ABSTRACT
Launching into an explanation of information technology (IT), organizational learning, and the practical relationship into which I propose to bring them is a challenging topic to undertake. I choose, therefore, to begin this discussion by presenting an actual case study that exemplifies many key issues pertaining to organizational learning, and how it can be used to improve the performance of an IT department. Specifically, this chapter summarizes a case study of the IT department at the Ravell Corporation (a pseudonym) in New York City. I was retained as a consultant at the company to improve the performance of the department and to solve a mounting political problem involving IT and its relation to other departments. The case offers an example of how the growth of a company as a “learning organization”—one in which employees are constantly learning during the normal workday (Argyris, 1993; Watkins & Marsick, 1993)— utilized reflective practices to help it achieve the practical strategic goals it sought. Individuals in learning organizations integrate processes of learning into their work. Therefore, a learning organization must advocate a system that allows its employees to interact, ask questions, and provide insight to the business. The learning organization will ultimately promote systematic thinking, and the building of organizational memory (Watkins & Marsick, 1993). A learning organization (discussed more fully in Chapter 4) is a component of the larger topic of organizational learning.
