Measurement of organisational learning capability in Indian public sector organisation: an empirical study of Indian railways

Abstract

The interest in organisational learning as a research topic has grown significantly in the recent years. The rapidly changing business environment has caused managers and researchers around the world to search for new ways to build organisations capable of continuous adoption and change. The organisation learning can be a sustainable way of maintaining competitive advantage in an intense business environment. The Indian economy, in the last decade, has seen significant changes and it has resulted in substantial changes in its business environment. In this context of the changes brought about by the liberalization of the Indian economy, organisational learning assumes greater importance in both the private and the public arena of enterprises. The study assays to understand the phenomenon of the organisational learning process in a public sector organisation. It focuses upon the process of organisational learning in the Indian Railways, which is the largest government employer in the country. The study also aims at understanding the factors that influence performance and quality of service delivery in the government or public sector organisations. The findings of the study indicate that stocks of knowledge that reside at the individual, group and organisational levels and the flows of learning are equally critical. The data analysis indicates that a higher level of organisational knowledge stock may not help in improving organisational performance unless the learning flows exist in the organisation. It also shows that a team based working system shows higher level of learning where the knowledge stocks and flows are equally significant. Several policy recommendations emerge from the study. A team based system learns significantly better than an individual based mechanized system. Collaborative and team based working, formations of quality circles, self managed teams (SMT) etc., can be useful tools to increase the efficacy of team based working. The study also points that there is a need to increase learning flows through social-networking mechanisms at workplaces, like, informal meetings, weekly discussions, production review meetings etc. Also encouraging innovation, sharing of ideas in a regular manner through formal and informal channels like KAIZEN, quality circles, failure meetings etc., can be helpful in maximizing throughput of the knowledge stocks.