Toward the learning organization : the case of circular re-engineering

Recently, researchers and practitioners in the area of knowledge and process management have been moving from a largely IT-driven approach to a more holistic, people-focused approach, recognizing that the IT perspective was insufficiently appreciative of the human dimension. This paper deals with circular re-engineering which focuses on the decision-making system as a potentially powerful learning and communication infrastructure. Circular re-engineering differs from other engineering approaches in its focus on human decision making as the key business process, and is done in two stages. First, a learning and communication (or circle) structure is added to the organization's administrative structure, and subsequently, this new structure is used to re-engineer and re-organize work processes. The case of the industrial company Matrex illustrates how an organization's learning disability can be reduced by way of circular re-engineering.Copyright 1998 John Wiley and Sons Ltd and Cornwallis Emmanuel Ltd.