ABSTRACT
The chapters on Critical Systems Thinking and Business Process Re-engineering have both espoused iterative processes which should lead to the continuing evolution, and perhaps revolution, of the organization. This chapter introduces early ideas about adaptation and learning based on Ashby’s Design for a Brain (1952) before considering the specific work of Peter Senge (1990), author of the best-known current text in this area. Senge’s Fifth Discipline, identifies five principles for learning and seven learning disabilities which inhibit the development of truly successful organizations. Flood (1999) revisited this theme in Rethinking the Fifth Discipline to bring to the field a deeper and more robust appreciation of the breadth and power of systemic thinking applied to the notion of learning. The present book cannot provide a fully comprehensive review of the literature in this field. This has grown substantially in recent years, and readers should refer to Morgan’s Images of Organisation and Pettigrew and Fenton’s Innovation to further develop their understanding.
