De Baak

Learning, Development & Change

The art of working with perspectives

Quite often organizations take professionalization and rationalization too far, and this can lead to a sense of alienation. Organizations are tough systems with their own dynamic, and defense mechanisms that rise above the sum of the individuals who make them up. All too often attempts to change an organization are targeted on the things that are lacking rather than the things that are actually there (strengths, abilities, dreams). Changers often try to impose a new reality without looking carefully at the true, underlying motion - you cannot make a river turn corners just like that. Change processes are seldom completed, because managers are mainly rewarded for start-up energy and not for perseverance.

Does this picture sound familiar to you? Are you yourself actively engaged in making qualitative improvements to the way your organization functions? Are you seeking ways, interventions and opportunities to realize such improvements, and do you want to develop your competencies and handling skills - and those of others - to fulfil that end?
If so, the post-graduate course Learning, Development & Change (LD&C) can deliver you surplus value. Starting out from the normative vision of organizations and organizational development expressed above, the course provides new perspectives on successful learning, development and change.

A unique joint venture
The post-graduate course ‘LD&C’ is the outcome of a unique joint venture between science and practice, in which the University of Utrecht, Radboud University Nijmegen, De Baak, CIBIT and Twynstra Gudde all participate. These parties found one another in a normative vision of organizations and organizational development, and this vision also provides the foundation for the post-graduate course LD&C.

The vision
The vision of the organization as a cooperative, which is applied in the course program, may be characterized as follows:
- organizations must have a specific organizational identity which is internally and externally recognizable;
- organizations must behave like cooperatives, whose members truly feel like members with all the rights and duties that come with membership;
- organizations must work actively on the commitment of their employees;
- organizations have a social responsibility, and should behave accordingly;
- organizations are places where people can discover and develop their talents.

The vision of the development of organizations is based on the idea that organizational development:
- should contain educational elements; in other words it should incorporate elements of learning and development for people and groups;
- is linked to the wishes and requirements of the organization itself (an essential starting point);
- is founded on experience and existing perceptions;
- is based on close cooperation between the changers and the other actors in the process;
- is based on a number of fundamental values: democracy, humanity, authenticity, openness and the natural, free expression of opinions and feelings;
- takes place in a way that is closely connected to the learning and development of people and groups;
- is determined by the extent to which people are proficient in the art of working with several perspectives on learning and change.

Who is the course for?
The post-graduate LD&C program is aimed at people who have more questions than answers. People who have experience in processes of organizational change, and questions for which they are seeking answers. They are interested in the learning and development of individuals, teams and organizations, and of themselves. Such learning and development is the result of working with others in a process whereby practice, theory and reflection are intertwined.
Those taking part regard themselves as a guiding force in their own organizations and are seeking to bring about qualitative improvements in the functioning of the total organization. They are seeking ways, interventions and opportunities to bring about such improvements in actual practice, and they want to develop their competencies and handling skills – and those of others – in order to achieve that end. Elements of learning and reflection will play a very definite role in this regard.

The program
The course program consists of six blocks. Each block is made up of five morning, afternoon and evening sessions, starting Thursday morning and ending Friday afternoon, with overnight accommodation. The program also includes a study trip, an ‘intervision program’ and a series of lectures/meetings on topics of general interest.

1. Introduction module
In the first block the context of learning, development and change is sketched. The idea of the participant as learner, developer and changer is discussed, and the first steps are taken toward the formation of a learning network.

Themes:
- Making yourself known – drawing the first lines for the network
- The senior instructors set out their manifesto on learning, development and change
- The participants start composing their own manifestos on learning, development and change - The three competencies of the LD&C program are explored further.

2. Learning of individuals, teams and organizations
Central objective of this block: broadening your perspective on the learning of individuals, groups, organizations and yourself. Creating awareness of your own mental models and habits, and core reflection on how learning processes can be steered. The aim is to broaden your perspective on learning and development in the direction of learning in the workplace, implicit learning, collective learning and self-controlled learning. Alongside the learning and development of others, the role of your own learning and development is also a central concern here.

Themes:
- From education to learning
- Learning from others, learning with others
- Integrating learning and work
- How do teams learn, how do organizations learn?

3. Journey of development: crossing (personal) borders
The primary perspective in this third block, which takes the form of a study trip, is: learning, development, and changing yourself and your own organization, stimulated by a different cultural perspective.

The themes dealt with here (depending in part on the country being visited) will include:
- National identity, company identity, personal identity
- Leadership in Europe
- Demonstrating entrepreneurship in realizing desired goals
- Multi-faceted perception, action and experience
- Creating commitment as a basis and means for developing behavior
- From official truth to official direction; what can be steered?

Visits to:
- university / business school / institutions / the street
- professional colleagues, international experts and others
- Berlin, Brussels, Barcelona, Ruhr Valley or Bavaria, etc. (these are possible options).

The planning of the study trip is essentially taken care of by the students. The course organizers see to the basic budget, facilities, guidance and/or learning management.

4. The organization as a cooperative
This module looks at the development of organizations as cooperatives. Central concerns here are the anchoring of talent and social capital in the strategy and organizational identity.

Themes:
- Organizational processes and cooperatives
- Recognizing core competencies and organizational identity; understanding the strategy of the organization from this perspective
- Dealing with talent and social capital: need, challenges and dilemmas
- Management approaches: are we using the right toolkit? The sense and nonsense of competence management, performance management, integral management and coaching leadership
- Division of roles: the line organization as a partner of HRM?

5. Knowledge management
Knowledge is becoming increasingly important in our society. What does this fact mean for the way we organize work and learning inside organizations? The age we live in calls for ‘Clever organization with knowledge’. In this module we examine the strategic direction and structuring of knowledge and learning processes.

We deal with such topics as knowledge strategy, knowledge and learning infrastructure, Communities of Practice, knowledge networks, combining learning and work, utilizing implicit and explicit knowledge, learning from experience, lessons-learned methodology, and best practices.

We also consider the role modern communications technology can play as an enabler of knowledge and learning processes – the possibilities and limits of e-learning. How can technology support learning, and what role can it play in knowledge management?

6. Implementing change, with a focus on organizational development
The central theme of this block is not the designing of simple or single changes, but how to achieve a multiple, durable process of development.

Themes:
- The various concepts related to change: five families of change theory applied to individuals and organizations. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?
- Specific attention to Organizational Development: the history of the subject, its evolution, and the current state of affairs. A summary of OD interventions: indications and contra-indications on how they should be used.
- Learning to make multiple forecasts and multiple intervention plans.

7. Closing seminar
In the closing seminar the various elements of the previous seminars are brought together in a case study. The final assignment is targeted on own practice, with a clear distinction between diagnosis of the issue, designing possible solutions, and reflecting on the effects. The assignments are presented to and assessed by the senior instructors.

Information and guidance
To qualify and register please contact the Training Advice Bureau, telephone +31343 55 6369 or info@debaak.nl