| Semester 2, 2021 Online | |
| Short Description: | Organisational Learning Projec |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Business |
| Student contribution band : | Band 4 |
| ASCED code : | 080399 - Business Mgt not classified |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Rationale
This course will help students to understand how organisations learn. While organisations per se don’t learn, individuals and groups learn and through a process of mutual adjustment, a feed forward process of learning occurs as individuals and groups update their stock of knowledge. Organisational learning consists of a suite of learning interventions that help an organisation transform its own thinking including dynamic systems thinking tools. This course will equip students to understand how organisations learn within a regional, national and global framework. Here, students will acquire the cognitive, technical and creative skills necessary to evaluate complex learning frameworks. Since learning processes help to transform existing stocks of knowledge, students will be able to develop skills related to justifying and interpreting various organisational learning propositions and methodologies applied in project settings.
Synopsis
In this course, students will learn about different learning interventions that challenge individual thinking. The course builds on knowledge about how to lead and manage change. Students will be required to solve practical case problems using different high-level concepts of organizational learning at the individual, team and organization level. They will learn how theory interchanges with practice helping to enlighten the learning process by which individual thinking is transformed. Specific topics relate to individual, group, and organization learning, learning models, developing a culture of learning, vicarious group learning, absorptive capacity and much more. Students will learn the role that different learning interventions play and be able to practice them in places of work. The course explores organisation learning through a complex lens of external environmental inputs and internal processes related to learning cycles and learning routines enabling reflection between thought and action. Accordingly, students will acquire knowledge about how to transform their existing stocks of knowledge, how to measure overall learning capability, and how this enables an organization to switch more effectively between exploiting and exploring knowledge.. At the end of this course, students will be able to apply different learning interventions to practical case projects and be able to solve complex learning issues in places of work.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- Measure how individuals learn and unlearn within the work context;
- Evaluate learning loops through ladders of learning, learning cycles and learning logic;
- Identify different knowledge stocks that can be transformed through the learning process;
- Develop learning models to transform individual thinking between thought and action and between groups and teams;
- Design learning interventions by applying learning theory to workplace problems;
- Explore learning theories applied at the individual, team and organisation level to demonstrate creativity in applying knowledge skills to new situations.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Individual Learning | 20.00 |
| 2. | Ladders of Inference, learning cycles and learning levels and loops | 20.00 |
| 3. | Knowledge Stocks and Flows | 10.00 |
| 4. | Learning interventions & learning culture | 30.00 |
| 5. | Applied learning processes | 20.00 |
Text and Materials
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2021&sem=02&subject1=MGT8048)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference Materials
Student Workload Expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Directed Study | 55.00 |
| Independent Study | 70.00 |
| Individual Practice | 40.00 |
Assessment Details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROBLEM ANALYSIS | 100 | 50 | 30 Aug 2021 | (see note 1) |
| PROBLEM SOLUTION & APPLICATION | 100 | 50 | 18 Oct 2021 | (see note 2) |
Notes
- Please note that separate case study details will be posted in week 1 of the course. The details will set out what is required in each of these case studies, how they will be assessed, and guidelines for case study writing.
- Students may be required to seek permission to practice the assessment components of this course in a place of work.
Important assessment information
-
Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them, to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course. -
Examination information:
There is no examination in this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Deferred and Supplementary examinations will be held in accordance with the Assessment Procedure . -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment Notes
-
Referencing in assignments must comply with the Harvard (AGPS) referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The Harvard (APGS) style to be used is defined by the USQ library’s referencing guide. This guide can be found at .