An investigation of how learning occurs in an organization.

As people working in organizations struggle with the implications of constant change the importance of learning, for the people and the organizations, is gaining prominence. As the significance of learning, knowledge acquisition and the sharing of knowledge and information grow it becomes necessary to incorporate these concepts into organizational processes and structures. This study was a case study of how learning occurs in an organization according to the model of a Learning Organization by Senge (1990). The research tool was developed by the investigator to elicit the opinions and experiences of learning in the organization according to the five disciplines of learning in an organization defined by Senge, including mental models, personal mastery, shared vision, systems thinking, and team learning. The study showed that the organization was strongest in shared vision and had varying levels of support across the other disciplines. The study showed the efficacy of the learning organization model for measuring how learning occurs within an organization and provided a case study of how learning occurred in this specific organization. This study supports the importance of learning in organizations that goes beyond classroom teaching to include how people view the world and adapt to their changing environment by continuous life long learning. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2003 .K65. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 42-03, page: 0723. Adviser: L. McKay. Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2003