Challenges in creating a system for organizational learning

In the last blog, we looked at some of the definitions in the context of organizational knowledge creation. In today's blog we begin understanding the challenge of how the organization would have to balance the system when creating a process for organizational learning.

Organizational learning requires the organization to keep a sufficiently porous boundary that would allow the "flow" of new knowledge and ideas into the organization yet keep a strict internal focus for building on its current expertise. The fundamental issues for the organization at this point is that through existing processes they have a completely certain environment to explore, while the future for the organization lies only in exploring the new possibilities beyond what has been established already.

If one is to ask why the organization should allow external ideas into the current organizational learning, well here is an answer - Knowledge creation is a product of organization's capability to recombine existing knowledge and generate new applications from this existing base. However, radically new learning tends to arise from contacts outside the organization. These external contacts could be in the form of business alliances, network relationships, as well as new personnel into the company. 

To sustain in the long run, organizations would have to "creatively destruct" that would allow them develop firm-specific capability and renew or reconfigure its competencies to address environmental challenges. This balance between exploitation of certainty and exploration of the future is a continuous challenge that requires a very good balance and coordination to be successful for the organization.