Reflective Learning in Practice

Citation

Chan, C.C.A. (2003), "Reflective Learning in Practice", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 243-244. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2003.24.4.243.4

The book Reflective Learning in Practice presents theories and practices of learning in a variety of contexts. Contributors are made up of academics and consultants, each of them shedding a different light on the subject matter. These various contributors have cited seminal works on organizational learning, such as Argyris, Easterby‐Smith, Schon, and Senge. Indeed, the ideas presented in this book are relevant for individuals who are interested in the concepts of organizational learning and the learning organization.

The book is made up of four parts.

Part 1: Purpose and Themes, which has five chapters, presents various theories of learning, including organizational learning. Of interest is Chapter 2, which presents learning from a psychological perspective, and readers who are familiar with the work of Argyris and Schon will recognize the concepts of single‐loop and double‐loop learning in this chapter. Chapter 3 deals with how organizations could cope with change and other challenges by being a learning organization or embracing the idea of organizational learning. Various practices of reflective learning are presented in Chapter 4 whilst Chapter 5 presents the various themes of reflective learning, providing a snapshot of the issues to be discussed in the later chapters.

Part 2: On the Journey – Learning Through and Around Development Programmes presents the learning journey of various organizations. For instance, in Chapter 6, the organizational learning processes and benefits of the learning processes at Stirling Bank are discussed. Next, a revealing learning process at Sainsbury’s is presented in Chapter 7. Other chapters deal with applications of reflective learning in a health care organization, the process of transforming Novartis into a learning organization and the transformation journey of a sluggish company, Pearl Assurance, into a profitable company with the use of training modules developed by the Oxford Group. Chapter 11 presents reflective learning in action at Thus plc, which is done through educating senior managers in solving organizational problems, understanding the telecommunication markets, financial management, leadership in Thus plc, and concepts and practice of strategic implementation. Chapter 12 includes the use of electronic learning (e.g. Internet and e‐mail) and traditional learning (e.g. face‐to‐face, interactions, coaching, using performance appraisal strategically) to facilitate Kodak’s journey as a learning organization.

Part 3: On the Journey – Enabling Effective Learning continues to present cases of reflective learning and consists of eight chapters. Case studies in this section include an initiative to learn how to reduce coronary heart disease among South Asian men in the UK, the sharing of learning at the National Children’s Home to other children’s homes around the world and the use of team learning at Norwich Union. The application of information technology in learning is emphasized in Chapter 20 while the concept of “communities of practice” (learning partnership between the University of Buckingham and Ealing Social Services, Virgin One Account, and Anglian Water Group) is discussed in Chapter 21.

Part 4: In Conclusion provides an overview of the learning organization, reflective learning, and organizational learning notions.

In the various chapters, theories and cases of organizational learning in various types of organizations operating in different industries are described. The book is interesting in that learning processes in practical settings are reported. Other organizations in similar industries might be able to learn from the experiences of those reported in this book. However, on several occasions the various authors assume that the readers have some basic understanding of theories in reflective and organizational learning. A simplified presentation of the intricate nature of reflective and organizational learning has tremendous potential in reaching a wider audience and advancing our understanding of learning processes. At £49.50, this book might be a turn‐off for some individuals. Still, this book should have appeal to researchers, consultants, and practitioners.