Narrating around

The learning history is designed to describe the coming about of best practices, with their reproduction in mind. This paper seeks to discuss the implications of this instrument and presents a modified version.

The paper uses a so‐called discursive learning history to zoom in on the interaction between a convergent, official, organisational narrative on the one hand, and people acting according to their own stories on the other.

Narrative structures help to create an inner logic that helps people to make sense of their organisation. An example is the battlefield metaphor identified in an academic business school.

It is not easy to create a comprehensive whole out of a multitude of small, often ill‐aligned contributions. To tackle this problem, the author adjusts the method of the learning history for it to allow analysis of discursive practices.

With this instrument, managers can identify patterns in the complexity of their organisations and understand what seems irrational at first sight.

In organisations there is a continuous tendency to create one line into this complexity. This can be disciplining and therewith can provoke all kinds of undesired behaviours.

It is often assumed that one can learn from history. Looking at the past and reconstructing what happened during a significant event seems an ideal way to create the coherent plot one feels comfortable with and learn from for the future. A discursive learning history shows there is more to organisations then meets the eye.