Mr Rao and Mr Khandagle spend some time explaining the idea of (better called cornerstones) Learning Organization. They explained why some organizations due to lack of collective aspiration, internal core commitment and group vision fail to see the current reality and thus fade into oblivion due to changing times and cutting competition. On the other hand a Learning Organization is one that continuously unlearns, learns and relearns.
Both the practitioners talked more of commissioning of the idea at HPCL rather than just delving around the concept. They succinctly explained entire journey which started with the formation of the core group, getting the buy in from the top management, involving the unions in this drive and spreading the enthusiasm into the sinews of the organization. The result was a massive change in the work culture and thought process of the organization. Formation of the core team helped idealizing the project which was spread across through the internal coaches who were in turn tutored by the core group. The strategy was formed by an inductive process by the collective efforts of field people, third party sake holders and the line managers. The vision of a bubbling HPCL was jointly coined by the entire HPCL family. The concentrated efforts saw HPCL overcoming major hurdles to establish itself an enduring enterprise full or vigor and a will to be the best in the business.
This guest lecture was a great insight of an Organization Development intervention for the budding Human Resource Managers at TISS as it helped them to associate theory with practice. It helped the audience to relate with the theories and concepts of OD and change. A lively and interactive session saw quite a few intriguing questions from both ends. In the end the session ended with a promise to continue this relationship with more in-depth discussions on various aspects of Learning Organizations.