Organizational Learning, Organizational Problem Solving and Models of Mind

Abstract

The literature on organizational learning and its allied fields of research, such as cognitive science, is replete with references to problem solving (Clark, 1997; Evers & Lakomski, 2000; Lakomski, 1998, p. 407). While researchers suggest links between organizational learning and organizational problem solving, little theoretical work has been done on their relationship. This may be because even though the idea of problem solving has a very long history, theoretically developed accounts of the nature of problems and problem solving are rare (Landry, 1995; Smith, 1989). It is common, for example, to read accounts of problem solving that declare problems to be gaps between current and desired states of affairs. While this account suggests how problems may be recognized, it lacks the conceptual depth needed to show how gaps, once recognized, may be closed (Smith, 1988).