ABSTRACT
Organisational learning processes are conceived of as socially embedded into a less institutionalised social context. It is assumed that routines and social practices are not so much the outcome of unconstrained learning processes within the learning organisation, but rather emanate from certain institutional conditions. This chapter examines how the current debate about organisational learning refers to established theories about modern organisations bearing in mind the before mentioned arguments. There seems to be two research traditions to which the organisational learning approaches directly or indirectly relate: the socio-technical systems approach and the information-processing view. Both approaches deal more or less with the same question: How are organisations as open systems able to deal with the environmental challenges caused by economic and technological change? The chapter discusses how both the theoretical link of organisational learning models to the systems perspective as well as its typically close links to consultancy has had an impact on the present discourse about these issues.
