Towards an architecture of organizational learning: Insights from French military aircrews

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to examine the nature and logics of organizational learning considered as a process by which organizations capitalize on the variety of experiences accumulated by their members.

Design/methodology/approach

Complementing the current literature on experiential learning, the authors build on a case study to investigate how organizations benefit from action learning and seek to identify the properties of the architecture supporting it. The case study focuses on how French Air Force fighter and airlift aircrews carry out debriefing sessions in their daily activities.

Findings

Within this framework, it can be observed that learning in debriefing sessions ultimately depends on the capacity of the learning agents to integrate individual and collective functions (namely, individual progression and collective performance).

Originality/value

Building on the foregoing, the paper elaborates on a conceptual model of the debriefing procedure made up of three components: a learning mode, a learning structure and a learning culture. It follows that the organization is likely to capitalize on individual experiences to improve knowledge and action if it is capable of providing its members with a flexible learning architecture enabling individuals to combine distinctive learning modes along with heterogeneous structures and cultural values.

Citation

Godé, C. and Barbaroux, P. (2012), "Towards an architecture of organizational learning: Insights from French military aircrews", VINE, Vol. 42 No. 3/4, pp. 321-334. https://doi.org/10.1108/03055721211267468