From theory to practice: using new science concepts to create learning organizations

For the past ten years the management literature has increasingly discussed the concept of learning organizations. Yet, more that a decade later, few organizations have figured out how to create the structures and processes necessary to assure continuous learning. This article purports that this problem can be attributed to the mental models of those leading contemporary organizations. Learning organizations quite simply cannot be created by those who either consciously or unconsciously operate under the traditional, mechanistic organizational paradigm. If leaders are to create authentic learning organizations, they must adapt a new way of viewing reality – a new paradigm or mental model. The authors suggest that the new science theories of chaos, complexity, and quantum mechanics provide the foundation for a new way of thinking about organizations. They demonstrate the relevance of these theories for those who wish to create learning organizations and present a new‐science‐based skill set that enables twenty‐first‐century leaders to move beyond organizational adaptation to proactive change and continuous learning.