Do Organizations Learn When Employees Learn?

an article by Dr Richard Boateng (University of Ghana Business School) published in Development and Learning in Organizations Volume 25 Issue 6 (2011)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the link between individual learning and organizational learning and offer guidelines to harness the individual capability of learning for organizational objectives.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper using arguments from the theory of meaning structures.
Findings
The author shows that, learning, whether organizational or individual, is about the construction and accessibility of meaning, and that such processes thrive in a culture which fosters collaborative team work.
Research limitations/implications
The theory presents a perspective of how organizational knowledge exists in a triad - private, accessible and collective – and the interrelationships to create organizational learning. These constructs can form the building blocks for future research.
Practical implications
The theory brings organizations closer to prioritizing and evaluating learning processes to ensure that they facilitate the accessibility of knowledge.
Originality/value
The theory opens a new insight into viewing organizational learning from the perspective of constructing and sharing meaning structures.

Hazel’s comment:
I have always maintained that organisations cannot learn – it is the individual members of the organisation, whether whole company or part thereof, who learn and may, thereby, facilitate a change in the behaviour of the organisation as a whole. Be that as it may Dr Boateng has written a fascinating piece about organisational knowledge and how it is acquired.

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