Re: WHEN NOT A LEARNING ORGANIZATION? LO1043

Iris Berdrow (iberdrow@sms.business.uwo.ca)
Wed, 3 May 95 10:55:22 EDT

Replying to LO995 --

In reply to Tim's query:

> I would be interested in participating in a discussion about those
> conditions, if any, which would need to pertain to advise an organization
> and its members against pursuing the learning organization route in its
> many but similar guises. Or, would such conditions never pertatin?
>...
> More gernally, however, what would be the circumstances which might
> suggest against such initiatives and inquiries as have been explored on
> this mailing list?

I was a researcher on an investigation of learning processes in Canada's
largest crown corporation and how those processes impacted their strategic
renewal efforts. What we found was that there are times when the
"learning" needs to happen at the top to minimize the time and noise
involved in figuring out what needs to be done. This learning then gets
"taught" down the ladder. One of these times is when a company is in
crisis, or when there are strong stakeholder groups that might impede
change.

The key point is that this type of top heavy learning comes at a cost and
is not sustainable with repercussions.

Iris Tiemessen ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Doctoral Candidate : Western Business School :
: London, Canada N6A 3K7 :
: (519) 679-2111 Ext. 5197 :
: IBERDROW@SMS.BUSINESS.UWO.CA :
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