Question

Learning capacities vary from one organization to another, and some organizations fail to learn because their fundamental organizing principles operate in a way that obstructs the learning process. Discuss the obstructions to learning, and explain how an organizational structure can facilitate learning to learn at Zara (retailer).

Answer 1

Obstructions to Learning

1. Resistance to Change

One of the major obstructions of learning is resistance to change when it comes to acquire new learning. While making necessary technological changes, within the organization, change in leadership or in a shift in the everyday processes, initial resistance is both natural and common, yet it must be overcome for an organization to continue to adapt.

2. Lack of Direct Leadership

People resist to change for new learning because they are very comfortable in their own previous way of working and this require a direct leadership because they don't know the benefit of new learning. So Direct leadership includes These include awareness of and being involved with individual and team training.

3. Lack of Value for Learning Itself

In some Environment the learning for the sake of knowledge and wisdom is not present itself. The problem here is that for an organization to be trained as a unit, some individuals must learn new information they don’t immediately need to apply.

4. Too much control

Sometimes too much control lead to resistance to learning because if companies don't appreciate the ideas of the employees then there are high chances that employees won't show interest in the company's new adaptability.

ZARA

The company Zara, this is a clothes store owned by the organization Inditex. When an employee first begins working for Zara they begin as either a sales assistant or as a cashier. There are three sections to Zara stores; these are Ladies wear, Menswear and Kid swear. Each section has its own managers, sales assistants and cashiers. There is also a general/store manager. All staff begins their training immediately on the first day they start.

Cashiers have a lot to learn, as the tills used in one Zara store are the exact same as the tills used in all Zara stores all over the world and things are done in a strict way where things are checked and double checked as to avoid discrepancies. They are first introduced to the basics of putting through a sale on the till using both cash and cards, they are trained with real customers and not in a pretend scenario. The next step is refunds once again with cash and with cards. There is a head cashier in every store who trains the new cashiers. He or she has a sheet to go through with the new cashier showing what should be learned and when over the new cashier’s first fourteen days of work.

Sales assistants do not work on the tills at all; they are floor staff. They must learn all about the garments on the shop floor, know roughly where all items are and be able to advise customers making purchases. They are trained by the managers of that particular section and by senior sales assistants. They must be fully trained in the products delivered into the store and how to put them out onto the shop floor in a way that makes them look presentable and appealing. The more basic of what they first learn is simply to fold the clothes on the shop floor in the correct way.

Recently Zara decided to run a competition in each of its stores in Ireland in which all of the staff had their picture taken and placed on a board in the staff room. On this chart each employee was awarded a star for completing different tasks like making sure their department was closed perfectly at the end of the day. After about four weeks the employee from each department with the most stars on their chart was interviewed on why they would like to win. An overall winner was then chosen from each store. The prize they won was to spend the day with a regional manager of their choice, to see what their day-to-day job entails. Each winner was then put into a draw to be the overall winner in Ireland and to win a trip to London. This was an incentive and it gave the employees an opportunity to put their learned skills into practice. This motivated employees to put in their best efforts.

When an employee in Zara decides they want to move up hire and train to become a manager there are a few steps they first must follow. If this employee is a cashier they must become a sales assistant and learn a lot more about the shop floor and about the garments than they would have known as a cashier. They must also be given a full-time 37.5-hour contract if they have not already got one. They are then given some more responsibility and learn about ordering and managing deliveries and transfers to different stores. The step is to go for an interview with regional managers to see if they are progressing enough. The employee is sent on training days in a bigger store where they learn management skills. There may be more than one of these interviews before the employee may become a ‘responsible’. This is a kind of assistant manager role. Notices of job vacancies within Zara and Inditex are posted for the staff to see in the canteen and staff rooms. Employees who have already begun to embark on further training are the ones most likely to avail of these positions.

Zara also does training courses for staff that are already in management roles so the learning, training and development is never over. This way they can maintain they are always able to compete with other retailers.

Zara also do an appraisal system in which employees are interviewed by the store manager and their own department manager. This lets the manager know what stage the employee is at with their training and development and what they feel they still need to learn.

Employees are also made aware of the store target every day. This lets them know how they are selling that day in comparison to that day the previous year.

They also pay staff commission, which is a percentage of what the store takes in everyday that the employee works. This helps to motivate as, the more you sell, the more you get paid.

ZARA organizational structure is very motivating for the learning as they are providing rewards at every stage.