On 10 Dec 99, at 14:46, developer@cardsetc.com.au wrote:
> Can someone tell me the relationships (or differences) between
> organisational learning and knowledge management please? it seems to me
> they are interchangeable terms.
** There is an example about cooking at the end **
I am still recovering from the ecstacy of having just read the "Bruno
Martins Soares" <bmartins.soares@mail.EUnet.pt> contribution on the topic
of The Learning Individual LO23547 in which he relates the story of the
Angel and the Philosophers. I think the story also sheds some light on the
above question about organisational learning and knowledge management.
According to the story, there is a certain way philosophers manage their
knowledge(s). The fact that they sometimes disagree (e.g., on Q1, Q2, and
Q3) and sometimes agree (e.g., on Q4) might be taken as an evidence of
this. However, their way of managing knowledge (at any given time) might
have many deficiencies (as the story makes hilariously poignant). When
they focus on these deficiencies and strive to make changes in their
'knowledge management' in order to improve upon it, the result might be
(viewed as) organisational learning.
One can notice such 'organisational learning' within many 'knowledge
communities'. There is a certain way a 'knowledge community' manages its
knowledge at one time. Sometimes, such a community also strive to improve
upon its 'knowledge management'. In my humble understanding, this latter
type of effort is characteristic of organisational learning.
Example:
Consider knowledge about cooking. In some communities, at a given time,
might be taken as a family-based knowledge/skill, passed on from
generation to generation through observation, trial, guidance, advice,
etc. However, this form of 'knowledge management' has several deficiencies
which become apparent when the form of work life changes in the community
(e.g., implying that people may have to spend more and more time outside
their homes, therefore not having the time to cook at home, etc.).
How does such a community respond to this new challenge? Possibly through
developing new ways of managing the knowledge (of cooking), e.g., through
cook books, cookery training, by distinguishing between super-cooks and
'can't cook won't cook' types, organising TV shows, allowing foreign food
to enter, developing more and more restaurants, etc. In fact, the British
society comes to mind when I think about this example.
Of course, in this example, there is no claim that the new principles and
systems of 'cooking knowledge management' is inherently superior to the
old. But clearly the new system is able to cope with the demands of the
times much better than the old system.
Finally, it is usually admitted that the new system too suffers from many
deficiencies.
Love.
DP
----------------
Prof. D. P. Dash Xavier Institute of Management
Bhubaneswar 751013 India New E-Mail: dpdash@ximb.ac.in
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