I continue to be puzzled by this group's apparent uncertainty over the
very nature of human organizations as being either "learning
organizations" or not. In a sense, the question itself is invalid. All
living systems are learning organizations to the extent that individuals
learn and share mutually-held knowledge with other individuals.
Organizational knowledge consists of mutually-held bodies of knowledge.
Your don't "create" learning organizations; human organizations come that
way. It's the native nature of the beast. This is true for all living
systems consisting of autonomous agents.
On the other hand, many, if not most, human organizations are
dysfunctional learners. We stiffle natural organizational learning by
imposing exceedingly unnatural management schemes, and by generally making
it nigh to impossible for anyone other than top management to engage in
the creative process at the level of the legitimate, formal organization.
We further stiffle learning by subscribing to the mythical assumption that
innovation is an utterly mysterious serendipitous phenomenon. By taking
steps to resolve these and other casues of dysfunctional organizational
learning, we can help organizations realize their full learning potential
and restore them to their natural adaptive selves. This is the
fundamental premise behind what I and many others are beginning to
practice under the rubric of second-generation or demand-side knowledge
management: an implementation strategy for organizational learning, aka
"knowledge process transformation."
--"Mark W. McElroy" <mmcelroy@vermontel.net>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>