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Reflects on the development of the concept of a learning organisation as a tool for business success. Argues that, unlike many management ideas, organisational learning is not a “fad” but is increasingly accepted as a vital strategy for organisational survival and development in a continually changing environment. The learning organisation is seen as an aspiration for a continuous process with the potential to energise people for very long periods of time, rather than providing a quick‐fix solution. Whilst creating sustainable knowledge which can be valued as an asset on the balance sheet it also makes organisations more productive, profitable and more humane places to work.

To explore the nature of learning in organizations. To link organizational change to learning.

The article looks initially at some historical factors before getting into practical issues.

Learning and organizational change need to be linked. The use of the Organizational Capability Survey is outlined.

The article shows how an Organizational Capability Survey can be used. It also alludes to the use of web‐based approaches.

The article will be of value to anyone in organizations struggling with major change.

The purpose of this paper is to place the idea of the learning organization in a historical, multidisciplinary context with the aim of identifying obstacles and opportunities for its greater realization in practice.

Marking the 30th anniversary of publication of Peter Senge's “The Fifth Discipline”, the paper reflects on approaches to the study and analysis of organizations over the past century from German sociology, human relations, organization development, the learning organization to responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is suggested that distributed leadership is critical to the realization of organizational learning and its absence is a major inhibitor of such learning. Following Argyris, it is argued that high levels of skill (personal mastery) may, in some circumstances, provide a barrier to organizational learning in the face of contextual uncertainty and change.

While no specific areas of research are proposed, questions are raised which may only be answered in the wake of appropriate (interdisciplinary) research.

The reflective nature of the paper suggests that significant reform is required in the legislation that encourages short-term thinking on the part of institutional investors to the detriment of strategic thinking and long-term planning.

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have provided an opportunity to redress a perceived imbalance between traditional organizational thinking and opportunities demonstrated by effective community action, for reappraisal of organizations as communities of people as well as being formalized structures, systems and processes.

This paper seeks to synthesize diverse theories of organization with the aim of stimulating further innovation in approaches to organizational learning.

The aim of this paper is to explore the opportunities and barriers facing senior executives in supporting boards of directors in assuming an enhanced strategic function.

Semi‐structured interviews with ten senior executives in four major publically listed Australian companies were conducted.

Senior executives can do more to enable the strategic functioning of their boards. However, barriers, both perceived and real, often prevent or deter them from doing so. The conclusion is that boards and senior directors need to forge a more productive relationship to better serve the company's interests.

The paper serves as exploratory research in an under‐researched topic and may provide a platform for further, in‐depth research. Limitations of the study include the small sample size and the fact that the study was restricted to Australia and therefore this study's conclusions may not be transferable to other countries.

Practitioners, especially senior managers and training and development specialists, may better identify ways in which directors can be assisted to contribute more to strategic processes.

The paper builds on existing literature by capturing the views of senior executives and presenting an Australian perspective. The paper explains challenges and opportunities for senior executives in developing closer working relationships with the company's directors

UK directors are presently engaged in cost‐cutting exercises in order to improve the efficiency of their business. This is a necessary part of their role which spans policy, strategy and operations. One reason for this focus on efficiencies may be the recent recession, another may be that directors no longer have the option to be effective instead. For to be effective implies having a sense of somewhere to go. This requires a strong sense of purpose. Strong purpose is based on the personal values and beliefs of a leader. It requires a soul‐attachment that is worlds away from the dispassionate scrutiny of cost‐cutting initiatives.

What is the learning organization? Why is it important? Learning is often seen as an individual level activity but organizational learning is concerned with collective learning processes. The second half is an annotated bibliography of key books in the field.

Just as a carpenter has different manual tools for different tasks so a manager needs different thinking tools for differential tasks. Research originally with Philips Electronics established connections between tasks and thinking processes. The thinking processes are defined in 25 Thunks, in Form divided into three colours of Thinking. Individuals habitually have strong orientations to one style of thinking — coloured Blue, Red or Green. These diagnoses can then be used to help individuals expand their style of thinking.