Myths and Realities Essay -- Philosophy Learning Essays

Myths and Realities At least since the 1990 publication of Senge's The Fifth Discipline, the concept of the learning organization (LO) has been promoted as a way to restructure organizations to meet the challenges of the coming century. What are learning organizations-in theory and in practice? Are they a real solution or the latest in a series of reform fads? The myths and realities are explored in this publication. Getting a Grip on the Learning Organization Of course, there is not yet a consensus on the definition of a learning organization. Any type of organization can be a learning organization-businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, community groups. Some authors agree that LOs start with the assumptions that learning is valuable, continuous, and most effective when shared and that every experience is an opportunity to learn. LOs have the following characteristics (Calvert et al. 1994; Watkins and Marsick 1993): They provide continuous learning opportunities. They use learning to reach their goals. They link individual performance with organizational performance. They foster inquiry and dialogue, making it safe for people to share openly and take risks. They embrace creative tension as a source of energy and renewal. They are continuously aware of and interact with their environment. Senge's "five disciplines" are the keys to achieving this type of organization: personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking. According to Senge, the fifth, systems thinking, is the most important and underlies the rest. Of course, in a sense "organizations" do not learn, the people in them do, and individual learning may go on all the time. What is different a... ...(ERIC No. EJ 483 293) Smith, G. J., and Stodden, R. A. "Restructuring Vocational Special Needs Education through Interdisciplinary Team Effort." Journal for Vocational Special Needs Education16, no. 3 (Spring 1994): 16-23. (ERIC No. EJ 482 768) Solomon, C. M. "HR Facilitates the Learning Organization Concept." Personnel Journal 73, no. 11 (November 1994): 56-66. Watkins, K. E., and Marsick, V. J. Sculpting the Learning Organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. West, P. "The Learning Organization: Losing the Luggage in Transit?" Journal of European Industrial Training18, no. 11 (1994): 30-38. (ERIC No. EJ 497 198) West, W. "Learning Organizations: A Critical Review." In Proceedings of the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference,edited by L. Martin. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1994. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 378 359)