.
Generative learning emphasizes continuous experimentation and feedback in an ongoing examination of the very way organizations go about defining and solving problems. Generative learning is about creating and requires new ways of looking at the world. Generative learning requires that the system question its own underlying assumptions and risk fundamentally changing the terms of its own organizing. In this sense, generative learning is related with the idea of a self-organizing system.
In contrast, adaptive learning or single-loop learning focuses on solving problems in the present without examining the appropriateness of current learning behaviors. Adaptive organizations focus on incremental improvements, often based on the past track record of success. They don't question the assumptions underlying the existing ways of doing work. The essential difference is between being adaptive and having adaptability.
To maintain adaptability, organizations need to operate themselves as "experimenting- or "self-designing- organizations, i.e., should maintain themselves in a state of frequent, nearly continuous change in structures, processes, goals, etc.
5 DISCIPLINES ESSENTIAL TO A LEARNING ORGANIZATION .
In his The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge identified five learning disciplines or skills that would facilitate the transition of a company to a learning organization.
Learning Organization Disciplines .
(adapted from Senge, 1994) .
1.Personal Mastery.
Personal mastery refers to a special level of proficiency, similar to that of the master craftsman who is committed to lifelong learning so as to continually improve and perfect his or her skills. It is a discipline of continually clarifying and deepening one's personal vision, energies and patience. Senge sees personal mastery as an essential cornerstone of learning organization, since an organization's commitment to and capacity for learning can be no greater than that of each individual member.
