A Comparison of SSM with an Organisational Learning Model

Checkland has said that the process of doing Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) provides the means by which an organisation can define itself through learning what it is which characterises the organisation. (Checkland and Scholes, 1990, 311-312) If the process of doing SSM is a learning system then in SSM an organisation has a means of instituting organisational learning. Respected authors (specifically Argyris and Schön) in the domains of management and organisational psychology have written on the topic of the Learning Organisation and provided definitions or indicators for such. These include Theory-of-Action, Organisational Ecology and Action Learning Perspective. In order to determine if SSM conforms as a valid means for organisational learning from the perspective of management and psychology, the process of doing SSM is compared with the indicators proposed by Argyris and Schön. The framework for analysing SSM developed by Barnden, Smith and Watson, (1995) is used to structure the comparison. The framework is a capability maturity model for the SSM process.