Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Organizational Learning and Technological Change, held in Certosa di Pontignano, Siena, Italy, September 22-26, 1992

What the Book Is About This book is about the problem of organizational learning, that is the analysis of organizations conceived as learning systems. In order to survive in a period of a rapid change, organizations must innovate and than to develop and exploit their abilities to learn. The most innovative organizations are those that can respond with great efficiency to internal and external changes. They respond to and generate technological change by acting as effective learning systems. They maximize the learning potential of ongoing and "normal" work activities. The organizational structure and the technology allow members to learn while the organizations itself learns from its members. So organizations reach high levels of innovation when structured to take advantage of the social, distributed, participative, situated processes of learning developed by its members in interaction with the technological environment. Organizations should consider learning as an explicit "productive" objective. They must create integrated learning mechanisms, that encompass technological tools, reward and incentive systems, human resource practices, belief systems, access to information, communication and mobility patterns, performance appraisal systems, organizational practices and structures. The design of efficient learning organizations requires cognitive, technological and social analyses. All the computer-based technologies (e. g. office automation, communication and group decision support) not only those devoted to and used in training activities, have to be considered as tools for organizational learning and innovation. Front Matter....Pages I-X Front Matter....Pages 1-3 Technology in Support of Organizational Learning....Pages 4-15 Practice Cannot be Reduced to Theory: Knowledge, Representations, and Change in the Workplace....Pages 16-46 Ethnography and Organizational Learning: In Pursuit of Learning at Work....Pages 47-60 Organizational and Cognitive Design of (Technological) Learning Environment....Pages 61-74 Learning is an Active and Personal Process....Pages 75-95 Front Matter....Pages 96-101 Mental Models of Complex Systems: When Veridicality Decreases Functionality....Pages 102-111 Error Management in Training: Conceptual and Empirical Results....Pages 112-124 Decision Aiding in an Organizational Context....Pages 125-137 User Interface Design from the Viewpoint of Human Learning....Pages 138-164 Organizational Setting and Task Complexity: Interactions with Collective and Individual Cognitive Activities....Pages 165-189 Learning Strategies and Organizations....Pages 190-204 Front Matter....Pages 205-211 The School as a Workplace....Pages 212-224 Intelligent Learning by Doing Tools for Technical and Dialectical Knowledge....Pages 225-253 The Use of Computer-Mediated Role Play in Management Training....Pages 254-268 Organizational Learning and Hypermedia: An Action Science Perspective....Pages 269-286 Supporting Cooperative Work with Workflow Management Technology....Pages 287-306 Computer Support for Cooperative Work: Computers Between Users and Social Complexity....Pages 307-330 Communicating Through Pictures....Pages 331-340 Complex Organizations, Knowledge-Intensive Applications, Software and Systems Development: A Case Study....Pages 341-368 Back Matter....Pages 369-373 The most innovative organizations are those that respond to and generate technological change by acting as effective learning systems. They reach high levels of innovation when structured to take advantage of the social, distributed, participative, situated learning processes developed by their members. The design of efficient learning organizations requires cognitive, technological, and social analysis. This volume in the NATO Special Programme on Advanced Educational Technology is about that analysis. The contributions focus on different key concepts, including community of practice, cooperation, and learning strategies in organizations. The book is not a comprehensive report on the field but it will substantially enhance the understanding of organizational learning and technology. Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Organizational Learning and Technological Change, held in Certosa di Pontignano, Siena, Italy, September 22-26, 1992