HR assignment on: Organizational development theories

1. Introduction

The report takes into consideration the various success factors which would majorly take into consideration & change the status of the leading organization to that of a learning organization.Various organizational behavior theories as well as models have been enlisted in the following report which would support the discussion. In order to change the current status of any organization various factors are involved & would affect the organizational behavior.  The organization which is being discussed in the following report is Infosys (Infosys Case Study, 2002). Infosys refers to one of the leading organizations which provide software service. Infosys would refer to one of the best example in this regard. Infosys believes in enabling various kinds of changes which would help them to change as per the requirements of their customers. Such changes would help them to change their status into a learning organization. These changes would help the organization i.e. Infosys in order to be at par with the recent changes in the similar type of an industry (Burgoyne, 1995).Infosys approximately spends $172 million in order to take up certain learning initiatives in the organization. This states that the organization is more into learning & taking up various initiatives which would help the employees as well as the organization as a whole. The results reaped by spending such a huge amount could be seen with the help of the various advantages which the organization has attained (Infosys Case Study, 2002).

The staff members at Infosys nearly send 14-16 million hours in order to take up formal training in order to learn & accept the changes. With the help of the learning initiatives taken up by the organization i.e. Infosys many employees of the organization have been associated with the same company for long. Such learning initiatives have also helped the employees in order to realize its worth & learn new concepts as well as implement them (Infosys Case Study, 2002).

1. About the organization

This report takes into consideration the various success factors which have been implemented by Infosys in order to change their current status to that of a learning organization.

Infosys Limited refers to one the worldwide names in the technology sector which has its roots in the heart of Bangalore, India. Infosys refers to the second well known brand in the IT Sector specifically in India. The current employee strength of Infosys approximate number of 1, 30,820 (as per March, 2011). Infosys has spread its centers all over the globe i.e. UK, Canada, Brazil, China, Australia & Japan. The organization majorly offers various types of software products to the organizations in the banking industry as well as various business processors which would help them in order to meet the requirements of their end customers.

Infosys has been rated as a company which imparts its employees with the best of the training methods which would help them in order to apply in the real life situations. Infosys refers to one of the most favored organizations as they provide their employees with the best of the learning methods & explore them.

Infosys is the first enterprise which has won the Global MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises) award & has been registered with the Global Hall of Fame.

1. Discussion

Infosys has been designing & implementing the various training methods which would help the enterprise in order to change its status in to a learning organization. Following refers to some of the methods which should be undertaken by the organization. They are as follows:

Þ    Knowledge Acquisition

Þ    Knowledge Sharing

Þ    Knowledge Utilization

The process of sharing the information with the staff members could be explained with the help of he following figure.

Þ    Knowledge acquisition:

Knowledge Acquisition refers to the first way through which training is being imparted to its staff members & the end customers regarding the process which they manufacture. It refers to the first stage through which the experiences from the past would lead to impart certain levels of learning in a cooperative manner. Past experiences refer to one of the best methods in order to train the staff members regarding a particular subject (Bohn, 1994).

People tend to learn from others success & failures in a much effective as well as an efficient manner. Knowledge acquisition refers to a practice which has been used by the various enterprises in order to have continuous learning in an organization. While taking into consideration the same, the various sources from where the knowledge has been collected should be taken into consideration this would help the organization in order to use the same sources in the near future (Amstrong, 2000).

People working in Infosys could use various forms in order to acquire the information & share it with the individuals working in it. Some of the ways which could be used by the organization would be to rotate the work assignments, to learn from both the success as well as failures of others, past experiences of others which would help them in order to have proficiency in whatever they do (Bohn, 1994). Training & development refers to one of the major concerns of the organization which would help in the acquisition of the knowledge & add as a motivational factor for the employees. This provide them with an opportunity to learn & explore new things which are associated with analyzing the activities going in the organization, develop & renew the activities associated with learning (Burgoyne, 1995).

The environment in which the organization operates should be such that it would be able to support the acquisition of knowledge as well as share the information in the freest manner & support the members & co-operate with them.

Hence, it could be concluded that the acquisition of knowledge helps in the development of the staff & employees, would help in the continuous improvement of the organization in the near future.

Þ    Knowledge sharing

The second step which has been adopted by Infosys in order to impart continuous improvement refers to the sharing of knowledge which would help in the expansion of the enterprise. When an individual in the organization get access of any information, it would benefit the entire organization as the information would get transferred to each & every individual who is being supporting the organization i.e. Employees, Staff Members, Stakeholders, etc.

Hence, sharing of knowledge in the organization would require members who would help in transmission of the knowledge in the entire enterprise. The major concern in such type of method would be that “how the information or the knowledge would be imparted to each & every member of the organization” (Amstrong, 2000).

In such type of method, various important information, vision, mission, shared values, communication strategies, trust is being imparted which would help Infosys in order to have every minute or small information. In sharing of the information, commitment relating to leadership & decision making refers to the two most important key factors which would lead to its success (Bohn, 1994).

