The Astron Road Show

Astronology Mini-Interview

I’ve been with Astron since January, 2008 as Director, Client Services. Before that, I was a client of Astron Solutions, going back to when I was the Director of Human Resources at Methodist Hospital in New Orleans in 2000. I was also a client when I was the National Director of Volunteer Development at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Home Office in White Plains.

Actually, the two principals at Astron impressed me so much that I decided that I would like to work with them. Also, I enjoy strategic thinking and I like helping people solve problems, so I thought this aspect of HR would be a good fit for me.

My family is my main focus, of course, but I also enjoy volunteer service as a member of not-for-profit organizations. Also, I started a political lecture series at my alma mater and I work to keep that going, along with an archives of political papers and other related materials.

My wife and I went to Italy last year. I can’t wait to go back, so I guess that is my current favorite place to go. Why? Probably because of the pace. There is plenty of time for everything, right? Time for lounging, visiting, eating, walking, and laughing. They don’t seem to be in a hurry. It reminds me of New Orleans where I lived before moving to New York.

Astron is growing and yet still maintains the level of service that attracted me as a client some years ago, so a year from now, I can envision a lot of new clients with smiling faces, glad to find what they need at a great price, provided by fine people who deliver on their promises! I’ve been very pleased to see that my experience as a client with Astron Solutions is not the exception: it’s the norm. It makes it easy to put my name and my reputation behind what we do.

Organizations create a competitive advantage by initiating a learning organization structure. The benefits of the learning organization structure include the following:

• Attracting and retaining quality employees with similar values,
• Enjoying higher revenue growth and employee performance,
• Providing better response to consumer needs, and thus retaining them, and
• Having a better chance at becoming or maintaining leader status in the industry..

Famous organizational theorist Peter Senge, who wrote The Fifth Discipline, defined learning organizations as "Organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn together." Organizations start the journey towards becoming a learning organization by understanding what this structure actually is. Learning organizations are identified by the following characteristics:

• A “pancake” organizational structure in which power is evenly distributed based on knowledge in employees,
• Organizational purpose and goals reflect employee values,
• Goals allow for voluntary cooperation in participating in organizational learning,
• Employees share knowledge and make more decisions with minimum management supervision, and
• A tight knit community of learners who control and conform to the organization because they hold the same views and goals as the organization.

Essentially a learning organization will support a competitive edge because employees:

• Have the capacity for change,
• Can work across boundaries with the free flow of information and values,
• Have the ability to learn rapidly, and
• Have the ability to engage in “systems thinking.” Systems thinking includes diagnosis and fundamental culture change as part of the organization’s ongoing management process.

Developing and maintaining a competitive organization requires making changes that generate innovation and constant improvements. Learning is what produces this competitive edge. When an organization develops into a competitive learning organization, employees succeed by solving problems in an efficient, constructive manner. Although there is no set formula, organizations should know that they need to maintain a “forward thinking” perspective in which opportunities and potential vulnerabilities can be foreseen.

There will be times that an industry will be faced with changing goals such as creating more cost effective processes during a slow period, or increasing up customer service during busy times. In these cases, organizations must have a plan in place to change learning strategies to direct employees. Employees must develop skills to make them well-rounded workers with the ability to understand and solve potential problems that exist in a world of change. “Technology, equipment, and supplies can be duplicated,” comments Astron’s National Director Jennifer Loftus. “People are the one organizational aspect that can’t be copied. Structures and systems that allow organizations to tap into and enhance the power of those people are the keys to growth and success in the future. HR is strategically poised with the requisite skills and expertise to bring learning structures into their organizations to make positive change for all.”

Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting? Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues. For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.

Are you reading a pass-along copy of Astronology? Click on this button to start your own subscription today!

Send inquiries to info@astronsolutions.com or call 800-520-3889, x105.

To remove yourself from this list, please follow your personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert e-mail.

Copyright 2008, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467