An investigation of the learning organisation concept: A case of selected Non-Governmental organisations based in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to identify organizations’ appreciation of the learning organization concept. The study was limited to local and international Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) based in Nairobi, Kenya. The learning organization being a new and widely embraced concept has implication for all organizations that desire to survive and thrive in the face of competition in the business environment. It is noteworthy that the world has become a global village where what happens in one place affects us all and this is especially true in the developing world. Living in a knowledge economy, the organizations of the future have to be more focused and therefore they have to change their thinking from employers and workers to managers and knowledge workers.

To prepare modem organizations for social change, cutting-edge entities have to shift towards the knowledge economy for the human resources and completely restructure the current paradigm of training, It is in this light that there is a need to embrace the learning organization concept.

The research concluded that NGOs based in Nairobi, Kenya, are not taking conscious steps towards being learning organizations. Though some amount of learning is taking place, it is not coordinated to achieve a given objective. This is seen by the fact that majority of the organizations do not have a learning policy known by the staff members. Again in the area of learning methodologies used, most indicated the traditional training styles and have failed to embrace new methodologies which enhance fast and continuous learning.