Once upon a time … tales of organisational learning

Tosey, Paul

doi:10.1108/09696470810907365

Cited by 3 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Taking a different tack, Peters and Snowden (2008) propose that given the inherent conceptual and practical problems that beset the LO field, it could do well to acknowledge the rising tide of informal (workplace) learning and the democratisation of information in the digital age by returning to the tried and tested strategies of action learning and critical analysis. On the other hand, Paul Tosey (2008) proposes that Gregory Bateson's ideas offer new perspectives that may go some way to address at least some of the assumptions about the LO of concern to Grieves and enable practitioners and researchers to “think outside the box”. According to Paul Tosey (2008) Bateson's thinking implies, for example, that learning is always political, that organisational learning is emergent and transient, and that stories can more effectively capture the complexities of organisational learning than rational analyses.…”

Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, Paul Tosey (2008) proposes that Gregory Bateson's ideas offer new perspectives that may go some way to address at least some of the assumptions about the LO of concern to Grieves and enable practitioners and researchers to “think outside the box”. According to Paul Tosey (2008) Bateson's thinking implies, for example, that learning is always political, that organisational learning is emergent and transient, and that stories can more effectively capture the complexities of organisational learning than rational analyses.…”

Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance the concept of metacommunication recognizes that communication always includes a tacit exchange of signals about the context. However, Paul Tosey (2008) points out that the LO literature rarely recognises the pivotal role of metacommunication in the negotiation and shaping of organizational power, authority and culture. This affirms Jim Grieves' (2008) point that all organisational learning is inherently political.…”

Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Learning is emotional and has subversive potential. It is perilous and risky; people do not always live happily ever after, as in some sanitised version of a fairy tale” (Tosey, 2008, p. 457). Thus, Paul Tosey (2008, p. 458) claims Bateson's work “inverts the common assumption that change in organisational performance will follow from the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.…”

Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The learning organization as concept and journal in the neo‐millennial era

Eijkman

2011

The Learning Organization

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the aims for this journal with the new editor.Design/methodology/approachThe paper gives an overview of TLO in the past and the possible future direction for the journal.FindingsIt is found that: first, the LO as a prescription for organizational change “writ large” has little relevance to contemporary practitioners, consultants, and researchers; second, that the LO concept is in effect a contradiction in terms and therefore fatally flawed to the point it should be abandoned; third, if the journal is to continue the use of the LO concept that it does so pragmatically with a refocusing on tried and tested informal work‐integrated action learning and critical analysis and adopt a distinct critical edge; fourth, that if so, it must adopt broader and more culturally sensitive perspectives that recognise the limitations and biases inherent in this Euro/American‐centric concept and its practices; and fifth, that this of all journals needs to acknowledge and respond to the irresistible tide of the democratisation of information in the digital age and the growth of informal learning both in terms of the papers published and in the way it, as a journal, operates.Originality/valueThe author believes that as an international journal The Learning Organization is eminently placed to engage practitioners, professionals and academics in a progressive dialogue that, though characterized by a questioning stance, recognizes the opportunities to enhance not just organizational productivity and managerial power but also the quality of work environments for all personnel.

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Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Learning Organization As Concept: Trouble In Wonderlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The learning organization as concept and journal in the neo‐millennial era

Eijkman

2011

The Learning Organization

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“…Over the past twenty years, organization scholars have shown considerable interest in narratives and storytelling, especially because they are linked to issues of knowledge, organizational learning, communication, power, and identities (Czarniawska, 1997;Gabriel, 2000;Tosey, 2008). The performance of narratives is a key aspect of members' work lives in "storytelling organizations" (Boje, 1991;Hillon and Boje, 2017), and storytelling intensifies in stressful conditions like organizational change (Brown et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational members as storywriters: on organizing practices of reflexivity

Gherardi

Cozza

Poggio

2018

TLO

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how organizational members became storywriters of an important process of organizational change. Writing became a practice designed to create a space, a time and a methodology with which to author the process of change and create a learning context. The written stories produced both the subjectivity of practical authors and reflexively created the con/text for their reproduction. Design/methodology/approach A storywriting workshop inspired by a processual and participatory practice-based approach to learning and knowing was held in a research organization undergoing privatization. For six months, 31 organizational members, divided into two groups, participated in writing one story per week for six weeks. The written story had to refer to a fact that had occurred in the previous week, thus prompting reflection on the ongoing organizational life and giving a situated meaning to the change process. Findings Storywriting is first and foremost a social practice of wayfinding, that is of knowing as one goes. Writing proved to be an effective practice that involved the authors, their narratives and the audiences in a shared experience where all these practice elements became connected and through their connection acquired agency. Originality/value Narrative knowledge has been studied mainly in storytelling, while storywriting by organizational members has received less attention. This paper explores storywriting both as a situated, relational and material practice and as the process that produces narratives which can be considered for their content and their style.

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The Toyota Production System�s fundamental nature at selected South African organisations � A learning perspective

Nortje¹,

Snaddon²

2013

sajie

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The Toyota Production System (TPS) has been cited as being the pinnacle of continuous improvement approaches in manufacturing organisations, and many models of the TPS are well known. However, some authors question the effectiveness of established approaches, and propose Bateson's theory of learning [1] to be an effective way to explain phenomena like the TPS. This paper investigates the degree to which TPS elements are found in selected South African organisations. It constructs a model of the TPS using Bateson's theory of learning as a framework. The adoption of TPS elements is investigated through multiple qualitative case studies in seven organisations. The analysis follows a clustering and crosscase approach combined with pattern matching. While elements vary in their use, the selected organisations practise the TPS substantially less than the model advocates, with the model being least practised in low volume job/batch manufacturing. Product-process differences and higher levels of the TPS model may clarify peculiar outcomes. OPSOMMINGDie Toyota Vervaardigingstelsel (TPS) word deur sommige beskou as die toppunt van volgehoue-verbetering metodes tans in gebruik deur veral vervaardigingsmaatskappye, en teorieë oor die stelsel is welbekend. Sommige kenners reken egter die huidige verstaan van die TPS skiet tekort in sekere aspekte, en stel Bateson se teorie [1] oor hoe mense leer voor as 'n beter manier om 'n fenomeen soos die TPS te verstaan. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die voorkoms van die basiese aard van die TPS by geselekteerde Suid-Afrikaanse organisasies. Bateson se teorie word as 'n raamwerk gebruik om 'n model van die TPS op te stel. Kwalitatiewe gevallestudies, waaraan sewe organisasies deelneem, word gebruik om data in te samel. Die analise volg 'n groepering en kruisondersoek benadering tesame met patroonontleding om tot 'n gevolgtrekking te kom. Elemente van die model word wisselend toegepas en aansienlik minder as wat die TPS model voorhou, met die minste toepassing gevind in lae volume / lot-vervaardiging omgewings. Interessante uitkomste word moontlik verduidelik deur produk-proses vergelykings asook die toepassing van die hoër vlakke van die TPS model soos opgestel.

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Once upon a time … tales of organisational learning

Cited by 3 publications

References 16 publications

The learning organization as concept and journal in the neo‐millennial era

The learning organization as concept and journal in the neo‐millennial era

Organizational members as storywriters: on organizing practices of reflexivity

The Toyota Production System�s fundamental nature at selected South African organisations � A learning perspective

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