REVIEW AND RATING FACTORS OF ORGANIZATIONAL UNLEARNING BASED ON BECKER MODEL (CASE STUDY FOR KHORASANE RAZAVI RAILWAY)

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1 REVIEW AND RATING FACTORS OF ORGANIZATIONAL UNLEARNING BASED ON BECKER MODEL (CASE STUDY FOR KHORASANE RAZAVI RAILWAY) Gholamabas Shekari Ph.D. (Department Of Management, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran) Masod Monshizadeh (Department Of Management, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran) Mahdie Rahmani (Department Of Management, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran) Corresponding author Logo is used on request of Researchers as university requirement Abstract Learning is a part of success and the reason that learning is difficult and success is considered uncertain and unavailable is that climbing the learning curve is just half of the process and the other half is climbing unlearning curve. unlearning is a continuous change and requires re-structuring and clearing old practices which enable the individuals and organizations to Adapt with the environment and develop new skills. Some models are presented to develop organizational unlearning. Among these models Becker Model is selected for this study to evaluate and rank the components of this model in Khorasan Razavi railway. This research is placed in applied research category and its implementation method is descriptive surveying. The statistical communication of the research is all the staffs of Khorasan Razavi railway who are totally 778 and the method of gathering information is by questionnaire and the distribution of this questionnaire was by Stratified sampling method proportional to the specified volume among 150 subjects and the analysis and description were performed by these answers. The results of this study showed that positive outlook, positive experiences and informal support, organizational support and retraining, Becker model based on one sample non-parametric sign test factors are effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway and factors such as Individual inertia (individual reluctance), feelings and expectations, understanding the need for change and the history of organizational changes are not effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway and finally The components are ranked according to the Friedman test. Keywords: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, TARGETED ORGANIZATIONAL FORGETTING (AMNESIA), UNLEARNING, BECKER UNLEARNING MODEL COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 897

2 1-Introduction Organizations in today's turbulent and variable environment require expertise in several connected processes. The first process is organizational learning which is performed in the s of individual, group and organization and the organization gains knowledge from internal and external environment by that. The next process is organizational unlearning in which the organization deliberately removing obsolete knowledge and rules provides new space and context for new learning. unlearning process is quite deliberate and planned and is different from organizational forgetting process in which organizational knowledge is removed unconsciously and unintentionally. The third process is organizational teaching which results in forming a teaching organization. Due to the explosive growth of knowledge and technology, there is need to adapt the organization to environment for survival and supremacy so adapting to changes requires the change of people's thoughts. Head burg (1981) believes that if the old knowledge isn't revised it leads to the loss of competitiveness of the organizations in turbulent and changing environment. The organizations will learn effectively only in the case that firstly address unlearning of their previous beliefs and inefficient knowledge. Thus in this research, studying the models of unlearning, we will investigate and rank the effective factors in unlearning of Khorasan Razavi railway Theoretical framework for the research Unlearning difinitions Author Hedberg Newstrom Prahalad & Betties Starbuck Abbas poor &raste moghaddam Definition "Knowledge grows, and simultaneously it becomes obsolete as reality changes. Understanding involves both learning new knowledge and discarding obsolete and misleading knowledge"(hedberg,1981;3) the process of reducing or eliminating preexisting knowledge or habits that would otherwise represent formidable barriers to new learning."(newstrom,1983;36)" "Unlearning is simply the process by which firms eliminate old logics and behaviors and make room for new ones.'(prahalad &Betties,1986;498 "unlearning is a process that shows people they should no longer rely on their current beliefs and methods"(starbuck,1996;727) It's a Targeted and dynamic process applied in the s of individual, group and organization and removing the past inefficient procedures and beliefs, seeks to create positive changes in cognitive, behavioral and normative dimensions and finally Improve organizational performance. Although in terms of nature it's a concept apart from organizational learning, the aim of both is to change and improve organizational performance and if happen simultaneously will lead to accelerate the realization of the goal. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 898

