Introduction
Researchers focusing on organizational learning have made efforts to prove the effectiveness of a learning organization, especially the "hard" measures such as financial performance and other personal performance. However, the adult learning theory argued that structured learning such as formal training programs actually obscured adult learning effects, and encouraged a more autonomic learning direction ([4] Brookfield, 1986; [12] Knowles, 1980, [13] 1984).
Firm A, which was constructed to be a learning organization by offering formalized learning programs to employees and still had problems in enhancing interconnection and communication between departments, decided to switch direction into a more autonomic and self-developed learning program. It developed a new mode of changing for learning organizations. Based on the ideas of adult learning theory, the program was designed in a softer way to smooth the learning process in the company. The aim was to motivate the pilot learners, experts and top managers, to communicate and interact better, and to motivate information sharing between individuals. The center and location for executing the new organizational learning plan was away from the employees' offices, which was called "the virtual hatchery". The virtual hatchery is another new changing design developed for the new mode of learning in Firm A. The purpose of setting up the off-site training center is to take trainees away from their existing environmental and social contexts. Practitioners used it as a tool to control the quality, distribute the new values, get members away from existing norms and routines, and create new norms and routines in the long-run.
The purpose of this paper is to clearly depict the new method of changing in a learning organization and prove its effectiveness by a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The new learning method solves an existing issue of learning organizations: organizational members such as experts and top managers normally protest against learning ([2] Argyris and Schone, 1978).
In addition, this study clearly depicted the practice of single- and double-loop learning, transformation of knowledge from tacit to explicit, and from individual level (intuiting) to group level (interpreting and integrating activities), and to organizational level (institutional activities for a learning organization). In the past, few papers have presented both theoretical and practical implications in depth in a same case study regarding the topic of learning organization. This should help illustrate the practice of theories in a learning organization.
In short, the research goals of this study are to extend the existing theories concerning a learning organization presented in the 4I model by adding more complicated ideas to it and showing that:
- the first stage of organizational learning, "intuiting", is the hardest part of implementing a learning organization;
- particular attention should be paid to it;
- with the addition of adult learning theory, the possibility of facing a negative situation should be reduced;
- a method of assessing organizational learning; and
- how the flow of single- and double-loop learning takes place within a learning organization