Much of my work recently has been helping people to learn to do things that will be helpful in their jobs. For example, I have been teaching managers such topics (I hesitate to use the word skills!) such as delegation, planning, and problem solving. I am also helping a group of staff to learn effective procedures and how better to handle customers. Additionally I am part of the off-campus faculty team for NZ’s Open Polytechnic, so am currently involved in organisational learning (or learning organisations) from a number of perspectives.
This has led me to think about learning in organisations and a distinction made by Easterby-Smith and Araujo between organisational learning and learning organisations. I am grateful to professor Ralph Stacey for making me aware of this.
The organisational learning school of thought concentrates on individual and collective learning within organisations. It concentrates on understanding the nature and processes of learning, according to Easterby-Smith and Araujo. The learning organisation school on the other hand is thinking about the organisation as a whole and how it can learn so that in the future it is better placed to anticipate and respond to its changing environment than it was previously.
So, this raises the question then, is it possible for organisations to learn? Or is it only possible for individuals to learn within organisations?
What do you think?
An organisation is the individuals that make up that organisation. Perhaps a distinction between the two isn’t useful?
Individuals can learn by themselves and in groups (organisations).
Learning isn’t that useful actually. What’s useful is how that learning manifests itself. And that can be done individually (eg. skills application) or organisationally (eg systems, processes, etc). Interesting question Stephen.
Comment by Bernie White — May 11, 2009 @ 2:29 pm