Re: Definition of Learning LO731

JOHN N. WARFIELD (jwarfiel@osf1.gmu.edu)
Tue, 11 Apr 1995 07:32:35 -0400 (EDT)

On Mon, 10 Apr 1995, HARRY HEFLIN wrote in LO723:

> I apologize in advance in case this is a silly question, but what is
> the contemporary definition of _Learning_ and of _Learning
> Organization_ ?
>
> Harry Heflin
> From: BCDM04A@prodigy.com ( HARRY HEFLIN)

One name I haven't seen so far in the correspondence since joining this
list a few weeks ago is that of Sir Geoffrey Vickers (now deceased).
Vickers said: "I find it convenient to regard institutions as structures
of mutual expectations, attached to roles which define what each of its
members shall expect from others and from himself". He said many other
things that I have found very thoughtful and enlightening.

If you take his example of "institution", then a learning institution
might be one whose members learn what their roles are, learn the roles of
others, learn how to interact effectively with those other roles, and
keep doing so as things change.

One of the things I have observed from both personal experience and from
reading is that very few people can articulate what their role is in any
depth, and that one of the most common organizational troublespots is at
the highest levels, where management constantly invades lower-level
roles, and fails to do what management theorists believe high-level
managers should be doing.

John N. Warfield
Jwarfiel@osf1.gmu.edu