ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the author uses the term ‘generate’ for step of the organizational learning cycle to encompass both the collection of external data and the internal development of new ideas, including both process and product. Organizational members in three of the case examples were heavily involved in generating new information. The factory workers at Chaparral thought of the factory floor as a learning laboratory and designed experiments as a part of carrying out their jobs. Information that is collected externally and/or generated internally can only be understood within the context of the total organization. Of paramount importance to organizational learning are the processes that are in place to facilitate organizational members collectively interpreting information, the third step of the organizational learning cycle. A paradox of organizational learning is that organizations can only learn through their individual members, yet organizations create systemic constraints that prevent their individual members from learning.