How Organizations Learn: A Communication Framework.

Abstract

This report assesses the current state of organizational learning theory using the story of American LaFrance a manufacturing company that went bankrupt because it failed to respond to changes in material and design technology. Organizational learning has been implicit in the organizational literature for many years. Previous research and theorizing can be categorized into either the systems-structural perspective or the interpretive perspective on learning. These two perspectives are reflected in the need for both data logistics and interpretation within organizations. We proposed that the authors recommend specific design characteristics in written and oral communication on which could be used to facilitate either type of learning. The four learning modes--traditional bureaucracy, extended bureaucracy, self-designing organizations, and experimenting organizations presented.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 243 citations exist upstream.