Organisational Learning and Public Sector Management: An Alternative View
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670502000305 |
| Published date | 01 July 2005 |
| Author | Janice McMillan,John Fenwick |
| Date | 01 July 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Organisational
Learning
and
Public
Sector
Management:
An
Alternative
View
John
Fenwick
and
Janice
McMillan
Northumbria
University
Abstract
The
public
service
modernization
agenda
has
directed
attention
to
the
problematic
questions
of
how
public
sector
organisations
learn,
what
they
learn,
and
how
they
fail
to
learn.
This
article
considers:
definitional
problems
of
organisational
learning;
the
critical
differences
between
individual
and
organisational
learning;
the
public
organisation's
capacity
to
learn;
some
of
the
principal
sources
of
public
sector
learning;
the
ambivalent
nature
of
learning
networks;
and
the
main
barriers
to
effective
learning.
Drawing
from
a
current
study
amongst
senior
public
service
managers,
the
discussion
assesses
the
extent
to
which
public
service
modernization
encourages,
or
rather
inhibits,
organisational
change
and
improvement.
It
is
suggested
that
organisational
learning
in
the
public
sector
is
not
necessarily
delivered
through
partnerships
and
the
agenda
of
modernization:
it
may
derive
instead
from
internal
processes
and
a
focus
upon
the
existing
strengths
of
the
organisation.
The
article
re-evaluates
the
conventional
wisdom
of
organisational
learning
and
proposes
a
heretical
view
of
learning
and
networks.
In
drawing
out
prospects
forfuture
research,
it
advocates
a
renewed
emphasis
upon
effective
internal
learning.
Introduction
...
organizations,
as
social
systems,
are
by
their
very
nature
environments
in
which
learning
takes
place
(DiBella
et
al.,
1996,
p.362).
The
following
discussion explores
some
issues
of
organisational
learning
in
the
public
sector.
Based
on
pilot
interviews
conducted
during
2005
with
a
group
of
managers
in
public
organisations,
there
is
no
attempt
here
to
present
definitive
conclusions.
The
purpose
instead
is
to
present
initial
observations
and
propositions
relating
to
learning
in
public
organisations
which
(together
with
earlier
questionnaire
research)
form
the
preparatory
stage
for
a
larger-
scale
study.
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
20
No.
3
Autumn
2005
42
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