In order to share the knowledge at Infosys, certain features such as openness relating to culture, communication strategies, being honest, share & solve the conflicts as well as the issues in order to solve the disputes in the most effective manner. For example: At Infosys, they have an open culture i.e. they speak with one another freely regarding any problem or dispute amongst each other.  Such a communication strategy helps the people at Infosys to solve their problems & accept the changes (Burgoyne, 1995).Another way through which continuous learning could be done at Infosys could be through the following:

Þ    Penalty for failures

Þ    Learning in the long run

Þ    Rewards for the best employee

Þ    Continuous sharing of the knowledge

Þ    Working in teams

Þ    Trust & Cooperation

In order to practice the above mentioned steps to have continuous learning, fair & proper communication would be involved amongst each & every employee that would not create any type of misunderstanding in the enterprise. There should be proper commitment as well as bonding amongst all the employees working in the enterprise so as to have a hassle free sharing of the knowledge, vision, mission, plans, strategies, etc.The commitment of the management refers to one of the major success factors at Infosys. With due commitment of the management, the goal of the organization should be accomplished. The knowledge could be shared amongst the organization with the help of various organizational behavior models & theories (Amstrong, 2000).

Hence, the second step i.e. knowledge sharing also helps in the fair development of the information or knowledge amongst all the members of the organization.

Þ    Knowledge utilization:

The third most important step involved in the training process at Infosys relates to utilization of the knowledge. It means that the information or the knowledge within the organization would be able to adapt itself depending upon the main aim of the organization i.e. Infosys. This could be done only when the members working in the organization would be able to use or utilize the information in the most effective manner at each level of the enterprise (Infosys Case Study, 2002).

In order to utilize the information or knowledge in the most effective manner, the managers should be able to locate where the knowledge or information is being stored in. This must be done, as the managers will not waste their time in order to locate the relevant information to be used at the time of need (Hawkins, 1994). This is based on the two training methods discussed above.Hence, utilization of the knowledge would be done in order to make a relevant decision or to take an action. Under this the relevant knowledge or information would be able to be understood by the members of the organizations (Addleson, 2000).

The mangers at Infosys would be able to use the different types of knowledge which would help the enterprise regarding the capability & attaining the goal of the company. The leaders would have a major role in the utilization of the knowledge & hence create value for the enterprise. With this proper integration of the shared values, vision would be able to be put together at the work place (Infosys Case Study, 2002). This would help in the accomplishment of the knowledge at the workplace which would help in doing the things in a better manner with increased quality & reliability having fair refutation of the performance.

According to the McKinsey 7’s Framework, the following difference has been identified between the traditional organization & the learning organization. Hence, with the help of the difference made below one can understand why Infosys is known as a Learning Organization (Hawkins, 1994).

                        (McKinsey 7’s – 3 Hard Elements & 4 Soft Elements)

1. Success Factors

The critical success factors which have lead to a change in the current status of Infosys are enlisted as under:

Þ    Leadership Team: The leadership team at Infosys is quite balanced & has a fair experience in viewing the vision as well as the mission of the organization. The team consists of well qualified & technical geniuses who guide the other employees at the organization (Addleson, 2000). Such qualified people would be able to balance the team in the most effective & efficient manner & would help in the smooth running of the organization.

Þ    Strong Product: The next factor in order to have success refers to the strong & the most efficient product which is being offered by Infosys to its end customers or clients. Their products could be differentiated from the similar products which are being offered by their competitors (Jarvis, Holford, Griffth, 2004). In order to sustain in the global market, Infosys has led to market the product which is being manufactured by them at par with the requirements of their end customers.

Þ    Well Structured Plan: Infosys practices a well structured plan all around the globe. Their competitors try to imitate the structured plan. It provides a concrete & a detailed business plan as to how to go about the whole thing (Hawkins, 1994).

Þ    Adequate Capital: The next critical success factor refers to the adequate capital which is always available at Infosys. Without the adequate amount of capital, the company would have to struggle. If the company would not have appropriate cash with it, they would be able to serve their customers with the best of the products as done now (Addleson, 2000).

Þ    Scalability: In order to start a huge business same as Infosys, scalability is required. For example if the goal of the organization is too large to achieve, then a certain pattern is to be made which would help them to achieve the success in the most desirable manner (Infosys Case Study, 2002).Conclusion

This report takes into consideration the various critical factors which would help Infosys in order to convert its current status into a learning organization. Learning organization refers to a type of an organization which continuously motivates their employees to learn & implement the same. Various survey conducted states that there is no single way of training people & make them learn the things. Infosys uses various ways in order to make their employees learn new things b& ways to deal with the situations (Jarvis, Holford, Griffth, 2004).

The idea of the learning organizations is quite significant; the models in the organization would be able to help the leaders & managers to be interested in the process. The major elements which would lead to success in an organization in the world wide context & use various methods to innovate as compared to its competitors. This would happen by matching the capability of the people working in the organization. A learning organization can thus be said to be an organization which is skilled at the acquisition of knowledge, it creation and transfer and modification f the behavior for reflecting new knowledge as well as insights.

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