The Relevance of Organizational Learning for High Performing Social Networks

Abstract

In 1990, Peter Senge published his landmark book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, which generated worldwide interest in the concept of a “learning organization.” Senge defines a learning organization as an “organization where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn together.” (Senge 1990). At the core of his hypothesis are five practices or disciplines, which constitute three major areas of competence. If they truly are to become learning organizations these five disciplines are foundational for organizations to learn and apply. The three core areas of learning competency and the five disciplines include