Kris M Y Law · Kong Bieng Chuah Editors Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations Kris M Y Law Kong Bieng Chuah • Editors Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations 123 Editors Kris M Y Law School of Engineering Deakin University Geelong, Australia Kong Bieng Chuah Department of Systems Engineering City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong ISBN 978-3-030-23996-1 ISBN 978-3-030-23997-8 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23997-8 (eBook) © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic 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Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface This book is about a tried and tested way of organizational learning which we called Project Action Learning or PAL since its inception in the early 2000s It is the culmination of the learning the authors have collectively achieved through years of case-based action research of PAL implementation in real industrial environments The authors are most thankful to the collaborations and cooperations of the industrial enterprises and people who participated in this long-running longitudinal research that spanned over 16 years This book may not be quite the “step-by-step how to it” guidebook, but we hope it serves a useful reference for practitioners of organizational learning and development A well-run modern organization has in place operating systems that include staff training and development This may fulfil the needs of single-loop learning that will help to maintain its existing operations But it is often inadequate to help an organization today to remain competitive let alone to raise its capability to cope with changes in technology and environment Hence, we have seen the birth of the concepts of organizational learning and learning organization over three decades ago Much has since been written but proven cases of real implementation are still few and less than enlightening For a rational person, it is commonly known that improvement starts with the acknowledgement of a problem Knowledge is gained, and learning is achieved through the process of analysing and solving it The same could apply to an organization However, an organization is only superficially an organism by analogy It is invariably made up of individuals with different aspirations and expectations driven by personal goals which may not be always aligned with the organizational goals Moreover, we also know that effective learning does not happen all the time, be it in an individual or an organization, especially the latter The intrinsic or extrinsic motivations needed to overcome and sustain individual learning inertia are relatively easier to come by There are many individual lifelong learners in any era and in every society The same cannot be said of organizational learning and learning organizations v vi Preface To affect an organization’s learning capability, particularly with regard to double-loop learning, we must re-mould an organization’s long-standing, traditional, run-of-the-mill staff training and development practices We must find a way to instil action learning Small groups of staff working on self-initiated meaningful projects are the basis of this action learning This is the PAL way described in this book We must have a visible organizational learning strategy that will overcome organizational defensive mechanism of individual staff and who will, in turn, be persuaded to embrace the PAL way Our experience suggests the PAL-driven organizational learning can be introduced and propagated in a wave-like manner To complement this PAL-driven organizational learning strategy, we must put in place performance measures and incentives that will motivate individuals to initiate and take up such action learning that would be aligned with organizational needs and goals We must have an overarching mechanism and resources in place that will provide facilitation and support to sustain the wave-like implementation of PAL-driven organizational learning Just as importantly, we must have an organizational management and information system that will support organizational learning knowledge accumulation, dissemination and re-use These are what we call the four pillars of PAL The PAL story is essentially about the building up of these four PAL pillars We believe PAL is a proven vehicle that will take an organization down the path of organizational learning The wave-like implementation over time will pave the way towards the ideals of a learning organization Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Kong Bieng Chuah Contents Part I Fundamentals of Organizational Learning and Learning Organizations What Is Organizational Learning? Kong Bieng Chuah and Kris M Y Law Organizational Learning for Value Creation Kris M Y Law and Shuang Geng 15 Factors in Organizational Learning Kris M Y Law and Chris R Cao 25 Organizational Learning Process as DELO Kris M Y Law and Kong Bieng Chuah 35 Part II Building a Learning Organization Project Based Action Learning as the Vehicle Kris M Y Law and Kong Bieng Chuah 53 Setting for a PAL Driven OL Kris M Y Law, Kong Bieng Chuah and Chris R Cao 61 Knowledge in PAL Kris M Y Law and Shuang Geng 75 Part III Setting the PAL Driven LO 89 Stage 0—Preparing a PAL Driven OL K F