ORGANISATION LEARNING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

Organisation Learning and Information Technology Management

Organisation Learning and Information Technology Management

Article 1

Organizational learning and Organizational theory

Organizational theory is the study of how "groups and individuals behave in varying organizational structures and circumstances" (Berger, J. B. 2000, 55-67). The study of organizational theory helps those that manage higher education to understand complex concepts (Berger, J. B. 2000, 55-67) Further, the application of organizational theory to complex concepts allows for a more complete understanding of the concept and the ability to take well-informed action. The term organizational theory refers broadly to the theoretical frames and perspectives applied to the study of organizational behaviour (Berger, J. B. 2000, 55-67). In an effort to better understand the processes of peer reviewed student learning assessment and make recommendations for its improvement, the theoretical frame of organizational learning will be applied to peer review and student competency assessment.

Organizational learning is, in itself, an umbrella term for a set of organizational theories that ascribe learning characteristics to organizations. Taxonomists of organizational learning have classified its theories in a number of ways (Berger, J. B. 2000, 55-67)

Berkencotter, K. 2005, 54-67 distinguishes between theories associated with acquiring, processing, and using knowledge and those associated with storing and accessing knowledge. Argyris and Berkencotter, K. 2005, 54-67 distinguish between a practically-oriented branch of organizational learning and a scholarly-oriented branch of organizational learning that is distant from practice. The immediate discussion of organizational learning, as it applies to the peer review process of plans to assess student learning outcomes, will begin by focusing on how knowledge is practically shared, processed, and used. The discussion will then migrate to the formation of new knowledge. (Berkencotter, K. 2005, 54-67)

In order to best understand how organizational learning will be applied to the concept of peer review and ultimately the assessment of student learning, it is necessary and appropriate to provide a functional definition of organizational learning that narrowly describes its use in this set of circumstances. For the purpose of the initial discussion, organizational learning is the process by which organizations share, process, and use knowledge by scanning the environment, comparing what is observed to operating norms, and correcting accordingly. The act of scanning, comparing, and correcting reflects a single loop learning orientation. A double loop learning orientation to organizational learning, in which existing norms are questioned, will be introduced in the discussion section.

Article 2

Community of Practice

Given the existence of learning organizations, it must be established that an organization among assessment professionals in the Commonwealth of Virginia exists if the theory is to be applied to the discussion at hand. (Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. 2003, 73-78) coined the phrase community of practice to describe people informally bound by shared expertise who, in turn, share knowledge beyond the traditional boundaries of their formal organization for the purpose of creatively approaching shared problems. Looking at this definition in parts, the argument can be made that assessment professionals at Virginia's public institutions of higher education (a) contain shared ...