Five Disciplines (Senge)

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For Peter Senge (1990), change is teaming and learning is change. Thus, it is possible for organizations to learn to change because "deep down, we are all learners". In his book "The Fifth Discipline", Senge wants to destroy the illusion that the world is created out of separate, unrelated forces. When we give up this illusion, we can then build 'learning organizations', organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. Managers must learn to detect seven organizational 'learning disabilities' and use the "Five Disciplines" as antidotes to them.

The Five Disciplines of Senge

Senge proposes that organizations that aspire to achieve long-term success must cultivate five core disciplines. The five components in the model from Senge are:

1. Personal Mastery. This refers to an individual's ongoing commitment to self-improvement and learning. It involves developing a clear personal vision, expanding mental models, and fostering a lifelong love of learning. People must regard their life, work, and learning like an artist would regard a work of art.

2. Mental Models. These are the deeply held assumptions and beliefs that shape how we perceive the world and interact with it. By becoming aware of our mental models and challenging them when necessary, we can improve our decision-making and communication.

3. Shared Vision. A shared vision provides a unifying purpose and direction for the organization. It goes beyond simply setting goals; it's about creating a mental image of a desired future state that inspires and motivates employees. If there is a genuine vision, people excel and learn, not because they have to, but because they want to.

4. Team Learning. Effective collaboration is essential for knowledge creation and innovation. Team learning involves developing the ability to work together productively, fostering open dialogue, suspending one's assumptions, and sharing knowledge effectively within teams.

5. Systems Thinking. The integrative (fifth) discipline that fuses the other 4 into a coherent body of theory and practice. This discipline encourages us to view organizations and situations as interconnected systems, rather than focusing on isolated parts. By understanding the complex relationships between different elements, we can make better decisions that lead to desired outcomes.

All these 5 disciplines must be employed in a never-ending quest to expand the capacity of the organization to create its future. Learning Organizations are those organizations that can go beyond survival learning, to perform generative learning: a form of learning that enhances their capacity to create.
 

Book: Peter Senge - The Fifth Discipline

Forum Forum discussions about the Five Disciplines. Schools as a learning organisation Educational orgainsations also need to develop themselves to be learning organisations. This is mainly because of the changing in the aim of education Claxton (2002, p.46 and 2008) pointed out comm... 24   3 comments Three Levels in Senge's 5 Disciplines A ‘discipline’ is viewed by Senge as a series of principles and practices that we study, master and integrate into our lives. Each of the five disciplines can be approached at three levels: 1) PRACTI... 22   5 comments How to Become a Systems Thinker? How does one become a systems thinker? After reading The Fifth Discipline and getting interested in the subject I have read a number of books; some of which are mind blowingly complex! How have other ... 17   9 comments Characteristics of a Learning Organisation What are the characteristics of a learning organisation?... 11   2 comments What are the Merits of Senge for Human Resources Development? What are the pros and cons of Senge's Learning Organization for Human Resources Development? Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated! Thanks.... 5   4 comments Pillars of the Five Disciplines Senge's five disciplines would not be well understood without considering the following critical pillars: values, guiding principles, personal experience, commitment and context.... 5   5 comments Aligning a Firm's Vision Statement to Peter Senge's Disciplines How can a firm's vision statement be crafted in line with Peter Senge's 5 disciplines? I want to have an insight on how this can be done to create a learning organisation.... 4   2 comments Learning Organizations in Social Services I am currently researching the application of the theories of Senge's 'Learning Organization' in the social services setting. I would love to gather input from anyone who has had experience in this ar... 4   4 comments Does Senge's View of Systems Thinking Go Far Enough? In the 5th Discipline Senge outlines his views on systems thinking, when in reality this is only one dimension of the systems thinking concepts. I have come across many people who have read the 5th D... 3   3 comments 🔥 The Benefits of Learning Organizations. Advantages What really are the main advantages of learning organizations? Let's try to collect them all. Here is my attempt: Enhanced Innovation: By fostering a culture of continuous learning, organizations ... 3   1 comments We Need to Apply Learning Organizations at Society Level Our technological progress is outpacing our social progress.We are caught in an evolutionary mismatch: Our technological progress is outpacing our social progress. The impact of robotics and artifici... 2   1 comments Start a new topic about the Five Disciplines Sign up for free

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Best Practices The best, top-rated topics about the Five Disciplines. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions. 🥇 Turning an Organization into a Learning Organization I have worked on changing people's thinking. But, in organizational context, the turning point for converting a conventional style organization into a learning style is a subject of research for me. I... 38   39 comments 🥈 Mental Models in Senge's 5 Disciplines I understand how to use 4 disciplines but maybe somebody can explain me the mental models... Thanks...... 26   7 comments 🥉 Obstacles to Creating Learning Organizations. Pitfalls Why is creating Learning Organizations is hard? According to Senge, transforming organizations into learning organizations is not easy, because managers have to surrender their traditional spheres of ... 20   2 comments Skills of Managers and Leaders of Learning Organizations? What skills or traits do leaders and managers need in a Learning Organization?... 9   7 comments What Skills do Employees Need in a Learning Organization? What skills or traits do employees / knowledge workers need in a learning organization?... 9   6 comments

Expert Tips Advanced insights about the Five Disciplines. Here you will find professional advices by experts. Consultancy Tips Teaching Tips Practical Implementation Tips Building an Organizational Coaching Capacity Developing an Organizational Coaching Capacity, Learning Organization, Developing Coaching as an Organizational Capacity COACHING ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL In their book "Trillion Dollar Coach: Lessons for Managers", Google's Schmidt, Rosenber... Capturing Learned Lessons How to Capture Organizational Learning? Best Practices Knowledge from bad and good experiences will lead you and your organization to better future performance. You can improv... To What Extent are you a Learning Organization? Take this Test..., Benchmarking the Depth of Learning in your Organization Professors Garvin, Edmondson and Gino have developed an online assessment tool to determine and benchmark the depth of l...

Information Sources Various sources of information regarding the Five Disciplines. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. Knowledge Management Between Fad and Relevance Knowledge Management Paper by Marin Fotache. Related to Learning Organization (Chris Argyris, Donald Schon, Peter Senge etc.), but establishe... Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Models, Implementation, Overview, Examples An extensive presentation explaining both the concept of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning by H. Gundogan... Organizational Learning and Senge's Five Diciplines Creating a Learning Organization Concise explanation of the five disciplines of Senge: - First, the concept of organizational learning is explained, in ... Introduction of Organizational Learning Initial Understanding of Organizational Learning Peter Senge explains that Organizational Learning is about how organizations work at their bests. It comes down to how p... Introduction to Organizational Learning and Learning Organizations Organizational Learning, Learning Organizations Presentation that gives a clear overview to the concept of Organizational Learning (OL). The following sections are incl... Five Disciplines Diagram Learning Organizations Download and edit this 12manage PowerPoint graphic for limited personal, educational and business use. Republishing in ...

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Compare with Senge's Five Disciplines:  Organizational Learning  |  Organizational Memory  |  System Dynamics  |  Theory of Mechanistic and Organic Systems  |  Fourteen Points of Management  |  Eight Attributes of Management Excellence  |  Ten Principles of Reinvention  |  Theory X Theory Y Theory Z  |  Business Process Reengineering

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