Kwong and Y C Chau Stage 1—Starting the PAL 103 C K Cheung vii viii Contents 10 Stage 2—Facilitating and Evaluating PAL 111 Chris R Cao and Kris M Y Law 11 Stage 3—Closing PAL and PAL Knowledge 121 Kris M Y Law and Shuang Geng 12 Postscripts: 16-Years Journey of PAL, What Is Next? 129 Kris M Y Law Appendix A: Forms of PAL Evaluations 135 Appendix B: Project Stakeholder-Task-File Triads 143 Appendix C: Role Instrument 147 Appendix D: Readiness Check 155 Appendix E: OLSS Checklist 159 Appendix F: PAL Application Forms 161 Appendix G: F/W/C PAL Evaluation Instrument 165 Editors and Contributors About the Editors Dr Kris M Y Law is currently the associate professor in engineering management and education, in the School of Engineering, Deakin University, Australia She also holds a Docentship (adjunct professorship) in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Oulu University, Finland She obtained her Ph.D in organizational learning and M.Phil in machining processes as well a first degree in industrial engineering, at the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong She undertook a postdoctoral research scholarship in the National Taiwan University on a regional high-tech industry study and took up a visiting researcher position at the Graduate Institute of Industrial Engineering, National Taiwan University (2009–2011) Her expertise lies in organizational learning and development (OLD), technological innovation and entrepreneurship (TIE), engineering education and smart industrial initiatives (SII) She has been invited as a visiting scholar in different countries, such as Taiwan, Thailand and Europe (Finland and Slovenia), and has been active as a professional OL consultant promoting Project Action Learning (PAL) in high-tech organizations Her publications include books, chapters and journal articles (SCI and SSCI indexed) ix x Editors and Contributors Dr Kong Bieng Chuah is Associate Professor of Systems Engineering and Engineering Department, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong He is a core faculty member of the engineering doctorate, M.Sc engineering management and B.Eng industrial engineering and engineering management programmes His current teaching and research focus on project management and project-based organizational learning He is a consultant in project management and organizational learning and conducts project management courses and workshops for industries In his earlier years, he was a mechanical engineer with expertise in engineering metrology and surface roughness characterization He advised on engineering measurement problems and calibration set-ups Contributors Chris R Cao Crest View Technology Investment Ltd, Hong Kong SAR, China Y C Chau City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong C K Cheung Acrathon Precision Technologies, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong Kong Bieng Chuah Department of System Engineering and Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Shuang Geng College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China K F Kwong PuraPharm International (H.K.) Ltd., Hong Kong, Hong Kong Kris M Y Law School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia Appendix C: Role Instrument different from the majority 23 I feel safe explaining to others why I think or feel the way I about an issue 24 Employees are encouraged to take the lead in initiating change or in trying to something different 25 Managers and supervisors make decisions after considering the input of those affected 26 In meetings employees are encouraged to discuss the values and beliefs that underlie their opinions 27 Employees are encouraged to offer dissenting opinions and alternative Leadership 28 Managers and supervisors admit when they don’t know the answer to a question 29 Managers and supervisors take on the role of coaching, mentoring and facilitating employees’ learning 30 Managers and supervisors help employees understand the value of experimentation and the learning that can result from such endeavors 31 Managers and supervisors make realistic commitments for employees (e.g., time, resources, workload) 32 Managers and supervisors understand that employees have different learning styles and learning needs 33 Managers and supervisors are more concerned with serving the organization than with seeking personal power or gain 34 Managers and supervisors are open to negative feedback from employees 35 Managers and supervisors model the importance of learning through their own efforts to learn 36 Managers and supervisors believe that our success depends upon learning from daily practices 37 Managers and supervisors support the sharing of knowledge and skills among employees 38 Managers and supervisors provide the necessary time and support for systemic, long-term change 39 Managers and supervisors use data/ information to inform their decision-making 149 150 Appendix C: Role Instrument Systems and Structures Open and Accessible Work Environment 40 There is little bureaucratic red tape when trying to something new or different 41 Workspaces are designed to allow for easy and frequent communication with each other 42 There are few boundaries between departments/units that keep employees from working together 43 Employees are available (i.e., not