learning organization Sotirios Paroutis A learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowl- edge and at modifying its behavior to refect new knowledge and insights (Garvin, 1993). These companies tend to focus on generative learning (Senge, 1990), which emphasizes continuous experimentation and feedback of the problem defnition and solving processes. By contrast, adaptive or single-loop learning focuses on solving problems in the present without exam- ining the appropriateness of current learning behaviors (Argyris, 1977, 1991). Managers in learning organizations demon- strate behaviors across fve dimensions: openness, systemic thinking, creativity, self- effcacy, and empathy (McGill, Slocum, and Lei, 1992). Openness refers to considering the widest possible range of perspectives in order to identify trends and generate choices. Systemic thinking is the ability to see connections between issues, events, and data points – the whole rather than its parts. Creativity refers to personal fexi- bility and a willingness to take risks. Self-effcacy is the ability to be actively self-aware and a proac- tive problem-solver. Empathy refers to being concerned for human nature and to repair strained relationships. Leaders in learning organizations, according to Senge (1990), are different from the archetype of the charismatic decision maker and exhibit the following skills: building a shared vision, surfacing and challenging the prevailing mental models, and fostering systemic patterns of thinking. In other words, they act as designers, teachers, and stewards, with the key objective to continuously develop the learning capabilities of their employees. In essence, being a learning organization requires an understanding of the strategic internal drivers needed to build a learning capability, particularly in relation to individual learning (Meen and Mark, 1992; Stata, 1989). The term learning organization should not be confused with organizational learning, which refers to a wider range of issues and consists of a much broader area of research (Argyris and Schön, 1978; Huber, 1991). Accordingly, work on the learning organization forms a normative subset of the organizational learning literature (Edmondson and Moingeon, 1998). Bibliography Argyris, C. (1977) Double loop learning in organizations. Harvard Business Review, 55, 115–125. Argyris, C. (1991) Teaching smart people how to learn. Harvard Business Review, 69, 99–109. Argyris, C. and Schön, D. (1978) Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective, Addison- Wesley, Reading, MA. Edmondson, A. and Moingeon, B. (1998) From organiza- tional learning to the learning organization. Manage- ment Learning, 29, 5–20. Garvin, D.A. (1993) Building a learning organization. Harvard Business Review, 71, 78–91. Huber, G.P. (1991) Organizational learning: the contributing processes and the literature. Orga- nization Science, 2, 88–115. McGill, M., Slocum, J. Jr., and Lei, D. (1992) Manage- ment practices in learning organizations. Organiza- tional Dynamics, 21, 5–17. Meen, D.E. and Mark, K. (1992) Creating the learning organization. The McKinsey Quarterly, 1, 58–86. Senge, P. (1990) The leader’s new work: building learning organizations. Sloan Management Review, 32, 7–23. Stata, R. (1989) Organizational learning: the key to management innovation. Sloan Management Review, 30, 63–74. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, edited by Professor Sir Cary L Cooper. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.