Practitioner Perspectives Of A Learning Organization
What Is a Learning Organization? Reflections on the Literature and Practitioner Perspectives
Rebecca Cors Engineering Professional Development University of Wisconsin-Madison May 5th, 2003
Rebecca Cors, 902 577 4069 EPD 699: Organizational Learning for Environmental Management UW-Madison, Dr. Sandra Courter
What is a Learning Organization? Reflections on the Literature and Practitioner Perspectives
Contents
Contents......................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................2 Research Approach .....................................................................................................................2 …show more content…
Most literature on organizational learning describes the process as a series of separable elements that may generate learning over time. According to Schon's approach, action and reflection should occur at the same time so that learning is necessarily embodied in concrete situations. Recent workers call this type of learning "generative" because cognitive understanding is generated through one's active participation in a project, group, or system (Lichtenstein, 2000). Some comment that that Schon does not emphasize how rare it is for persons to solicit feedback about mismatches between their principles and their actions. "The fact that such learning may be extraordinarily useful and enlightening does not mean that many individuals are willing to undergo the suffering it often requires," says Lichtenstein. Margaret Wheatley Margaret Wheatley's book Leadership and the New Science: Learning about Organizations from an Orderly Universe has been recognized as introducing a new paradigm for organizational development that involves "reintegration" of society (Dennard, 1996), (Brown, 1993), (Anonymous, 1994). First published in 1992, Leadership and the New Science suggests that people develop a new outlook about organizations, leadership, change, and chaos. Wheatley offers these core ideas: 1. Everything is a constant process of discovery and creating. 2. Life uses messes to get well-ordered solutions. 3. Life is intent on finding what works, not what is right. 4. Life creates more possibilities as it engages with opportunities. 5. Life is attracted to order. 6. Life organizes around identity. 7. Everything participates in the creation and evolution of its neighbors. Reflecting on her revisions for a second edition (Wheatley, 1999), Wheatley notes that "chaos and complexity have emerged as serious branches of
Rebecca Cors Engineering Professional Development University of Wisconsin-Madison May 5th, 2003
Rebecca Cors, 902 577 4069 EPD 699: Organizational Learning for Environmental Management UW-Madison, Dr. Sandra Courter
What is a Learning Organization? Reflections on the Literature and Practitioner Perspectives
Contents
Contents......................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................2 Research Approach .....................................................................................................................2 …show more content…
Most literature on organizational learning describes the process as a series of separable elements that may generate learning over time. According to Schon's approach, action and reflection should occur at the same time so that learning is necessarily embodied in concrete situations. Recent workers call this type of learning "generative" because cognitive understanding is generated through one's active participation in a project, group, or system (Lichtenstein, 2000). Some comment that that Schon does not emphasize how rare it is for persons to solicit feedback about mismatches between their principles and their actions. "The fact that such learning may be extraordinarily useful and enlightening does not mean that many individuals are willing to undergo the suffering it often requires," says Lichtenstein. Margaret Wheatley Margaret Wheatley's book Leadership and the New Science: Learning about Organizations from an Orderly Universe has been recognized as introducing a new paradigm for organizational development that involves "reintegration" of society (Dennard, 1996), (Brown, 1993), (Anonymous, 1994). First published in 1992, Leadership and the New Science suggests that people develop a new outlook about organizations, leadership, change, and chaos. Wheatley offers these core ideas: 1. Everything is a constant process of discovery and creating. 2. Life uses messes to get well-ordered solutions. 3. Life is intent on finding what works, not what is right. 4. Life creates more possibilities as it engages with opportunities. 5. Life is attracted to order. 6. Life organizes around identity. 7. Everything participates in the creation and evolution of its neighbors. Reflecting on her revisions for a second edition (Wheatley, 1999), Wheatley notes that "chaos and complexity have emerged as serious branches of