out of the office or otherwise too busy) to participate in meetings Rewards and Recognition Systems and Practices 44 Employees are recognized or rewarded for learning new knowledge and skills 45 Employees are recognized or rewarded for helping solve business/ organizational problems 46 The current reward or appraisal system recognizes, in some way, team learning and performance 47 Employees are recognized or rewarded for helping each other learn 48 Employees are recognized or rewarded for experimenting with new ideas Relationship of Work to Organizational Goals 49 Employees understand how their work relates to the goals or mission of the organization 50 Employees’ performance goals are clearly aligned with the organization’s strategic goals 51 Employees meet work deadlines Communication of Information Availability 52 Information is gathered from clients, customers, suppliers or other stakeholders to gauge how well we’re doing 53 Currently available information tells us what we need to know about the effectiveness of our programs, processes, products, and services 54 There are adequate records of past change efforts and what happened as a result Appendix C: Role Instrument 151 Dissemination 55 There are existing systems to manage and disseminate information for those who need and can use it 56 Employees are cross-trained to perform various job functions 57 Employees have access to the information they need to make decisions regarding their work 58 Employees use technologies to communicate with one another 59 When new information that would be helpful to others is learned or discovered, it gets disseminated to those individuals Teams 60 My department/ unit currently operates via (or is transitioning towards) a team-based structure Yes, this is true No, this is not true 61 Employees are provided training on how to work as a team member Yes, this is true No, this is not true 152 Appendix C: Role Instrument 62 My work is sometimes conducted as part of a working group that is or could be identified as a “team.” Yes, this is true (Continue with item 63) No, this is not true (Go to item 71) Respond to items 63-70 based on your experiences as a team member 63 When conflict arises among team members, it is resolved effectively 64 Team members are open and honest with one another 65 Team meetings are well facilitated 66 Team meetings address both team processes and work content 67 Team meetings strive to include everyone’s opinion 68 Teams are encouraged to learn from each another and to share their learning with others 69 Teams accomplish work they are charged to 70 Teams are an effective way to meet an organization’s goals Evaluation Please use the following definition of evaluation when responding to she items below: Evaluation is a process of systematic inquiry to provide information for decision- making about some object-a program, project, process, organization, system, or product Use of the evaluation results might lead to making refinements to the program or to offering new services or products 71 The integration of evaluation activities into our work has enhanced (or would enhance) the quality of decision making 72 It has been (or would be) worthwhile to integrate evaluation activities into our daily work practices 73 Managers and supervisors like (or would like) us to evaluate our efforts 74 Evaluation helps (or would help) us provide better programs, processes, products and services 75 There would be support among employees if we tried to more (or any) evaluation work Appendix C: Role Instrument 153 76 Doing (more) evaluation would make it easier to convince managers of needed changes 77 This would be a good time to begin (or renew or intensify) efforts to conduct evaluations 78 There are evaluation processes in place that enable employees to review how ell changes we make are working Additional Information 79 Which of the following best describes your job category? (Check one.) First-Line Supervisor Middle Manager Senior Manager Administrative Production Sales Non- Managerial Professional Technical Customer Service Other 80 How long have you worked for this organization? (Check one.) Less than months months – year 1-3 years 4-6 years 7-10 years More than 10 years *********************** Thank you for your cooperation *********************** Source: Preskill, H and R T Torres 1999, Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations Thousand Oaks, California, SAGE Publications Appendix D Readiness Check A Readiness checklist for Management Filled by: _ Date: Ready? Item Yes No 1/ Readiness check Has the ROLE survey been conducted? Does the ROLE survey result show the organization is ready to implement OL practices? 2/ Vision realization Has the OL vision been established by the Management? Has the established OL vision been communicated to related parties? © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 K M Y Law and K B Chuah (eds.), Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23997-8 155 156 Appendix D: Readiness Check 3/ Strategy formation Are there goals setup for the established vision? Are there action plan to achieve the goals? 4/ Learning facilitation Is there a team (such as PAL committee) to organize the PAL activities? Has the facilitation team been setup to support facilitation activities? Is the system put in place to support the learning activities? 