ARTICLES zyxw Organ of the izational Learning: A Review Literature with Implications for HRD Professionals Nancy M. Dixon Organizational learning refers to learning at the system rather than individual level. The changing nature of work, global competitive chal- lenges, and everpresent change require that human resource professionals focus on this higher level of learning. The literature on organizational learning can be classijied into five areas: information acquisition, injor- mation distribution and interpretation, making meaning, organizational memory, and information retrieval. Each has special implications for the role of HRD professionals as learning facilitators. Powerful forces demand a new way of thinking about learning in organizations. To meet the demands prompted by these forces, I propose adopting the con- cept of organizational learning for use in reframing learning within organiza- tions. Organizational learning is complex and multifaceted. I review current literature on the topic and explore its implications for zyx HRD professionals. Forces Intensifylng an Organizational Emphasis on Learning Learning is the critical competency of the zyxw 1990s. Three powerful forces are working to intensify the emphasis organizations place on learning. The first is the changing nature of work. Perelman (1984, p. xvii) notes, “By the beginning of the next century, three quarters of the jobs in the US. econ- omy will involve creating and processing knowledge. Knowledge workers will find that continual learning is not only a prerequisite of employment but is a major form of work.” Zuboff (1988) explains that information technology has altered basic assumptions about the relationship between work and learning. She says, The informated organization is a learning institution, and one of its princi- pal purposes is the expansion of knowledge-not knowledge for its own HUUAN RESOURC€ DEVELOPMENT QUAR~ERLY. zyxwvutsrq YO\ 3, no 1. Spnng 1992 @Josscy-&ss Publishers zyxw 29