Develop the Capacity for Organization Learning
Organizations as entities also have the capacity to learn. By so
doing, routines or patterns become adopted and shared throughout
an organization.
Build Organizations That Generate Ideas with Impact
Our research on learning organizations identified four learning
styles that represent ways in which organizations generate ideas
with impact: experimentation, competency acquisition, bench-
marking, and continuous improvement.
Learning Style 1: Experimentation. Some organizations learn
by trying many new ideas and by being receptive to experimenta-
tion with new products and processes. The primary sources of
learning are direct experiences from customers and employees.
They aim to achieve organizational learning through controlled
experimentation, from both inside and outside, rather than
through exploiting the experience of others. Sony, 3M, Hewlett-
Packard, and Unilever are companies known for their experimen-
tation strategies.
Learning Style 2: Competency Acquisition. Some organiza-
tions learn by encouraging individuals and teams to acquire new
competencies. Learning is a critical aspect of business strategy and
focuses on both the experience of others and the exploration of
new possibilities. By investing resources in training and develop-
ment, these organizations provide cutting-edge materials and
concepts to their members through consultants, line managers,
and faculty. The intention is to help organization members acquire
relevant knowledge that may accelerate their subsequent assimila-
tion of new knowledge and stimulate them to develop innovative
products and processes. Motorola and General Electric are well
known for their competency acquisition strategies.
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