Learning in a systems context

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When Peter Senge wrote his book entitled the Fifth Discipline, he caused both the systems thinking and learning organization to come into the limelight (Smith, Peter Senge and the learning organization, 2001). Through his studies, he showed how systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building a shared vision, and learning were all part of the learning organization (Smith, Peter Senge and the learning organization, 2001).
Systems thinking versus a learning organization
The difference between the systems thinking is one is the tree and the other is the forest. Systems thinking is the cornerstone of the learning organization, and as such allows for the a coherent body of theory and practice (Smith, The learning organization: principles, theory and practice, 2001). With systems thinking, one sees the whole forest and can often times overlook the particular trees. When systems thinking and learning organizations are fused together, it allows the body of theory and practice to come together in a dynamic way (Caldwell, 2012).
Systems thinking is looking at the whole, instead of the individual parts (Caldwell, 2012). This can be compared to when one looks at a football game. There are many players on the football team. When the team has a game day, the team must come together as a system in order to be able to defeat the other team. Which ever system does the best on that particular day, wins the game. Ever game is a new game, and the winner is based on one single game. However, at the end of the game there is a closed-loop feedback system, which in turn can assist the team in the next game in improving the system. The systems thinking relies up to receive feedback through either the opened or closed feedback loops (Cal...

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Personal Mastery. (2013). Retrieved from Society for Organizational Learning: http://www.solonline.org/?page=PersonalMastery
Senge, P. M. (1991). Team learning. Mckinsey Quarterly, 2, 82-93. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9707250140&site=eds-live&scope=site
Smith, M. K. (2001). Peter Senge and the learning organization. Retrieved from infed: http://infed.org/mobi/peter-senge-and-the-learning-organization/
Smith, M. K. (2001). The learning organization: principles, theory and practice. Retrieved from infred: http://infed.org/mobi/the-learning-organization

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