, and they likely have
calm or happy facial expressions while speaking.

Chapter no 2

Barriers to effective communication

Definition of the Barrier to Communication: ‘Any obstacle or problem in the process of Communication
which hinders/obstructs the process of Communication is called Barrier.’
Types of Barriers
These barriers are classified into the following types.
1.Physical or Environmental Barriers: The Barriers in the surrounding or in the environment are the
physical barriers.
Noise: Traffic Noise or noise of machines in factory creates disturbances in communication.
Time and Distance: Physical distances between people can create major problems in communication.
Time zones around the world are not same. Due to differences in timings between countries we have to
adjust with the time difference of that country.
Defects in Communication Systems: Many times the instruments or machines used in communication
such as Telephones, Fax or Computer can create problems. The network of Internet can fail or the Mike or
Microphone used can create loud noise.
Wrong Selection of Medium: Medium means the objects used in communication eg. Emails, Mobile
Phones or Telephones etc. The correct medium is necessary.
High Temperature and Humidity: Excess Temperature or heat or cold Temperature creates difficulties in
communication.
Many times human physical defects such as stammering, bad hearing, failure of communication channels
and bad handwriting also create misunderstanding in learning the message.
2. Language Barriers: Barriers arising due to differences in languages, words meaning or pronunciation
can create confusion among the people. Following are some of the examples of language barriers.
•Different Languages or lack of Common Language can create obstacles in Communication. A person
who does not understand the native language or even foreign language cannot communicate well.
• Words with similar pronunciation but different meaning [Homophones]also create problems in
communication. E.g. Except-accept, fair-fare, council-counsel, principal-principle [etc].
• Jargon words[Technical words]used by professionals such as Engineers/Doctors or any other
professionals. Many times, jargon words are used unintentionally. But common people or those who do
not understand the meaning of these words face problems.
• By-passed Instructions: Means many times short cuts are used while passing the messages. Eg. A
Manager ordered the newly appointed secretary to go and burn the C.D. She literally burned it. He meant
to copy the C.D.
3.Psychological Barriers: Barriers or problems arising due to the stress or psychological problems are
psychological barriers.
1. Ego: `I’ Attitude means I am great feeling can create barrier in communication.
2. Prejudice: bias[wrong opinion] about people on the basis of community, caste, religions or on personal
basis affects communication.
3. Emotions and feelings : Emotional Disturbances of the sender or receiver can distort[change] the
communication .
4. Halo Effect: like or dislike about a person can create halo or horn effect. This can affect
communication.
5. Closed Mind : Most of the time our minds are closed or not able to learn new things. With old age or
change in attitude this problem is observed.
6. Status: Higher or lower status creates obstacles in thinking or mixing with people. People keep distance
while communicating due to status barriers.
7. Interest and attitude: Lack of interest or wrong attitude can lead improper communication.
8. Day-Dreaming: Many students have habits of dreaming or thinking about something else when some
lecture is going on or talk is going on. This obstructs the communication and messages are not reached
properly.