A Case Study of the Development of a Learning Organization (original) (raw)

In this paper I present the results of developing a learning organisation based upon a dual systems thinking of organisations and a conventional theory of learning and knowledge. The point of departure is a case study of a Danish public enterprise whose management relied upon some consultants' view of a learning organisation as tightly coupled with another management philosophy, namely that of Total Quality Management. I argue that this relation created a boundary between, on the one hand, human actions and learning, and, on the other hand, the development of the core work practices of the organisation. I, further, point to how the learning-theory inherent in most literature on learning organisations hold a rather simplistic understanding of learning. The result is that the method for developing a learning organisation stays within a traditional educational mode, which does not contribute to fully release the human potential in work organisations.

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