Unlearning the organization, McGill & Slocum

Learning organizations are self-aware, introspective and constantly scan their environments

1- Knowing Organization (example: McDonald's) discover what works, commit it to memory and repeat it
efficiency, predictability and control
design machines so not relying on unpredicatble (imperfect) people
react to their environment
2- Understanding organization= guides strategy and actions via core values (sometimes called ruling myth)
3 - Thinking organization = fix the problem, don't look to prevent the cause )example: Foley's TLC)
4- Learning organization = committed to improvement via experiment. Behaviors such as (openness,
systemic thinking, creativity, empathy, personal efificacy) result from managment practices
that promote learning.
everyone sees opportunities to learn and grow
punishment for failure and dissent are eliminated
selects people for what they are able to learn
regenerating, dealing with new things, coming up with new approaches


structural characteristics of learning organizations: permeability (no boundaries for info flow), flexibility,
network intimacy

unlearning is the necessary precursor to learning