p.5 My thesis - in order to be sustainable, an organization must
have two things
- Knowledge of its impacts in the world
- An organizational capacity to learn and innovate in response
p.6 [Wikipedia - Epistemology... addresses the questions: What is knowledge? How is knowledge acquired?
How do we know what we know?] Why an 'Epistemological' Theory?
Because it identifies knowledge and learning as critical success factors in sustainability performance
(necessary but insufficient) - Must also have (1) the will or desire to function sustainably, and (2) the resources required
to do so... we must have knowledge as a basis for taking action of any kind.... here we can think of action
as knowledge in use, and also of knowledge as a type of human and social capital, vital for sustainability
p.8 First, if what we want is behavior in business that is sustainable, then we must have knowledge
production systems that inform us of our impacts in the world, and such knowledge must be as close to the truth -
if not actually true - as possible
Second, we must have organizational learning systems in business that are themselves sustainable
- That produce knowledge that actually helps us to adapt
- That are consistent with the manner in which people in collective settings are naturally predisposed to
learn, and which do not interfere with such predispositions
p.23 Two requirements for organizational sustainability clearly establish the relevance
of Organizational Learning:
- Knowledge of its impacts in the world
- The capacity to learn or innovate (i.e., adapt) in response
Normative implications:
- Must have knowledge that is true or close to true
- Must have learning systems that are, themselves, sustainable - sustainable innovation
processes - since some patterns of innovation are more authentic than others
