LEARNING IN ORGANIZATIONS: THE EFFECTS OF INTERACTIVE PLANNING AND TWELVE STEP METHODOLOGIES

The general research problem was to investigate, in a social system, the effects of two alternative third party interventions on deep level learning involving underlying norms and assumptions, by individuals and groups. Other investigators refer to such learning as double-loop learning, reframing, cognitive restructuring, and Level II or Level III learning. An Action Research and Case Study methodology tested the specific interventions--interactive planning (an approach to organizational development and planning, involving idealized design), and 12 Step Fellowships (e.g., Alcoholic Anonymous, Al-Anon)--for changing deep-seated behavior patterns, and differentially affecting (1) the ability of individuals and groups to solve problems through deep-level learning; and, (2) the utilization by individuals and groups of controlling rather than collaborative behavioral models. Each methodology was introduced in one of four groups of an organization having both internal (self-help) and external (advocacy) goals. The remaining two groups were used for comparison. Confirming evidence was found that the methodology of interactive planning has positive results for deep-level learning, including shifts towards a participative and collaborative model for groups and organizations. Little effect on the hierarchical and controlling behavior of individuals, contrasted with group behavior, could be detected. The methodology of 12 Step Fellowships was a producer of the participative and collaborative model and deep-level learning for individuals, but had little effect on deep-level learning for the group. At the organizational level, confirming data were found for a serendipitous shift towards a more participative-collaborative model and other deep-level learning. Deep-level learning is impeded when only one level of a system is the primary focus of a third-party intervention. Its pre-conditions often include repetitious experience of failure under the existing norms and assumptions, exposure to an alternative set of assumptions, and support of the belief that better norms and assumptions are within the grasp of the existing system and its members. In social systems, third-party intervention methodologies, including those examined in this study, can produce deep-level learning for various strata including individuals, groups, and organizations