Skip to main content

Formalizing the Informal: From Informal to Organizational Learning in the Post-Industrial Workplace

  • Chapter
Learning through Community
  • 956 Accesses

For over a decade, the concept of organizational learning has pervaded the lexicon of workplace learning and change. However, despite legions of books, articles, films, courses, conferences and complete professional and academic programmes on the subject, the concept of organizational learning remains difficult to define and even more difficult to implement in practice. Organizations attempting to integrate organizational learning principles lack specific examples of how these relatively complex notions translate into daily workplace experience.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ahmed, P., Loh, A. & Zairi, M., 1999, Cultures for continuous improvement and learning, Total Quality Management, 10(4/5): S426–S434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Argyris, C., 1990, Overcoming Organizational Defenses: Facilitating Organizational Learning, Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Argyris, C. & Schon, D., 1978, Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, C.A. & Ghoshal, S., 1998, Beyond strategic planning to organization learning: lifeblood of the individualized corporation, Strategy and Leadership, 26(1): 34–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boland, R. & Tenkasi, R., 1995, Perspective making and perspective taking in communities of knowing, Organization Science, 6(4): 350–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, P., 1993, Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyett, J.H. & Conn, H.P., 1999, Workplace 2000: The Revolution Reshaping American Business, Penguin Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J.S. & Duguid, P., 1991, Organizational learning and communities-of-practice: toward a unified view of working, learning and innovation, Organization Science, 2(1): 40–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J.S. & Duguid, P., 1992, When change is constant, maybe we need to change our own eyeglasses, Paper presented at the Learning in Organizations Workshop, University of Western Ontario Business School, June 21–23, London, Ontario.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emery, F.E., 1980, Designing socio-technical systems for “greenfield sites”, Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 1(1): 19–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gephart, M., Marsick, V., Van Buren, M. & Spiro, M., 1996, Learning organizations come alive, Training and Development, 50: 35–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goh, S.C., 1998, Toward a learning organization: the strategic building blocks, S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal, 63(2): 15–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katzenbach, J.R. & Smith, D.K., 1993, 2003, The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kofman, F. & Senge, P.M., 1993, Communities of commitment: the heart of learning organizations, Organizational Dynamics, 22(2): 5–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laiken, M., 1987, Taking charge: the impact of organizational restructuring on learning and change within self-managing teams, Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laiken, M., 1993, The myth of the self-managing team, Organization Development Journal, 12(2): 29–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laiken, M., 1994, Conflict in teams: problem or opportunity? In Lectures in Health Promotion Series No. 4, Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laiken, M., 1997, Collaborative processes for collaborative organizational design: the role of reflection, dialogue and polarity management in creating an environment for organizational learning, Organization Development Journal, 15(4): 35–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laiken, M., 1998, The Anatomy of High Performing Teams: A Leader’s Handbook, 3rd edn., University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laiken, M., 2002, Models of organizational learning: paradoxes and best practices in the post-industrial workplace, Organizational Development Journal, Fall, 21(1): 8–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J. & Wenger, E., 1991, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawler, E.E. III, Mohrman, S.A. & Ledford, G.E., 1992, Employee Involvement and Total Quality Management: Practices and Results in Fortune 1000 Companies, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, S.D., 1992, A culture instrument: driving organizational learning, Leadership and Organization Development, 13(6): 24–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Revans, R.W., 1982, The Origins and Development of Action Learning, Brookfield Publishing, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senge, P.M., 1990, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Doubleday/Currency, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., Roth, G. & Smith, B., 1999, The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations, Doubleday/Currency, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stamps, D., 1998, Learning ecologies, Training, 35(1): 32–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trist, E.L., 1981, The evolution of socio-technical systems: a conceptual framework and an action research program, Issues in Q.W.L. No. 2, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Ontario Quality of Working Life Centre, Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E., 1996, Communities of practice: the social fabric of a learning organization, Healthcare Forum Journal, 39(4): 20–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E., 1999, Communities of practice: learning as a social system, Unpublished paper, presented in Toronto, April 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E. & Lave, J., 1998, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolner, P., Lowy, A. & Redding, J., 1995, Learning Organization 5 Stage Diagnostic Survey and Workshop Version, Woolner Associates, Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media, B.V

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Laiken, M., Edge, K., Friedman, S., West, K. (2008). Formalizing the Informal: From Informal to Organizational Learning in the Post-Industrial Workplace. In: Church, K., Bascia, N., Shragge, E. (eds) Learning through Community. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6654-2_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics