Session 5 ELEVEN

Compare similarities and differences and develop a table evidencing this.

I choose the Zhejiang Ocean University to compare with my TV station because, it is a general learning organization which is also a different type to my organization.

According to the result of LO survey, I statistic the data into the following three tables (Zhejiang TV Station vs Zhejiang Ocean University):

 

T1: Learning Organization Scores Summary

	ZTS	ZOU
Leadership that reinforces learning	65%, bottom quartile	68%, second quartile
Learning process	76%, third quartile	79%, third quartile
Learning environment	60%, bottom quartile	71%, third quartile

Except the learning process stay in the similar level (ZTS 76%, ZOU 79%, both in the third quartile), ZTS and ZOU show different performances in reinforces learning leadership and learning environment. Working in a TV station mostly depends on individual’s working experience. As mentioning the learning, generally, only the green hand would seek advices from others, every regular employee learn from the experience accumulate by their own, learning atmosphere would be weaker than that in a university. Thus, the leadership reinforces learning and learning environment in ZTS got 65% and 60% respectively, which stay in bottom level while ZOU reaches 68% and 71% which both in higher levels. However, when comparing a learning organization with a TV station, the result in this table is rational.

T2: Concrete Learning Processes and Practices

	ZTS	ZOU
Experimentation	93%, top quartile	82%, top quartile
Information collection	96%, top quartile	86%, third quartile
Analysis	71%, over the top	77%, over the top
Education and training	52%, bottom quartile	90%, top quartile
Information transfer	70%, third quartile	63%, second quartile

To see the details of concrete learning process and practices, we can read that both ZTS and ZOU pay attention to the links of experimentation and analysis, as these two are necessities to both organizations. As I mentioned above, in a TV station, staff focus more on learning through accumulating experience, when do the similar processes again and again, staff review and analysis experiences including the successes and faults, so that do better next time. It is a kind of experimentation. And in ZOU, teachers try different teaching methods to make students study effectively, at the same time, analyzing the efficiency of teaching process is essential step for them.

When it comes to information collection and information transfer, it certainly that TV station would do a better job than a university as we all know that, TV station is a media organization that collect, filter and broadcast information. They are the most professional information collect and transfer organization, even a university can also do these jobs outstanding.

And the education and training is the duty of every university, and the one Nebula study in do very well in these two missions. And as I mentioned, TV station focus more on learning through staff’s own experience, so the whole organization pay less attention on education and training.

T3: Supportive Learning Environment

	ZTS	ZOU
Psychological safety	60%, bottom quartile	77%, third quartile
Appreciation of differences	61%, second quartile	68%, third quartile
Openness to new ideas	79%, bottom quartile	93%, top quartile
Time for reflection	40%, second quartile	49%, median

In recent years, media is treated as a high healthy-risk industry as the staff suffer more physical & psychological pressure than those in other general working units.  And the TV station just gives staff periodical body check but cares less about staff’s psychological healthy. On the contrary, nowadays, education organizations pay more attention on students and staff’s mental health. Generally, every school or university would set up a mental health advisory center, which aims at solving students & staff’s psychological problems, so that can make them study/work better.

I am wondering that, why the result shows ZOU is more willing to accept new ideas than ZTV… I suppose I made some mistakes when I do the questionnaire as I know, ZTV is an organization which really welcome innovation (new ideas). And we know that most organizations like new ideas nowadays because, new ideas make change & development.

Further, differ from ZTV, which care less about the appreciation of differences, ZOU would focus on this factor as all students come from different areas and got diverse cultural backgrounds. Most teachers would take these differences into account, try to satisfy every student’s study needs.

Both ZTV and ZOU would regularly do the reflection of a period of work to see which needs to promote in the work.

From above, we can clearly see the similarities and differences of two types of organizations. Zhejiang Ocean University is after all an education organization, it  focus more on & do better job in the processes and practices related to learning.