Cook and Yanow noted that at any stage of production a worker might return the flute to
the person who preceded them in the process. When this happened the worker would typically say only something like: ‘This flute does not feel right.’ As it progressed, a flute of superior quality emerged that was in many respects as ambiguous as it was collaborative and communal. What is more, the organization as a whole system continuously used and reshaped tacit knowledge of how a flute should feel at each stage of its manufacture. The researchers concluded that the flute makers engaged in constant learning, making the flute manufacturing company an example of a learning organization .