Defining and Implementing the Learning Organization: Some Strategic Limitations

Abstract

The concept of the learning organization has gained increasing currency in the management literature. However, the concept has not received much attention in the public sector. This analysis discusses the idea of the learning organization and its applicability in one public organization, the Office of Information Resources in South Carolina. Both the substance of the concept of the learning organization and its methodological implications are considered. The focus of this particular effort was on using technology as a catalyst for change and capitalizing on "deeper learning cycles" as strategic devices in a process of organizational transformation. The successes and the problems of efforts to implement the learning organization are recounted with the intent of suggesting initiatives that might be undertaken by other public agencies interested in incorporating more systematic learning processed into their operations.