5/ Performance measurement Has the performance evaluation system been established? Has the performance reward system been established? Appendix D: Readiness Check 157 B Readiness checklist for Facilitator Filled by: _ Date: Ready? Item Yes 1/ Learning facilitation Has the facilitator team been trained with necessary skills? Is the knowledge sharing platform (such as OLSS) available to use? 2/ Performance measurement Have all performance evaluation tools been available? Have the evaluation methods been clear for implementation? No Appendix E OLSS Checklist PAL practitioner Preparation Granted the access to the OLSS already? Can see the announcement of this PAL cycle in the system homepage? Initiation Phase Proposal ready and uploaded to the Problem proposals sub-module yet? Facilitation Phase Can see your own PAL homepage (portal) inside the Team workspaces sub-module? Have you managed the member list in the Attendees sub-module? Can you check the information/ materials in the Document library sub-module? Have you made the schedule for the upcoming meetings or training in the Calendar sub-module? Do you need to initiate any discussion or conversation (about difficulties or any others) in the Discussion sub-module? Have you notified the auto-email sent out from the system? © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 K M Y Law and K B Chuah (eds.), Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23997-8 159 160 Appendix E: OLSS Checklist Evaluation Phase Have you done the evaluation via the Survey sub-module inside the system? Self, Peer & Leader evaluations FWC evaluation System administrator/ PAL facilitator Original OLSS is built upon Microsoft Windows Server system, Internet Information Services (IIS) and Microsoft Net Framework 2.0 are required for set-up Granted the access to the PAL practitioner already? Have those sub-modules been set-up? Problem proposals Facilitator Announcement Calendar Discussion Site Survey Appendix F PAL Application Forms © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 K M Y Law and K B Chuah (eds.), Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23997-8 161 162 Appendix F: PAL Application Forms Appendix F: PAL Application Forms 163 Appendix G F/W/C PAL Evaluation Instrument Focus field Q1 This team has a clear definition about the problem of this PAL project Definition of Performance Goal Q2 We are clear about the performance goals of this PAL project Q3 I see the gaps between the status quo and the objectives of this PAL project Q4 I clearly understand my individual roles and functions in this PAL project Definition of Learning Goal Planning & Methodology Q5 I am clear about my learning goal in this PAL project Q6 I understand what can I learn from this PAL project Q7 I am clear about my growth objectives in this PAL project Q8 We know how to fulfill this PAL project Q9 We have a well-developed plan to achieve the PAL goals Q10 I know how to get my PAL project assignments done Will field Q11 I am very much interested in this PAL project Attitude & Commitment Q12 I will try to learn as much as I can from this PAL project Q13 I feel the implementation of PAL is important for the development of our organization Q14 We will try our best efforts to achieve the PAL goals that we have set up Cooperation & Sharing Reflection & Introspection Q15 I will share my experience and knowledge with my PAL teammates Q16 I am willing to share my expertise with my PAL teammates Q17 I am willing to cooperate with my teammates on PAL project work Q18 I am willing to critically reflect on my own thinking and behaviors at work Q19 I am willing to keep myself open to the feedbacks from my teammates Q20 I am willing to learn from my mistakes at work © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 K M Y Law and K B Chuah (eds.), Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23997-8 165 166 Appendix G: F/W/C PAL Evaluation Instrument Capability field Q21 I can communicate with my PAL teammates effectively Teamwork Q22 We can provide mutual support to each other in our PAL team Q23 I can cooperate with my PAL teammates effectively Q24 We can identify the underlying whole structure/causality of an encountered problem System Thinking Q25 We can identify the root causes of encountered problems at work Q26 We can provide high leverage solutions to resolve the problems at work Q27 If I have different opinions, I will advocate my perspectives in a mild way Q28 When conflict occurs, we calmly use dialogue to explore the whole picture of the Dialogic Inquiry problem Q29 If I hear different opinions, I will inquire the underlying assumptions and inferences of their opinions .. .Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations Kris M Y Law Kong Bieng Chuah • Editors Project Action Learning (PAL) Guidebook: Practical Learning in Organizations. .. various forms including both formal and informal learning (Drachsler et al 2008), online learning and offline learning (Singh 2003) Compared with offline learning, online learning provides greater... project- based action learning (PAL) 1.4 Individuals in LO Learning does not take place solely within groups in an organization With emphasis on empowering of individuals to act, action learning