The Link between Organizational Learning and Cultural Competence
Organizations are capable of self-organizing to produce the results they desire when they are composed of people that are constantly learning and growing together to create the desired results (Senge, 2006). This happens through communication that occurs among its people, creating a shared system of values and practices, or “a common context of meaning” (Capra, 2002). Therefore, the organization’s behavior is determined by it’s structure which is formed through its previous actions.
For successful self-organization to occur, people need to have the freedom to explore, experiment, prototype and be given the space for chaos and failure to occur. The conditions that encourage self organization like open information flows, democratic decision-making, and holarchies are often threatening to individuals who benefit from power structures. A culturally competent organization has the capacity to understand and accept the multiple cultures that its people belong to in a manner that raises the agency and capabilities of everyone.
My MFA thesis at the Savannah College of Art and Design explores the relationship between the principles of cultural competence developed by The University of Kansas’ Center for Community Health and Development (CCHD) and Peter Senge’s five disciplines of the learning organization, especially in the context of craft clusters in India. I have been researching the practices of Jaipur Rugs, a handcrafted rugs brand that works with over forty thousand artisans for the past two years to uncover how these two models may be interlinked.
I was able to conduct this research at a time when Jaipur Rugs is undergoing an organizational shift. They are transitioning towards a self-managed leadership model inspired by Frederick Lalou and practicing Theory U to create organizational change directed towards building stronger relationships within the organization and with their stakeholders.
All of my insights from 21 interviews and 9 research workshops were affinity mapped to reveal a clear and direct relationship with both models. By layering the principles of cultural competence (CCHD) on the disciplines of organizational learning (Senge, 2006) we can see how cultural competence can enhance the learning of organizations and help to create self organizing abilities in teams:
1. Systems Thinking + Valuing Diversity
• Having an understanding of the whole helps to reduce coordination problems caused by unreliable or delayed communication, working in silos, and unrealistic expectations.
• Transparency in the supply chain between the grassroots and the customer is essential to help see the whole picture and build strong relationships.
• Work is very inauthentic and superficial when the organization does not have a continuous relationship within itself and it’s stakeholders.
• It takes time to understand and accept the different cultures of individuals within the organization and external stakeholders to create trust and co-create new relationships.
2. Mental Models + Conducting Cultural Self-Assessment
• All stakeholders should be able to speak their minds and have constructive discussions without fear of judgement.
• Any change within the organization should be personalized and contextualized for each individual’s mindset and world view.
• The organization should facilitate the creation of spaces where all stakeholders can learn about each other and celebrate one another to create a collective spirit that is aligned with the organization’s mission.
3. Personal Mastery + Understanding the Dynamics of Difference
• Always train employees and encourge them to be experimental because when individuals develop intrinsically, their work is ethical, mindful and sustainable.
• The organization should develop an understanding of all stakeholders within the system and their work by building personal understanding and creating unity between different world views.
• Spending time with each other reminds individuals of their purpose and creates a sense of being alive in a community with love, respect and connection.
4. Shared Vision + Institutionalizing Cultural Knowledge
• Adapt the organizational structure to ensure that all stakeholders are represented in decision-making since their unique perspective contributes to the understanding of the whole system.
• Formal and informal channels of communication are created to ensure the spread of Information and knowledge to everyone within the system.
5. Team Learning + Adapting to Diversity
• The organization should always promote learning, teaching and support within itself, both personally and professionally amongst all internal stakeholders, as well as with other companies and leaders.
• It should support and foster the growth of collaborative spaces and seek to always change, learn and evolve towards it’s goals through micro-battles and constant innovation of its processes.
This shows us that cultural competence and organizational learning can work together to create the necessary conditions for self-organization. The structure of the organization is reflective of its interactions. A sense of belongingness and ownership towards the organization is created between the artisan and the employee when they have a strong relationship. Having strong cultural competence can help individuals build shared vision and learn to create phenomenal change together without fear of failure.
I am currently working on developing a toolkit for learning organizations to build cultural competence based on this framework (any help, feedback, ideas or thoughts would be very appreciated).
