"Awakening": Developing Learning Capacity in a Small Family Business

Abstract

The Problem and the Solution. Small family businesses face unique chal lenges due to their size and the fact that decisions made by family members are often not open to discussion or challenge Yet such businesses face pressures to transform the way their managers and employees work and learn, just as larger businesses do This chapter discusses informal learning strategies observed in a family publishing company undergoing a business transformation The author describes "awakening," the first phase of the change process, and the implica tions for practice it presents

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“…Or perhaps the challenges of organizational change are continually underestimated and the expectations for immediate results are too high. Indeed, as Ziegler (1999) reports, "the learning process is far more ambiguous, messy and elusive in reality than is depicted in the popular management literature" (p. 62).…”

“…Only through double loop learning can an organization explore the values and norms that are determining its 'theories-in-use' (Argyris & Schon, 1996). Members of the organization need to be able to explore the reasons for things, not just the "how" but the "why": "understanding the 'whys' is at the heart of learning" p. 56 (Ziegler, 1999).…”

“…In continuing to explore the meaning of transformational learning, it is important to keep in mind that mental models or theories-in-use can be individual or organizational (Ziegler, 1999;Argyris & Schon, 1996). On an individual level, surfacing and questioning one's mental models or theories-in-use is not a process in which people necessarily take pleasure.…”

“…In her case study of organizational change, Ziegler (1999) explores the importance of creating "shared meaning" among members of an organization in the midst of upheaval and change.…”

“…241). Ziegler's (1999) study of organizational change concludes that dialogue at the group level allows knowledge to be shared, leading to the creation of "shared meaning from common interpretation of events", and ultimately to organizational change (p. 56). Without group dialogue, Ziegler explains, "knowledge resides mainly in the heads of individuals" without the incentives to teach one's knowledge or to acquire new learning in order to share with others (p. 56).…”