Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization : Developments in Theory and Practice

by Mark Easterby-Smith

• ISBN13: 9780761959168
• ISBN10: 0761959165
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-22
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd

Summary

'The introduction chaper by Mark Easterby-Smith and Luis Araujo introduces the reader to the unresolved issues with which the field is still grappling today.... All in all, this is an interesting and useful book for both researcher and manager alike. First, and perhaps most importantly, the book incorporates multiple perspectives on learning - the psychological, sociological and the philosophical... Second, the book is neither purely theory driven, nor purely empirically driven. Theoretical contributions are complemented by empirical studies which help to illustrate the application of the theoretical contructs. I suspect that this would be of immense value to the practicing manager. Finally, the book provides a critical commentary on the state of the field in a nice compact way which should enhance its value to scholars in this area... a book which is both useful and interesting' - Organisational Studies'[M]ost importantly, the book incorporates multiple perspectives on learning - the psychological, sociological and the philosohical... provides a critical commentary on the state of the field in a nice, compact way which should enhance its value to scholars' - Organization Studies'A valuable resource for academics and practitioners in management and corporate strategy, as well as those involved in mangement training and development' - European Foundation for Management Development'This is a particularly interesting and useful work because it combines some chapters which deal primarily in concepts or indeed theories, and others which describe the experiences of trying to carry out the practices involved in creating both/either organisational learning and/or the learning organisation' -Industrial and Commercial Training'The editors' overall assessment is that there has been insufficient dialogue between the two camps of action research and theorizing.... As a contribution to mapping this divided house, the text is an apt illustration of these problems. The editor's overview is of interest...' - Stephen Gibb, University of Strathclyde, MCB University PressThe debates surrounding concepts of 'organizational learning' and the 'learning organization' receive a welcome synthezis in this book. International experts explore the links between the two fields of enquiry, which hitherto, despite their intersecting concerns, have represented separate constituencies, literatures and perspectives.The book provides a much-needed integrated framework of concepts and theories which draws on current insights from management cognition, theories of knowledge and learning, management practice and work psychology.

Table of Contents

Organizational Learning - Mark Easterby-Smith and Luis Araujo

Current Debates and Opportunities

PART ONE: REVIEW AND CRITIQUES

Organizational Learning - Christiane Prange

Desperately Seeking Theory?

Organizational Learning as the Development of Stories - David Sims

Balancing Biases - Marleen Huysman

A Critical Review of the Literature on Organizational Learning

In Search of a Social Learning Theory - Bente Elkajaer

PART TWO: EVALUATIONS OF PRACTICE

The Role of Evaluative Inquiry in Creating Learning Organizations - Hallie Preskill and Rosalie Torres

Learning across Organizational Boundaries - Nancy Dixon

The Concept of the 'Learning Organization' Applied to the Transformation of the Public Sector - Matthias Finger and Silvia B[um]urgin Brand

Learning, Trust and Organizational Change - Amy Edmondson and Bertrand Moingeon

Project Design for Learning and Innovation - Karen Ayas

Organizational Learning and Organizational Forgetting - Frank Blackler, Norman Crump and Seonaidh McDonald

Developing Learning Managers within Learning Organizations - Elena Anthonocopoulou