The learning organization: towards an integrated model

Abstract

This article presents an integrated model of the learning organization. It is based on empirical research of the learning organization literature, as well as on practitioners' understandings of the concept where learning organizations were often described in terms of four distinct individual aspects -no more and no less. This article argues these aspects cannot be treated as separate, and that the four aspects have to be combined in order to create a true learning organization. The four aspects are: learning at work; organizational learning; developing a learning climate; and creating learning structures. The article suggests that only those organizations that have implemented all of the aspects should be called "learning organizations", and those organizations that have implemented only one aspect should be called "partial learning organizations".

Learning under conditions of hierarchy and discipline: the case of the German Army, 1939–1940

“…On the basis of } Ortenblad (2002} Ortenblad ( , 2004 and Argyris and Schön (1974, 1978 four aspects may be distinguished that must be present for an organization to be appropriately labeled a learning organization.…”

“…Recognizing the ambiguity of the concept of learning organization in the work of early proponents like Senge (1990), and on the basis of an extended literature review and synthesis, } Ortenblad (2002} Ortenblad ( , 2004} Ortenblad ( , 2007 distinguishes four aspects, discussed in detail below, which must be present for an organization to be properly called ''learning.'' The framework of Argyris and Schön (1974, 1978 complements this model by explicitly furthering insight into two of these aspects and implicitly supporting two others.…”

Becoming a learning organization

“…Consequently, these characteristics call for a real knowledge organization as a precondition of a learning organization (Uretsky, 2001;Örtenblad, 2004), but where police managers do not recognize the characteristics of a knowledge organization. Contradictory then, the two police values that our studies outline as most important characteristics of the police culture in the two police districts are empowerment and informality, which are the two values that were also significantly correlated with a learning organization.…”

Modeling team knowledge sharing and team flexibility: The role of within-team competition

“…What has been lacking in the literature is twofold. First, there is a scarcity of research on the impact of within-team competition on team knowledge sharing and team flexibility (Hansen et al, 2005;Örtenblad, 2004;Van Den Broek et al, 2008). As noted previously, they are important performance indicators of effective teams.…”