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Introduction
 Action
learning promotes individual and
organizational
learning through small teams that address real problems and
learn from their attempts to change things.
The
most important aspect of Action Learning is its ability to
promote cultural change. The
surface simplicity of Action Learning can mask its real power. It
not only provides learning for individuals and the organization. It
also solves intractable problems
and generates significant changes in corporate culture.
Action Learning shares many characteristics
with Kaizen events and process improvement teams. Indeed,
some process improvement teams or Kaizen teams are, in fact, Action
Learning teams. Figure 1 shows the general process.
Click here to see comparison of Action Learning, Kaizen and Task
Forces.
Figure 1 the Action Learning
Process
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Benefits
The
benefits of Action Learning come at two levels. At an individual
level, people learn through doing.
They learn about technical issues such as workcell design. They
learn about team processes and how to function in teams. They also
learn leadership and
cooperation
skills. Action Learning gives team members
confidence in their abilities to learn while promoting an
appropriate humility about their actual knowledge.
At the
organizational level, companies need to
learn coping skills for new problems. The rate of change
in the external environment is accelerating and has been for several
decades. It is only likely to accelerate more.
For survival, organizations must
learn at least as fast as the pace of change and, preferably faster.
Existing knowledge about how things work, or are supposed to work,
often misdirects inquiry rather than facilitates a solution.
Companies must become learning organizations or lose competitive
advantage.
Action Learning promotes the kind
of Corporate Culture that allows companies to survive in these
changing environments.
Origins of Action
Learning
 The
term “Action Learning” was first coined by
Professor Reg Revans.
Originally an astrophysicist, Revans later worked on
productivity improvements in British coal mines in the 1950’s. He
experimented, developed, researched and wrote about Action Learning
for almost 50 years. The concept is better known in Europe than in
the U.S.
Action
Learning drew upon many older tools from Work Simplification and the
work of Gilbreth, Taylor and the other Industrial Engineering
pioneers. At the same time, it anticipated many of the techniques of
Team Development that came later such as self-norming and conflict
resolution.
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Action Learning Topics
0-Introduction
1-Fundamentals of Action Learning (I)
2-Fundamentals of Action Learning (II)
3-Conducting The Project
4-Learning, Strategy and Corporate Culture
5-AL, Kaizen & Lean Operations
6-AL Case Study- Telecom Service Installation
7-AL Example-Computers
Download AL Articles
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References
Dilworth, Robert L., Performance
Improvement Quarterly, 1998, Volume 11, Number 1, pp. 28-43.
Lee, Quarterman, Strategos Website,
2001, Is The Kaizen Blitz Right For You,
http://www.strategosinc.com/kaizen_blitz.htm
Pedler, M. (1991). Action learning in
practice. Vermont: Gower Publishing Company.
Revans, R. (1983). ABC of action
learning. Kent, England: Chartwell-Bratt Ltd.
Revans, R. (1971). Developing effective
managers. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Wikipedia, 2008, Action Learning,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_learning.
Weinstein, K. (1995). Action learning: A
journey in discovery and development. London: Harper Collins
Publishers.
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