3 1-2-2-The concepts of organizational unlearning unlearning is applied in two s of individual and organizational (akgun&bierne &Lin 2003)and there are 3 unlearning: unlearning of procedures (change in the of simple behaviors, acquiring new habits), unlearning of removing (change in the of cognitivesocial behaviors, acquiring beliefs and values) and deep unlearning (Changes in methods of doing the work and acquiring new methods)(rushmer &Davis 2004). The factors of unlearning necessity are technological changes, Replacement of computer processes, information growth (Morizio Pighen &anna Marzona 2011) One of the properties of unlearning organizations is that they are constantly looking for better ways of doing things. They believe that "Rules are for breaking" and policies constantly investigate the methods and keep those which are suitable for the realization of organizational goals. They Act together in networks. Have prudent approach to risk management. Their performance is in the regard of supporting innovation. (Dennis Sherwood 2002) Some mechanisms and obstacles of unlearning are: feeling insecurity, fear of the unknown, stereotypes in organizational and the organization's tolerance against them, decisionmaking according to the roles and expectations of the group, pressure for becoming the same as congregation, the resistance of older staffs due to accustoming to the existing methods(rushmer &Davis 2004) some of the factors that lead to reducing resistance are Extroversion and willingness to experiences of people, seeking new ways and putting aside the repetitive tasks Unlearning models(raste moghaddam &Abbas por 1390) Klein (parenthetic model) The first model of unlearning was proposed by Klein in 1989 called parenthetic model. In his view, Knowledge does not disappear but is temporarily put aside and in any way it is COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 899

4 remained as a part of individual and organizational heritage. In this model the old knowledge still remains inside a parenthesis and is used when required Vindeknech &Delahay(2004) External invironment Explicit knowledg e Tacit knowledg e Frames of reference Individual learning Individual unlearning Organizational learning Organizational unleraning Inert knowledge Organizational memory Organizational Culture COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 900

5 integrated model of learning and unlearning De-learning Individual, group and organization Individual, group and organization learning Individual, group and organization Behavioral, cognitive and normative Strengthening and modification of previous cognitive structure Intentional removing and modification of previous learning Single-loop /behavioral/adaptive learning Two loop/cognitive learning Learning how to learn from tomorrow Forming new cognitive structure Strengthening previous learning Individual/organizational forgetting Outside the organization (competitor,- -- and community) Individual/organizational memory Individual/organizational change Within the organization (organizationa l experiences, existing documents, staffs) Comparison/ Gathering data/information Improvement motivation Need for learning and de-learning Staffs Environmental changes Competitiveness The conceptual framework of the research COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 901

6 4-Becker Model(2007) Individual factors organizational factors Positive prior outlook awareness Individual inertia expectations Feelings and expectation Testing Contextual History of organisation al change Positive experience and informal support embracing Organization al support and training Unease/resistance Understandin g the need for change Assessment of new way relinquishing Figure 3- conceptual model COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 902

7 Research question Main question: What is The most important factors in organizational unlearning based on Becker's model railway Khorasan? Subsidiary questions: Subsidiary question 1. Is positive approach effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question 2. Is individual inertia effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question 3. Is feeling and expectations effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question4. Is positive experience and informal support effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question 5. Is understanding the need for change effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question6. Is assessment of new way effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question 7. Is history of organizational change effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question 8. Is organizational support and training effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Subsidiary question 9. How is the ranking of effective factors on unlearning of Becker model in Khorasan Razavi railway? Research method This research is placed in applied research category and its implementation method is descriptive surveying. The statistical communication of the research is all the staffs of Khorasan Razavi railway who are totally 778 and the method of gathering information is by questionnaire and the distribution of this questionnaire was by Stratified sampling method proportional to the specified volume among 150 subjects and the analysis and description were performed by these answers. Validity The validity of the questionnaire is confirmed by the local professors since it was standard. The reliability of the questionnaire was obtained by Cronbach Alpha and regarding the coefficients of Alpha (more than 0.7), the internal validity is confirmed. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 903

8 Research results Main question: What is The most important factors in organizational unlearning based on Becker's model railway Khorasan? Table 1-sign test for individual and organizational factors influencing organizational unlearning more equal less Individual influencing factors organizational unlearning Organizational factoes influencing organizational unlearning Since the meaning is less than 0.05, we reject the assumption 0 and accept the front assumption. It means that Individual and organizational factors are effective in the organizational unlearning of Khorasan Razavi railway Subsidiary question 1. Is positive approach effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Table 2-Sign test for a positive approach more equal less Positive approach COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 904

9 Since the meaning is less than 0.05, we reject the assumption 0 and accept the front assumption. It means that positive approach is effective in the organizational unlearning of khorasane Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 2. Is individual inertia effective on de-learning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Table 3-Sign test for a individual inertia more equal less Individual inertia Since the meaning is more than 0.05, we don't reject the assumption 0 and accept it. It means that the staff's unwillingness to change isn't effective on de-learning in Khorasan Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 3. Isfeeling and expectations effective on de-learning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Table 4-Sign test for a positive approach more Equal less Feeling expectations and Since the meaning is more than 0.05, we don't reject the assumption 0 and accept it. It means that the feeling and expectations isn't effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 4. Is positive and experience and informal science effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 905

