Reshaping the Way We View the World

This article discusses the meaning and scope of learning organizations. Organizational learning is suggested to be a way of changing an organization in a new form, called learned organization or knowledge organization. According to the author, there is a critical need to identify and promote a new paradigm for learning in organizations that help the people move from an industrial era to a knowledge era. Management theorist Peter Senge has popularized the learning organization concept in his book "The Fifth Discipline." According to Senge, the learning organization reflects the transformation the society is going through, that is, the transformation from an industrial society to a knowledge society. The learning organization concept highlights that: learning is as natural as breathing, and should be acknowledged as such; learning should be an embedded part of the organization's culture; and continuous adaptation and improvement can only happen through continuous learning. Several studies have examined workers who have a performance orientation to work versus a learning orientation to work. The research results consistently demonstrate that the workers with the learning orientation achieve higher levels of productivity, and do it with more enjoyment and satisfaction.