The Myopia of Learning

Summary for agile leaders

Theory paper examining "processes of experiential learning as instruments of organizational intelligence." It explains the need for (evolution of) departments, as well as the problems of organizational learning. The problematic 'myopia' discussed are:
- sacrificing the long term for the short (short-termism);
- favouring learning that brings results closer to home, very often that are easier to attain (og. improving local exploitation);
- oversampling success (promoting successful individuals and their stories) whilst deselecting failure with its inherent variety, diversity, and potential for valuable innovation.

Personally, I rate this paper over [[@March, 1991]], but then I thought Betamax was a better video format too.

"Even highly capable individuals are confused by the difficulties of ambiguous experience to interpret complex worlds."

Reviewed: 31 Dec 2022 by Russ Lewis

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Authors:

Daniel Levinthal, James March

Publication date:

1993

DOI:

10.1002/smj.4250141009

Link:

Google Scholar

My classifications

Topics:

Organizational learning

Tags:

multilevel

Abstract

Organizational learning has many virtues, virtues which recent writings in strategic management have highlighted. Learning processes, however, are subject to some important limitations. As is well-known, learning has to cope with confusing experience and the complicated problem of balancing the competing goals of developing new knowledge (i.e., exploring) and exploiting current competencies in the face of dynamic tendencies to emphasize one or the other. We examine the ways organizations approach these problems through simplification and specialization and how those approaches contribute to three forms of learning myopia, the tendency to overlook distant times, distant places, and failures, and we identify some ways in which organizations sustain exploration in the face of a tendency to overinvest in exploitation. We conclude that the imperfections of learning are not so great as to require abandoning attempts to improve the learning capabilities of organizations, but that those imperfections suggest a certain conservatism in expectations.

Cite as (Harvard referencing)

Levinthal, D., March, J., 1993. The Myopia of Learning. Strategic Management Journal 14, 95–112

The Myopia of Learning

The Myopia of Learning

Summary for agile leaders

My classifications

Abstract

Cite as (Harvard referencing)

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