Measuring Organizational Learning [microform]

• Author(s): Lorraine S. Nemeth,
• Publisher: Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Western Ontario
• Pages: 222
• ISBN_10: 0612210987
  ISBN_13: 9780612210981
  
• Language: en

Description:... The growing body of Organizational Learning (OL) research introduces a perspective that learning is not only the capability of individuals; learning can also happen on a group level and is facilitated by an organizational climate that provides the conditions and motivation for learning. This perspective challenges educators to accept a broad definition of individual learning and also challenges us to understand learning as a group and organizational level phenomenon. The thesis of the research was that educators can benefit from developing a pragmatic knowledge of OL and that a measurement instrument can be a catalyst to helping us understand how to improve organizational effectiveness through better learning processes and abilities. The paper includes an extensive theoretical discussion of OL and the analysis of results from applying an instrument that can help diagnose perceptions of existing learning patterns and beliefs about learning in organizations. The theoretical discussion and empirical results were highly suggestive that OL is more than the learning that individuals do and that the OL research provides valuable insights for educators. The ability to measure perceptions of learning patterns provides data that can add to our understanding of how to invest resources to improve organizational effectiveness through improved learning patterns.