10 Table 5-Sign test for a positive approach more Equal less Positive experience and informal science Since the meaning is less than 0.05, we reject the assumption 0 and accept the front assumption. It means that positive experience and informal science is effective on de-learning in Khorasan Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 5. Is understanding the need for change effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Table 6-Sign test for a positive approach more Equal less Understanding need for change the Since the meaning is more than 0.05, we don't reject the assumption 0 and accept it. It means that the understanding the need for change isn't effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 6. Is assessment of new way effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 906

11 Table 7-Sign test for a individual inertia more Equal less Assessment of new way Since the meaning is more than 0.05, we don't reject the assumption 0 and accept it. It means that assessment of new way isn't effective on de-learning in Khorasan Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 7. Is history of organizational change effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Table 8-Sign test for a individual inertia more Equal less History organizational change of Since the meaning is more than 0.05, we don't reject the assumption 0 and accept it. It means that history of organizational change isn't effective on de-learning in Khorasan Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 8. Is organizational support and training effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway? Table 9-Sign test for a positive approach more Equal less Organizational support and training COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 907

12 Since the meaning is less than 0.05, we reject the assumption 0 and accept the front assumption. It means that organization support and training is effective on de-learning in Khorasan Razavi railway. Subsidiary question 9.How is the ranking of effective factors on unlearning of Becker model in Khorasan Razavi railway? Table 10-The mean of scores and rank for the priority of effective factors on unlearning of Becker model ranking second first Mean of scores Factors Individual factors Organizational factors Table 11-The mean of scores and rank for the priority of effective factors on unlearning of Becker model ranking first sixth fourth second thirth fifth Mean of scorce Factors Positive outlook Individual inertia Feeling and expectations Experience and informal support Undreastanding the need for change Assessment of new way COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 908

13 Table 12-The mean of scores and rank for the priority of effective factors on unlearning of Becker model ranking second first Mean of scorce Factors History of organizational change Organizational support and training Conclusion The results of this study showed that positive outlook, positive experiences and informal support, organizational support and retraining, Becker model based on one sample nonparametric sign test factors are effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway and factors such as Individual inertia (individual reluctance), feelings and expectations, understanding the need for change and the history of organizational changes are not effective on unlearning in Khorasan Razavi railway and finally The components are ranked according to the Friedman test. Suggestions According to the Studies carried out in the present study and its results, some of the contexts which seem to be useful in increasing organizational de-learning are as follow: 1-To managers, policy makers, leaders and organizations, it is recommended to share any changing programs with their staffs, use their attitudes in changing plans and actively involve them in this process. 2-The staffs should be ensured that changing won't destroy their economical resources and won't change their job situation. 3-De-learning is difficult in big organizations which have less flexibility, so it is suggested that the Organizations deal with this issue by considering downsizing policies. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 909

14 4-In the organizations which have less displacement rate of staffs, due to non arrival of forces and new thoughts, they are less able to de-learning so the organization considering the staffs' job rotation provides contexts for entering new ideas and organizational unlearning. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 910

15 References 1-Akgun AE, Byrne JC.Lynn GS.2003.Organizational learning; Asocio cognitive framework's Hum Relations.56 (7), pp: Becker k.2007.unlearning in the workplace, mixed methods study.phd thesis. Unpublished. 3-Headberg, B.1981.how organizations learn and unlearn. Hand book of organizational Design (vol.1).lomdon: Cambridge university press. 4-Nystrom, p.c, &starbuck, w.h. (1984).to avoid organizational crisis, unlearn organizational Dynamics,12(4), Prahald C.K.and Lieberthal,k.(2003).End of Corporate imperialism.havard business review,pp Rushmer &Davis,2004.unlearning in health care.quasar health care.;13;(10):15. 7-Raste moghaddam &Abbas por Starbuck HW.1996.Unlearning what we knew and rediscovering what we could have known.scand j manage;25(2); Sherwood,Dennis-the unlearning organization(2002) 10-Windeknech,k;Delahaye,B.A model of individual and organizational unlearning.in proceeding 18 th annual Conference of the Australian and new Zealand Academy of Management,Dunedin,NZ,2004. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 911