Learning organization dimensions of the Sri Lanka Army

Abstract

PurposeThis study intends to investigate the extent to which the Sri Lanka Army can be described as a learning organization.Design/methodology/approachThe 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.FindingsUsing 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/implicationsThe study was conducted without a directly connected dependent variable.Practical implicationsThis 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/valueBy 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.