The concept of the learning organisation (LO) was defined in 1978 by Argyris and Schon as the ‘detection and correction of errors’. But what else? The learning organisation defines its own structures and strategies in order to learn from its experience and become more effective in the future.
There are three types of learning organisation:
– Single-loop learning: the company pursues its goals and objectives while analysing and correcting its mistakes.
– Double-loop learning: in addition to single-loop learning, the company modifies its processes, standards, objectives and strategy. In the first case, experience is used to improve the way in which unchanged goals are achieved; in the second, experience leads the company to question its strategy and fundamentals.
– Deutero learning: this is the situation in which the business learns to carry out the two forms of learning described above. The aim is to prepare the ground for learning by creating an awareness of the need for it on the one hand, and by determining the learning processes on the other.
In the first case, we are faced with a simple problem of accepting change, while in the other two, we are faced with a logic of profound transformation of the business, because we are tackling the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of change, which leads us to work on the ‘basics’ of the business, its deep-rooted beliefs, and even its identity.
Which brings me to a few questions that I’ll raise with you in a future article:
– To what extent is the LO a prerequisite for the intelligent business? What steps does it need to take to go from learning to intelligent?
– How is experience gathered? Who collects it? How is it processed (collectively, individually, etc.)? How is the relevance of change decided?
– Who develops the change, who decides? How is acceptance and support for change managed?
– What are the key factors for acceptance of a quasi-permanent rethink of the business?
– what obstacles have been identified and encountered by businesses that have embarked on ‘double loop’ and ‘deutero learning’ approaches?
– Given the importance of feedback, how was it generated and processed?
– Beyond the theory, what was the real impact on businesses (…I was a bit young in 1978…)?
