Critical Action Learning (CAL) Report (Essay Sample)

Critical Action Learning Report
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Increased consideration is being directed on the value of critical approaches to promote leadership and management growth. This report details how CAL perspectives can be applied to provide valuable learning and growth by way of critically reflective activities. CAL models not only explore primary power and control problems but also actively incorporate tests of political as well as cultural activities influencing company life. These perspectives allow progression above instrumental ways to appreciate the complexity of management and leadership development. The goals of this paper are therefore to show how CAL can be used by leadership and management growth as well as showing some of the complexities and challenges of applying some CAL models commonly used.
Critical Action Learning attempts to show how the management power interactions are part of action learning. As such, the emphasis of Critical Action Learning is diversified to among others, enlighten of individual learner as well as ways in which learning is encouraged, avoided and prevented within groups and in companies through relation of power. According to Stacy (2011), CAL is a development of action learning; a model commonly used in numerous leadership and management growth activities. Action learning is a diversified activity and has been applied to explain numerous approaches. In practice, Critical Action Learning is based on the fact that learning is an activity that can develop when individuals or groups are assisted to reflect on the perceptions and actions taken when dealing with real company issues. According to Peddler (1991), action learning is a model of developing individuals in companies which takes the activity as a vehicle for learning. It is based in the assumption that there is no learning that can occur without action and that there cannot be a good and deliberate activity without learning. He infer that the method can only be accomplished on integration of there commodities namely; people, to take responsibility for action on a given issue or challenge; problems that face these people or organization and; a group of individuals to challenge themselves to drive development on the problem.
The case study dealt with a problem in which the CEO of an organization I work for could not deal with various complexities that were emerging at the work place. The CEO would take time before making decisions on any issue that affected the company something that made the company lag behind in the industry. According to Pedler (1991), CEOs and other managers of organizations have a central responsibility in developing learning models to be used by employees as well as the management itself in order to keep the organization on toes to any emerging affair that affect the organization. Dealing with a manager who is not adaptive to various aspects that influence the optimal operation of an organization can translate to a big blow on the general activities of the company such as productivity, sales and ultimately, the profitability of such an organization. This is was exactly what was going on with our company. Since the company owners could not allow activities flow the way they were flowing, something had to be done. It was through these issues that consultants were used to come up with solutions by exploring other possible business structures that would offer the advantages of quick reaction to all departments of the company by the management led by the company CEO.
The major model that was dealt with in this case was Complex Adaptive System to demonstrate critical action Learning. For the last approximately 3 decades, the speed with which business cycle has been escalating is quite dramatic. There are significant changes that are taking place quite faster than the past product cycles while markets have turned out to be near unpredictable such that the traditional management paradigms are not capable of maintain at the rate. At our company, this had been a notable issue, transiting from the traditional to the adopted current organizational management styles was quite slow. Complex adaptive system was suggested by the consultants and proved to help the management solve the problems it was going through.
This case took an organization as an adaptive system that should match to the complexity of its surrounding. In this organization, employees kept on complaining about difficulties of coordination between departments and consequently several other activities of the company. Anderson (1999) infers that this kind of workplace problem emerges sometimes after an organization starts its operation or when executing a strategy because is caused by changes in technology and other managerial aspects in the workplace. The CEO has to be keen in order to incorporate such challenges into the organization culture since not all of these challenges can be eliminated.
Maguire (2006) recognizes that a choice has to be made between maintaining the norm of complexity reduction and adopting a mechanism of complexity adoption that is more appropriate with the current situation of several competitors who are quick in decision making. These policies are examined coupled with their merits and demerits to determine the most appropriate and convenient way in arriving at timely decisions to solve such workplace problems.
In any organization, customers are taken to be the pillars of the company’s success. Stacy (2011) recognizes that decline in customer base is a clear indication of a firm’s negative growth. This as a major problem was accompanied by some other minor issues which can be routed from customer dissatisfaction such as reduced returns due to disloyal customers going for competitor’s products and services. In order to deal with such a problem in the workplace, Anderson (1999) recognizes two modes of adaptation to such complex environment namely; complexity absorption and complexity reduction. He notes that complexity absorption creates choices and risk controlling techniques through alliances. On the other hand, complexity reduction act directly after it has comprehended it. Simon (1962) recognizes that there are other organizational information space, also called I-Space approach to the two model mention above. They include; abstraction, codification, and diffusion of information as attribute in the organization’s culture. Abstraction refers to reduction in the total amount of data to be assigned for particular phenomenon. Codification on the other hand entails giving form to a particular phenomenon by assigning it data. Lastly, a diffusion aspect occurs when information is spread through population of data dispensation agents. Simon (1962) recognizes the strength and structure of algorithmic information complexity in a manner that equates it levels of abstraction and codification. Fabric of information diffusion is only realized through identification of system sections and the richness of cross coupling.
Pedler (2001) proposes that analysis as well as its practical application can be used to enable CEO of such a company make quick and rational decisions that will consequently enhance timely and appropriate response to consumer complaint and thus retain them in the organization. Time is gone when there were no competitors and an organization had no haste in making decisions, today’s organization have to adapt a system of timely and right decision. The CEO will therefore have to incorporate any or the four approaches with the right mode of complex theorist mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Another issue concerned the CEO’s poor planning and strategy development methods in the workplace. With this problem, there is a vital need for different and holistic paradigm to run and ensure consistency in responsibility of the changing and complex environment for community, business, and individuals. According to Haynes and Price (2004), when future research is joined with workplace theory, there can be better comprehension of the complex and dynamic nature of the workplace. This investigation contributes to knowledge by showing the way futures studies can assist the CEO think, plan, talk, and act creatively to offer better workplace strategies. The model also offers another contribution to knowledge and growth of future oriented framework which can be applied in the workplace in organizing to show how the CEO can use futures studies in such a situation. Anderson (1999) recognizes that the workplace today is different from the past and that it will keep on changing even in future. The change is attributed to not only the external forces like economic, societal, demographic, technological, and environmental forces but also the internal institutional trends and real estate industry change.
In his video Geoffrey West (2011) recognizes that the workplace of yesterday have been replaced by the networked office, which seem to be the best concept for a company in today’s changing and complex environment. According to Maguire (2006), there are other alternative current space concepts that can be incorporated in the networked office such as distributed, sustainable, and collaborative workplace. Therefore, for this and other similar CEOs and managers, Stacy (2011) recognizes that the same office will be there in future but it will have changed in that the city and virtual environments will be the order of the day. When such managers embrace the futures theory, it will be easy to adapt to the ever changing complexities in the workplace environment. There are various approaches and models that deal with complex adaptive systems. Depending with the situation to be addressed, the use of the right theory or model can prove essential in assisting managers comfortably adapt to changes that occu...