Learning organization dimensions of the Sri Lanka Army

Abstract

Purpose

This study intends to investigate the extent to which the Sri Lanka Army can be described as a learning organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The main tool of analysis used was the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) developed by Marsick and Watkins, with the exclusion of the sections on financial and knowledge performance.

Findings

Using the DLOQ, the research found that the dimensions of a learning organization proposed by Marsick and Watkins are present in the Sri Lanka Army, although with some aberrations between different ranks.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted without a directly connected dependent variable.

Practical implications

This study shows how even a non‐profit‐oriented organization like the Sri Lanka Army can be informed from a concept like the learning organization, and indeed emphasizes the overarching need for a military organization to operate as a learning organization. Therefore, this research has reiterated the fact that the learning organization is a prescription that all organizations, even not‐for‐profit ones, should ardently pursue. The research also offers recommendations for improvements in the performance of the Sri Lanka Army by identifying certain weaknesses.

Originality/value

By initiating the use of the DLOQ in the Sri Lankan as well as a military context, the study has opened the doors for administering the DLOQ and similar tools for measuring the extent of organizational learning and the presence and strength of learning organizational characteristics in Sri Lanka.

Citation

Dhananjaya Dahanayake, N. and Gamlath, S. (2013), "Learning organization dimensions of the Sri Lanka Army", The Learning Organization, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 195-215. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696471311328451