Research Results for P4

Prepared by Nikolay Filinov, Alexander Settles, Nadezda Bek and Nina Vladimirova of the Department of General and Strategic

Management, Faculty of Management, SU-HSE, Moscow

4.1 The Evaluation of Perceptions of Finnish and

Russian Managers Regarding the Organization Learning Potential

of Their Firms

Professor Alexander Settles

Research Question

• Business Culture as a Variable to Determine whether a Learning Organization will be Successful– Is there significant variation in the shaping of learning

organizations based on the country business culture?– Will the firm’s supportive learning environment vary

with country location?– Will there be variation in the development of a

concrete learning environment based on country location?

– Will be a significant variation in the management support and leadership in creation of learning environment based on country of operations?

What is a Learning Organization

• Psychological safety to implement these techniques

• Allow for the appreciation of differences

• Openness to new ideas

Hofstede's Cultural Estimates for Finland and Russia

PDI IDV MAS UAI

Finland 33 63 26 59

Russia 93 39 36 95

US 40 91 62 46

World Averages

55 43 50 64

Survey Concerning Learning Organization - Building Blocks

• Survey components

1. A supportive learning environment

2. Concrete learning processes and practices

3. Leadership that reinforces learning

A Supportive Learning Environment

• Psychological safety

• Appreciation of differences

• Openness to new ideas

• Time for reflection

Time for Reflection

• People in this unit are overly stressed. • Despite the workload, people in this unit

find time to review how the work is going.• In this unit, schedule pressure gets in the

way of doing a good job. • In this unit, people are too busy to invest

time in improvement. • There is simply no time for reflection in this

unit.

Concrete learning processes and practices

• Learning processes involve the generation, collection, interpretation, and dissemination of information

• Knowledge must be shared in systematic and clearly defined ways– Knowledge sharing can take place among individuals,

groups, or whole organizations– Knowledge can move laterally or vertically within a

firm. – Knowledge sharing can be externally oriented

(networked)

Information Collection

• This unit systematically collects information on:– Competitors– Customers– Economic and social trends – Technological trends

• This unit frequently compares its performance to: – Competitors– Customers– Competitors– Best-in-class organizations

Analysis

• This unit engages in productive conflict and debate during discussions.

• This unit seeks out dissenting views during discussions.

• This unit never revisits well-established perspectives during discussions.

• In this unit, we frequently identify and discuss underlying assumptions that might affect key decisions.

• This unit never pays attention to different views during discussions.

Leadership Score

• My manager(s) invite(s) input from others in discussions.• My manager(s) acknowledge(s) his/her own limitations

with respect to knowledge, information, or expertise.• My manager(s) ask(s) probing questions. • My manager(s) listen(s) attentively.• My manager(s) encourage(s) multiple points of view.• My manager(s) establish(es) forums for and provide(s)

time and resources for identifying problems and organizational challenges.

• My manager(s) establish(es) forums for and provide(s) time and resources for reflecting and improving on past performance.

• My manager(s) criticize(s) views different from his/her own.

Results

40

50

60

70

80

90

Psychological Safety

Appreciation of Differences

Openness to New Ideas

Time for Reflection

Information CollectionAnalysis

Education and Training

Information Transfer

Leadership

Finland

Russia

US

Results

• Russian respondents rated the Appreciation of Differences on average more than 8 points higher than Finnish respondents

• Firm practice of Education and Training Finnish respondents rated their firms nearly 14 points higher on their practices.

• In Russian business culture leadership is crucial for all decisions including creating a learning organization

Leadership that reinforces learning

• Organizational learning is strongly influenced by the behavior of leaders

• If leaders signal the importance of spending time on problem identification, knowledge transfer, and reflective post-audits, these activities are likely to flourish

• Employees feel emboldened to offer new ideas and options

Leadership that reinforces learning Results