From learning organization to practically wise organization

Purpose – Although the notion of wisdom confronts the economic rationale of business organizations, this paper aims to argue that organizations are coming under increasing pressure not only to learn, change and adapt, but also to take actions that are ethically acceptable and respond to the expectations of multiple stakeholders, or in other words to act wisely. Accordingly this article seeks to progress the debate on the relationship between organizational learning, learning organizations and wisdom, in pursuit of a new version of the model of the learning organization, the practically wise organization.Design/methodology/approach – First, the literature on the learning organization and organizational learning is reviewed with a view to the identification of useful models and concepts. The paucity of reference to wisdom in that literature is noted. The following sections develop the theme of practical wisdom and, the essence of the practically wise organization, respectively. Finally a model for the pract...

[1]  Pierre Bourdieu,et al.  Outline of a Theory of Practice , 2020, On Violence.

[2]  A. Macintyre,et al.  Whose Justice? Which Rationality? , 1989, The New Social Theory Reader.

[3]  I. Nonaka,et al.  The Knowledge Creating Company , 2008 .

[4]  B. Jackson,et al.  A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Peter Senge’s Learning Organization , 2000 .

[5]  I. Nonaka,et al.  Strategic management as distributed practical wisdom (phronesis) , 2007 .

[6]  Jand Noel,et al.  On the Varieties of Phronesis , 1999 .

[7]  P. Bierly,et al.  Organizational learning, knowledge and wisdom , 2000 .

[8]  Deborah Blackman,et al.  Does Double Loop Learning Create Reliable Knowledge? , 2004 .

[9]  Peter Hawkins,et al.  Organizational Learning , 1994 .

[10]  Peter W. Liesch,et al.  Beyond Knowledge to Wisdom in International Business Strategy , 2006 .

[11]  D. Garvin.  Building a learning organization. , 1993, Harvard business review.

[12]  P. Senge.  The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization , 2014 .

[13]  Jacky Lumby,et al.  The Learning Organisation , 1997 .

[14]  Anders Örtenblad.  The learning organization : towards an integrated model , 2004 .

[15]  Joseph M. Firestone,et al.  Organizational learning and knowledge management: the relationship , 2004 .

[16]  Jennifer Rowley,et al.  From learning organisation to knowledge entrepreneur , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[17]  Ronald Barnett,et al.  Beyond All Reason: Living with Ideology in the University , 2003 .

[18]  M. Heidegger.  The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays , 1977 .

[19]  Peter M. Senge,et al.  peter senge and the learning organization , 2008 .

[20]  Ronnie Lessem.  Total Quality Learning: Building a Learning Organisation , 1991 .

[21]  P. Senge.  The fifth discipline : the art and practice of the learning organization/ Peter M. Senge , 1991 .

[22]  Peter Jones,et al.  Corporate social responsibility and the UK's top ten retailers , 2005 .

[23]  D. Rooney,et al.  Wisdom Management: Tensions Between Theory And Practice In Practice , 2005 .

[24]  D. Hambrick.  Putting top managers back in the strategy picture , 1989 .

[25]  Karen E. Watkins,et al.  RETHINKING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT FOR THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION , 1995 .

[26]  Anders Örtenblad.  Senge's many faces: problem or opportunity? , 2007 .

[27]  Miguel A. Rodríguez,et al.  Sustainability in the Boardroom: An Empirical Examination of Dow Jones Sustainability World Index Leaders , 2005 .

[28]  J. Burgoyne,et al.  The Learning Company , 1989 .

[29]  Richard T. Harrison,et al.  Learning organizations: the measurement of company performance , 1996 .

[30]  D. Rooney,et al.  Should the Knowledge‐based Economy be a Savant or a Sage? Wisdom and Socially Intelligent Innovation , 2005 .

[31]  Ann R. Carden.  Sign of the Times , 2006 .

[32]  Aristotle,et al.  THE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS , 1990 .

[33]  Jennifer E. Rowley,et al.  Conceptions of wisdom , 2009, J. Inf. Sci..

[34]  Steven Henderson,et al.  Black swans don’t fly double loops: the limits of the learning organization? , 1997 .

[35]  B. McCormack,et al.  Understanding the workplace culture of a special care nursery. , 2005, Journal of advanced nursing.

[36]  Peter M. Senge,et al.  The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations , 1999 .

[37]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  The five minds of a manager. , 2003, Harvard business review.

[38]  R. Hooijberg,et al.  Strategic leadership research: Moving on , 2000 .

[39]  Swee C. Goh,et al.  Improving organizational learning capability: lessons from two case studies , 2003 .

[40]  Matt Statler,et al.  Illustrating the need for practical wisdom , 2006 .

[41]  Griffiths.  Design of the times , 2005 .

[42]  Coy A. Jones.  Wisdom Paradigms for the Enhancement of Ethical and Profitable Business Practices , 2005 .

[43]  M. Heidegger.  Plato's Sophist , 1997 .

[44]  Adrian Small,et al.  Towards a framework for organizational learning , 2006 .

[45]  David M. Boje,et al.  Organizational Storytelling , 1994 .

[46]  J. Gosling,et al.  Wisdom of the Moment: Pre‐modern Perspectives on Organizational Action , 2007 .

[47]  Steven A. Cavaleri,et al.  Leveraging organizational learning for knowledge and performance , 2004 .

[48]  Raili Moilanen,et al.  Diagnostic tools for learning organizations (Инструменты диагностики научающейся организации) , 2001 .

[49]  T. Davenport,et al.  Who Are the Gurus' Gurus? , 2003 .