Policy Development

Organisational Learning

Organisational learning is the process of creating, retaining, and transferring knowledge within an organisation. An organisation improves over time as it gains experience. From this experience, it is able to create knowledge. This knowledge is broad, covering any topic that could better an organisation. Examples may include ways to increase production efficiency or to develop beneficial investor relations. Knowledge is created at four different units: individual, group, organisational, and inter organisational.

• Individual learning is the smallest community at which learning can occur. An individual learns new skills or ideas, and their productivity at work may increase as they gain expertise. The individual can decide whether or not to share their knowledge with the rest of the group. If the individual leaves the group and doesn't share their knowledge before leaving, the group loses this knowledge. 

• Group learning is the next largest community. There are conflicting definitions of group learning among researchers studying it. One belief is that group learning is a process in which a group takes action, gets feedback, and uses this feedback to modify their future action. Another belief is that group learning happens when a member shares their individual knowledge with other group members. Others have suggested that group learning is primarily a process of error detection and correction or that group learning is primarily about the processes of interpretation and integration. Once this happens, individual learning turns into group learning.  To sum up the different definitions cover following aspects: task independence (what one group member does affects and is affected by another group member); social psychological awareness (members perceive themselves as a group and are perceived as a group); and social embeddedness (the group exists in a larger social system).

• Organisational learning is the way in which an organisation creates and organises knowledge relating to their functions and culture. Organisational learning happens in all of the organization's activities, and it happens in different speeds. The goal of organisational learning is to successfully adapt to changing environments, to adjust under uncertain conditions, and to increase efficiency.

• Interorganisational learning is the way in which different organisations in an alliance collaborate, share knowledge, and learn from one another. An organisation is able to improve its "processes and products by integrating new insights and knowledge" from another organisation. By learning from another organisation, an organisation is able to cut time costs, decrease the risks associated with problem solving, and learn faster. Learning from another organisation can mean either applying the same ideas used by that organisation or modifying these ideas, thereby creating innovation.