Developing Capacity for Innovation in Complex Systems

6 Organisational learning

Introduction

Learning is not as straightforward to encompass as one may think, even though we use the word regularly everyday speech, not to mention in schools. Learning is not restricted to human beings since animals and plants (and, today, even machines) are all capable of learning. As well, learning is not just about individuals: organisations and societies also learn, since learning is a useful way to cope with change and to increase well-being, organisational vitality, and societal gains.

There is widespread agreement that learning goes beyond mere memorisation and recall of knowledge. It involves such aspects as understanding, critical thinking, the ability to connect ideas and knowledge, and the capacity to ...