Universities as learning organizations in the knowledge economy

Abstract

Through the present paper, we want to emphasize a set of managerial strategies to be applied in order to improve the operational functioning of a university up to the status of a learning organization. The objectives of this research paper are first to present several different perspectives about the concept of a learning organization; second to substantiate the (still) fuzzy paradigm of universities as learning organizations both from a scientific and pragmatic perspective; and third to argue a set of strategies to be applied for the transformation into a learning organization. The relevance of the research theme is evidenced by the interest manifested by the academic community towards the issues that universities (as Higher Education Institutions) are confronting with especially during the last decades. This fact is reflected by the great number of publications in specialized journals and participation to thematic conferences and debates. The first section presents various perspectives on learning organization and organizational learning. The second section is focusing on universities as learning organizations aiming at continuous adaptation to the changing external business environment. The third section of the paper presents the most relevant strategies of the learning organization for the academic context and provides the necessary argumentation for universities to develop as a learning organization.