From Organizational Learning To The Learning Organization

`A valuable resource for academics and practitioners in management and corporate strategy, as well as those involved in mangement training and development' - European Foundation for Management Development 'The editors' overall assessment is that there has been insufficient dialogue between the two camps of action research and theorizing.... As a contribution to mapping this divided house, the text is an apt illustration of these problems. The editor's overview is of interest...' - Stephen Gibb, University of Strathclyde, MCB University Press The debates surrounding concepts of `organizational learning' and the `learning organization' receive a welcome synthezis in this book. Inte

This paper reviews theories of organizational learning and presents a framework with which to organize the literature. We argue that unit of analysis provides one critical distinction in the organizational learning literature and research objective provides another. The resulting two-by-two matrix contains four categories of research, which we have called: (1) residues (organizations as residues of past learning): (2) communities (organizations as collections of individuals who can learn and develop); (3) participation (organizational improvement gained through intelligent activity of individual members), and (4) accountability (organizational improvement gained through developing individuals' mental models). We also propose a distinction between the terms organizational learning and the learning organization. Our subsequent analysis identifies relationships between disparate parts of the literature and shows that these relationships point to individuals' tacit cognitions as a critical source of leverage for creating learning organizations. A brief discussion of the work of two of the most visible researchers in this field, Peter Senge and Chris Argyris, provides additional support for this type of change strategy.

The ability of a business to engage in real organizational learning and to do so faster and in a more sustainable way than its competitors is being increasingly seen as an essential component of success. In Making Sense of Organizational Learning, Cyril Kirwan examines the wide range of factors necessary to create and sustain organizational learning and knowledge at all levels. At the individual level, the generation of continuous learning opportunities and reflection on experiences are critically important. At the team level, it’s about encouraging collaboration, team learning and the sharing of knowledge. At the organizational level, the emphasis is on building systems to capture and share knowledge and providing strategic leadership for learning. The book shows you how you can best exploit the knowledge that already exists within your organization while at the same time develop the capability of the people that work there. It deals in turn with individual learning; learning with others; learning in organizations; and in particular the role of the HR function and of line managers. Each chapter provides theoretical background and real-world examples. Diagnostic questionnaires, checklists and other tools are also included. Making Sense of Organizational Learning provides an evidence-based argument for the adoption of effective organizational learning policies and practices, and offers a real opportunity to improve performance. Thinking practitioners working in and around learning and development or organization development will find it invaluable, as will those undertaking post-graduate study in HR and related disciplines.

`The introduction chaper by Mark Easterby-Smith and Luis Araujo introduces the reader to the unresolved issues with which the field is still grappling today.... All in all, this is an interesting and useful book for both researcher and manager alike. First, and perhaps most importantly, the book incorporates multiple perspectives on learning - the psychological, sociological and the philosophical... Second, the book is neither purely theory driven, nor purely empirically driven. Theoretical contributions are complemented by empirical studies which help to illustrate the application of the theoretical contructs. I suspect that this would be of immense value to the practicing manager. Finally, the book provides a critical commentary on the state of the field in a nice compact way which should enhance its value to scholars in this area... a book which is both useful and interesting′ - Organisational Studies `[M]ost importantly, the book incorporates multiple perspectives on learning - the psychological, sociological and the philosohical... provides a critical commentary on the state of the field in a nice, compact way which should enhance its value to scholars′ - Organization Studies `A valuable resource for academics and practitioners in management and corporate strategy, as well as those involved in mangement training and development′ - European Foundation for Management Development `This is a particularly interesting and useful work because it combines some chapters which deal primarily in concepts or indeed theories, and others which describe the experiences of trying to carry out the practices involved in creating both/either organisational learning and/or the learning organisation′ -Industrial and Commercial Training ′The editors′ overall assessment is that there has been insufficient dialogue between the two camps of action research and theorizing.... As a contribution to mapping this divided house, the text is an apt illustration of these problems. The editor′s overview is of interest...′ - Stephen Gibb, University of Strathclyde, MCB University Press The debates surrounding concepts of `organizational learning′ and the `learning organization′ receive a welcome synthezis in this book. International experts explore the links between the two fields of enquiry, which hitherto, despite their intersecting concerns, have represented separate constituencies, literatures and perspectives. The book provides a much-needed integrated framework of concepts and theories which draws on current insights from management cognition, theories of knowledge and learning, management practice and work psychology.

Most managers today understand the value of building a learning organization. Their goal is to leverage knowledge and make it a key corporate asset, yet they remain uncertain about how best to get started. What they lack are guidelines and tools that transform abstract theory—the learning organization as an ideal—into hands-on implementation. For the first time in Learning in Action, David Garvin helps managers make the leap from theory to proven practice. Garvin argues that at the heart of organizational learning lies a set of processes that can be designed, deployed, and led. He starts by describing the basic steps in every learning process—acquiring, interpreting, and applying knowledge—then examines the critical challenges facing managers at each of these stages and the various ways the challenges can be met. Drawing on decades of scholarship and a wealth of examples from a wide range of fields, Garvin next introduces three modes of learning—intelligence gathering, experience, and experimentation—and shows how each mode is most effectively deployed. These approaches are brought to life in complete, richly detailed case studies of learning in action at organizations such as Xerox, L. L. Bean, the U. S. Army, and GE. The book concludes with a discussion of the leadership role that senior executives must play to make learning a day-to-day reality in their organizations.

The concept of the 'learning organization' is one of the most popular management ideas of the last few decades. Since it was conceived as an idea in its own right, it has been given various definitions and meanings, such that we are still faced with the question as to whether any unified understanding of what the learning organization really is can be established. This Handbook offers extensive reviews of both new and traditional perspectives on the concept and provides suggestions for how the learning organization can best be defined, practiced, studied, and developed in future research. With contributions from long-standing scholars in the field as well as those new to the area, this book aims to bridge the gap between traditional and more critical perspectives, and in doing so find alternative features and angles to take the idea forward. In addition to elaborating on and developing older definitions of the learning organization and suggesting updated and even new definitions, the chapters also provide focused explorations on pertinent aspects of the learning organization such as ambidexterity, gender inclusivity, and systems thinking. They also survey organizations that have made efforts towards becoming learning organizations, how the learning organization can best be measured and studied, and the universality of the idea itself. Some of the questions raised in this book are answered, or at least given tentative answers, while other questions are left open. In this way, the book has the ambition to take the learning organization an important step further, whilst having no intentions to take any final step; instead, the intention is that others will endeavour to continue where this book stops.

It is now widely accepted that organizational maturity is dependent on being able to reorganize on a continuous basis and learn faster and more effectively than your competitors. Organizations that want to be sure they are competing at the highest level need clear indicators that their organizational learning and development capability is fully functional. This new book by Paul Kearns focuses on the need for an evidence-based approach to learning and development, bringing together the author’s extensive knowledge of HRM and organizational learning with new developments in the field. The book demonstrates how evidence evaluation can improve professionalism in organizational design and development, showing that this approach can create value not just for shareholders, but for employees and society as a whole. Organizational Learning and Development: From an Evidence Base is the perfect book for postgraduate students studying on evidence-based HRM courses and for the reflective learning and development practitioner.