How can organisations learn: an information systems development perspective

Abstract

This article sets out to argue that organisations can learn but that they cannot do so in their own right without infrastructural support. This article further examines the notion that individuals in organisations also require the cognitive participation of the organisation itself as a learning entity to learn. The close reliance and affiliation required between individuals and organisations to enable their learning from one another are discussed. In continuation of this, specific examples are provided through the industry sector of information systems development (ISD) projects to illustrate of how organisations can learn. Finally, the question of how one identifies organisational learning is analysed. Following on from the ISD and its use in the analogy of organisational learning, the article discusses an organisational empirical research project currently being undertaken by the authors, which utilises blogs. Though there are many potential organisational learning connotations associated with blogs, they could be perceived as a type of information system. The ongoing research being undertaken with the company using the blogs will attempt to identify indicators of learning at the individual, group and organisational levels. The significance of the issues explored in this article lies in the fact that it addresses an ISD approach to study how an organisation learns, and why this perspective is useful towards understanding the process of organisational learning. This article contributes to the organisational learning debate through an illustrative industry example of ISD projects. In doing so, we wish to argue that though individual learning can occur in ISD projects, the collective nature of projects primarily engenders the interpretive aspect of organisational learning. We further believe that it is the interactive nature of an ISD project that allows an organisation to learn in tandem with project members as exemplified through the stages of a project life cycle. We feel that this article contributes to the ISD and organisational learning literature in terms of linking both concepts together.

Information Technology and Organizational Learning Interplay: A Survey

“…It provides a way to store and access required memory and knowledge rapidly by using internet, WWW, WAN, intranet or LAN and any other ICTs (Bennet and Shane Tomblin 2006;Chalmeta and Grangel 2008;Croasdell 2001). Organizations use various information systems for acquisition, retention, transfer and application of required knowledge to obtain competitive advantages and meet their objectives (Arias and Solana 2013;Baxter et al 2009;Chou 2003;Davison et al 2013;Hrastinski and Monstad 2014;Lyytinen and Rose 2006;Ruiz-Mercader et al 2006). Janson et al (2007) demonstrated role of information technology to support an organization to learn for successful transition from a socialist company to a privatized company.…”

Exploring the Contribution of Virtual Worlds to Learning in Organizations

“…Higher level (team and organizational level) learning cannot occur without the existence of individual learners (Baxter et al, 2009). The individual's cognitive process (such as inquiry and reflection) drives knowledge creation and learning.…”

“…The analysis begins by asking the question, "what is learning in the context of an organization?" Researchers have offered different ways to describe this phenomenon (Baxter, Connolly, & Stansfield, 2009;Fenwick, 2008). For the purpose of this discussion, Elkajer's (2001) definition of learning will be adopted.…”

“…Taking an inclusive approach, Watkins and Marsick (1995) proposed that learning could occur at four levels: individual, team, organizational, and society. However, if the unit of analysis is the organization, there is agreement in the field that learning is deemed to occur at three of these four levels, that is, the individual, team, and organizational levels (Bapuji & Crossan, 2004;Baxter et al, 2009). Such thinking finds support in the works of Hannah and Lester (2009) who characterized leadership interventions at the micro level (individual), the meso-level (social network or team), and the system level (the organization).…”

“…Researchers who study learning in organizations have suggested that we need to address learning at all three levels if we want to understand its implications in an organizational context. Higher level (team and organizational level) learning cannot occur without the existence of individual learners (Baxter et al, 2009). The individual's cognitive process (such as inquiry and reflection) drives knowledge creation and learning.…”