ABSTRACT
Organizational learning and the ‘learning organization’ are human resource development concepts that are of growing interest in contemporary theoretical and practical management literature. The concepts and their contribution to the process of change are examined in the context of the automotive sector, a sector well known for innovative work practices and continuous change. The chapter offers an analysis of established theoretical perspectives connecting learning and change and continues with a discussion of comparative case-study research within two manufacturers, the Rover Group and Volvo, and two component suppliers, Creative Engineering and XZZ components. The conclusions that are drawn indicate that individual and organizational learning are human resource development processes that all the organizations are attempting to promote in order to deal proactively with change and to maintain competitive advantage and market share. Such interventions may appear to democratize the employment relationship and to be dependent upon the contribution and the continuous development of the individual. However, they may also be seen as part of an ‘ongoing effort by managers to reassert their control as they seek to coax, inspire, demand or otherwise produce action in their organisations’ (Alvesson and Willmott 1998: 28).
