Learning Systems Organising Reflection – Organisational Learning as Collective, Experiential Learning

The article discusses shifts and continuities in practical and theoretical work on organisational learning since the mid 1980s within a tradition at the Work Research Institute (WRI) in Oslo promoting work place democracy. Projects over 20 years are reviewed. All the projects discussed have had a participatory action research design. The point, however, is the emerging justifications for the changing approaches chosen. The learning within and across the different projects is a kind of “justificatory trajectory”. This justification and explanation constitutes the real purpose of the article. This article presents and discusses shifts and continuities in practical and theoretical work on organisational learning done by the author since the mid 1980s, in Norway. The work has been done from within a tradition at the Work Research Institute (WRI) in Oslo promoting work place democracy since the 1960s (ref.). Several different projects over more than 20 years are reviewed. All the projects discussed have had a participatory action research design, either in small enterprises or in municipalities. The short project presentations are chronological and basically descriptive. The most interesting aspects, however, are the emerging justifications for the approaches chosen; the transformations and developments, and the learning within and across the different projects as a kind of “justificatory trajectory” leading up to an explanation of the title of the article. This justification and explanation constitutes the real purpose of the article. Hence, the article presents ways of thinking and means employed and reflects upon the learning emerging over time through the projects; especially – although this dichotomy is really too simple – on the interaction between “theory and practice”, i.e. on how theoretical perspectives have informed the practical measures and vice versa. As I will try to show, there are radically different concepts of both theory and practice at play in the discussions. My own theoretical work preceding and running alongside the practical work, inspiring it, springs mostly from philosophical considerations on the history and meaning of concepts like “experience”, “theory”, “dialogue”, and others, and from methodological considerations dealing with the question of what it means for social research to be empirical (Eikeland, 1985, 1 Olav Eikeland, Høgskolen i Akershus Avdeling for yrkesfaglærerutdanning, Postboks 423, No 2001 Lillestrøm, Norway, Tlf. +4790822463, [email protected] & [email protected] 2 The WRI was part of the public administration in Norway from its establishment in 1964 until 2002. As several other institutes in other policy areas in Norway, the WRI provided research support for broadly consensus based policies in Norway on promoting work place democracy and improved work environments, both physical and socio-psychological. While most political parties in Norway were “social-democratic” in the 1960s and 1970s, they’ve all become increasingly saturated with neo-liberal ideology since the 1980s. While there is still public policy regarding work environment improvement, there is hardly any political will or direction left at all concerning work place democracy. Sist skrevet ut 10.06.2008 15:35:00 1 Draft article for the 3 OLKC Conference; The many senses of organisational learning and knowing, April 28 – 3