Overcoming Organizational Defences; Facilitating Organizational Learning, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.

Argyris has been one of the most cited writers on organisational learning during the 1990s. Based on his experience as a consultant for big companies, he argues that the primary problem facing these companies is not the ability to remember past lessons, but rather the ability to acquire new knowledge. This ability is strengthened when organisations gain an understanding of two key features of their operation: single versus double loop learning, and tacit versus explicit knowledge.

Single versus double loop learning: Argyris claims that one of the largest hindrances to learning is that most organisations learn through single loop rather than double loop learning. He describes the difference as follows:

'When a thermostat turns the heat on or off, it is acting in keeping with the program of orders given to keep it to the room temperature, let us say, at 68 degrees. This is single loop learning because the underlying programme is not questioned. The overwhelming amount of learning done in an organisation is single loop learning because it is designed to identify and correct errors, so that the job gets done and the action remains within stated policy guidelines.' (Argyris 1992:115-116)

He goes on to suggest that one of the most important aims of a learning organisation is to develop the capacity to engage in double loop learning, i.e. the capacity to think critically and creatively about programme and policy frameworks.

Tacit versus explicit knowledge: Argyris argues that a second major impediment to learning is the fact that most organisations store and use knowledge in tacit rather than explicit form. Contrary to other writers on knowledge management, such as Nonaka, Argyris views tacit knowledge purely as a constraint to learning and not as a source of learning. Therefore, Argyris' advice on how to become a learning organisation focuses heavily on making tacit knowledge explicit - so that it is available to everyone within the organisation.