As individuals we (need to) learn lifelong in order to continue to actualise ourselves, we engage with our environment and grow (Raelin 2000: 27).
It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning — Claude Bernard (Raelin 2000: 27).
Organisations, as a collective, also need to learn in order to maintain themselves and improve. Raelin (2000: 28) observes that "Some pundits sell 'organizational learning' as another recipe for competitive advantage, but in fact it is more than that", he argues and indicates that the modus Vivendi (mode of 'living') of organisations that enables it to sustain—an ethos of ever adaptability to environmental surroundings, acting on intelligence and 'learning their way out' of challenges (Raelin 2000: 28).
- Trial-and-error learning only occurs after blunders
- True organisational learning should happen naturally when succeeding and upon breakthroughs
- There should be a deliberate continuous reflection
Learning organisations generate knowledge through a free exchange of information and experimentation. Whereas the focus of knowledge management is on improving accessibility and sharing of knowledge, the focus of organisational learning is concerned with the modus Vivendi, observes Raelin (2000: 29).
Raelin, J.A. 2000. Work-based learning—the new frontier of management development. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
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