Organizational learning and the
learning organization
Organizational learning theory is concerned with how learning takes place in organi-
zations. It focuses on collective learning but takes into account the proposition made
by Argyris (1992) that organizations do not perform the actions that produce the
learning; it is individual members of the organization who behave in ways that lead
to it, although organizations can create conditions which facilitate such learning. The
concept of organizational learning as discussed in the first section of this chapter
recognizes that the way in which this takes place is affected by the context of the orga-
nization and its culture.
The concept of a learning organization, which is often associated with that of
organizational learning, has been defined by Scarborough and Carter (2000) as one
‘that is able to discover what is effective by reframing its own experiences and
learning from that process’. The notion of the learning organization is sometimes
confused with the concept of organizational learning. However, Harrison (2002)
points out that it is often assumed that ‘the learning organization’ and ‘organizational
learning’ are synonymous processes, yet they are not.
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