If for Knowledge Management, it would be true to say that its theory is much simpler than its practice, the opposite is probably true for making your organization into a learning one. All it takes to practice it is awareness, curiosity, and assiduity, while its theory ties into system thinking, complexity theory, a discipline of reflection leading to mental models, a collective discipline leading to a shared vision for the group and to collective learning – the five disciplines outlined by Senge, P.M. (1990), The fifth discipline: The art and practice of learning organization, Doubleday Currency, New York.).

Learning and knowledge can be seen as reinforcing each other: sharing knowledge and identifying new areas for learning. Yet, existing knowledge can obstruct learning and new learning can overturn existing knowledge. One could therefore surmise that the accumulation of knowledge can inhibit learning which may account for the paradox of those firms who trumpet that they are knowledge driven while simultaneously giving early retirement to their most knowledgeable, or at least experienced, managers (Ambler, T. and Styles, C. (2002), Connecting Firm-level Learning with Performance).

It has been claimed that learning organization is to be thought of as a direction, while organizational learning, which is a fundamental component of the learning organization, is seen as a heuristic device to explain or quantify learning activities. This suggests that emphasis should be put on understanding how learning is defined, acquired and used at the individual and organizational level (Garavan, T. (1997), 'The learning organization: A review and evaluation', The Learning Organization, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 18-29).

Learning organizations are skilled at five main activities: systematic problem solving (this activity rests heavily on the philosophy and methods of the quality movement), experimentation with new approaches (involving the systematic searching for and testing of new knowledge), learning from their experiences and past history (companies must review their successes and failures, assess them systematically, and record the lessons in a form that employees find open and accessible), learning from the experiences and best practices of others (sometimes the most powerful insights come from looking outside one's immediate environment to get a new perspective), and transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization (for learning to be more than a local affair, knowledge must spread quickly and efficiently throughout the organization). (Garvin, D.A. (1993), 'Building a learning organization', Harvard Business Review, pp. 78-91.)

During the last five years, I have been active at influencing the conversion of Israel Aerospace Industries into a learning organization, through the application of Knowledge Management.

As Garavan said, a learning organization is a direction for a journey and IAI has started it.