A Strategic Systems Perspective of Organizational Learning: Development of a Process Model Linking Theory and Practice

Abstract

Organizational learning is an “umbrella” term that connects a variety of topics including: learning curves, organizational memory, organizational forgetting, knowledge transfer, knowledge sharing, knowledge assets, dynamic capabilities, knowledge management, and knowledge creation. This chapter will review some of these theories and extend Huber’s taxonomy of organizational learning literature. Several systemic theories of learning organizations and knowledge-based organizations are discussed and then the literature is linked to a process model of learning. In conclusion, implications are evoked for further research at a variety of organizations toward a generalizable theory of innovative environments and their organizational learning practices. A short case study of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, its organizational learning based policies, and how these policies relate to the process model is included.