Towards an understanding of organizational learning processes in development of competences

Abstract

Purpose – to analyze the process of organizational learning in development of organizational competences in two educational institutions that offer Higher Technological Education Courses in Brazil.
 Design/Method/Approach. As for the methodology, the nature of the research is exploratory, with a qualitative approach, and a multiple case study method.
 Findings. The results made it possible to conclude that there was a learning process at the organizational level, as new knowledge and new practices had been institutionalized. Based on the data found in each case, it was possible to certify that some competences can be built and others eliminated, shaping the dynamic character of the process.
 Theoretical implications. It was possible to corroborate the model used (Patriotta, 2003) and propose advances to it, towards an understanding of organizational learning processes in the development of organizational competences.
 Practical implications. The manager can see competences in dynamics, changing over time and in the context of the organization, according to the events and changes in their objectives, intentions, and strategies.
 Originality/Value. We found that organizational learning is the result of the acquisition of a competence that represents this process. Using a metaphor, it was found that the competences of an organization represent the 'DNA' of the organizational learning.
 Research limitations/Future research. This paper analyzed two cases only and new case studies are needed to characterize more fully on these results.
 Paper type – empirical.