Organizations as Learning Systems

D.Sc. Marjatta Maula is a professor of knowledge and information management at the Institute of Business Information Management, Tampere University of Technology, Finland. She holds a D.Sc. (Economics and Business Administration) degree in international business from The Helsinki School of Economics, and a M.Sc. degree in computer sciences from The University of Tampere, Finland. Earlier she has been an associate research professor at the Copenhagen Business School, a management consultant in several international management consulting firms, a technology and development director, and a systems manager and analyst. She has written about multinational knowledge-intensive firms as learning and evolving systems, change processes, knowledge management, and ICT.

• INTRODUCTION. A Structured Model of Living Composition- the Goal of This Book. How to Improve Survival and Success? The Question of Creativity and Efficiency. Five Dilemmas of Learning and Knowledge: The Importance of Underlying Structures. Guide to Reading This Book. Summary. LEARNING AND EVOLVING ORGANIZATION. Learning as a Source of Strategic Advantages. Adaptation, Incremental Learning, and Imitation. Learning Organization. Organization as an Interpretation System. Organization as a System of Knowing. Resource-Based, Knowledge-Based, and Competence-Based Views of Learning and Renewal. Organizational Ecology. Summary. UNDERLYING STRUCTURES AND DYNAMICS. Earlier Approaches to Control, Self-Organization, and Emergence. Structural Aspects of Strategy. Consistency of Underlying Structure. Summary. ORGANIZATION AS A SYSTEM. Open System, Contingency Theory, System Dynamics, and Network Approaches. Theories about Complexity and Chaos. Summary. HOW TO APPLY THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-PRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONS. Organization as a Living (Self-Producing, Autopoietic) System. Reality and Knowledge in Organizations. Knowledge-Related Concepts in Organizational Autopoiesis. Specific Questions about Applying Autopoiesis Theory to Organizations. Summary. THE LIVING COMPOSITION MODEL. Basic Principles. The Definition of the Living Composition Model. Summary. STRATEGIC COMPONENTS OF A LIVING ORGANIZATION. Identity. Perception of the Environment. Strategy. Knowledge and Knowledge Management. Boundary Elements. Interactive Processes and Communication. Triggers (Exposure to Triggers). Experimentation. Internal Standards, Processes, and Communication. Information and Communication Systems. Summary. TWO MAJOR KNOWLEDGE FLOWS 'SENSING' AND 'MEMORY'. Openness and Closure. 'Sensing' - Interactive Openness. 'Memory' and Self-Referentiality. Linkage Between 'Sensing' and 'Memory'. Summary. FOUR PARALLEL KNOWLEDGE PROCESSES. The Conventional Division Between Tacit and Explicit Knowledge. Four Parallel Knowledge Processes. Implications of Four Parallel Knowledge Processes. Summary. INTRODUCTION TO THE CASES. The Purpose of the Cases. Management Consulting Industry. Introduction to the Case Companies. ARTHUR ANDERSEN (BUSINESS CONSULTING). The Srategic Components of Arthur Andersen (Business Consulting). Arthur Andersen (Business Consulting) as a Living Organization. ARTHUR D. LITTLE (EUROPE). The Strategic Components of Arthur D. Little (Europe). Arthur D. Little (Europe) as a Living Organization. ERNST & YOUNG (MANAGEMENT CONSULTING). The Strategic Components of Ernst & Young (Management Consulting). Ernst & Young (Management Consulting) as a Living Organization. THE KAOSPILOTS & KAOSMANAGEMENT. The Strategic Components of the Kaospilots And Kaosmanagement. The Kaospilots and Kaosmanagement as a Living Organization. SUMMARY OF APPLYING THE LIVING COMPOSITION MODEL TO CASE ORGANIZATIONS. Strategic Components of the Case Firms. Major Knowledge Flows of the Case Firms. IMPROVING LIVING ORGANIZATIONS. Proactive and Passive Approaches. Consistency/Intentionality Platforms. Evolution Models. Six Steps for Improving a Living Composition. Summary. CONCLUSIONS. Summary of the Living Composition Model. Re-Framing of Control and Creativity in Light of the Living Composition Model. Reframing the Five Dilemmas. Living Composition - Managerial Implications. Living Composition - Theoretical Implications and Suggestions for Further Research. Living Composition - Implications for Teaching. REFERENCES. APPENDICES