Charles Handy's book, The Age of Unreason, examines the nature of learning and applies Handy's insights into the prices of learning to the business organization. He indicates that the normal way of thinking about learning is wrong and that, instead, a different conception should be imposed, a conception more in keeping with a progressive form of learning that would benefit the organization and the individual alike. Handy also sees a particular need for making this change at this time, given the changes he sees coming over the business organization in light of new technologies and other changes in the workplace. Society needs new kinds of organizations, new approaches to work, and new forms of education to cope with the changing nature of society.
Handy is in many ways testing the boundaries of existing organizational theory, and his own approach can be seen as a developing in the evolution of organizational theory. There are closed models and open models of the organization. Organizational theory explains the working of organizations and the dynamics of their structure and operation. Organizational theory is broader in its application and subject matter than administrative theory, which is more specific in its emphasis on control and decision-making as a leadership matter, while organizational theory involves the broader dynamics of all organizations.
At some point in our history, we made a transition from the closed system to the open system. In the closed model we looked inward, and in the open model we looked outward for our prestige. The two models contrast with one another on a number of dimensions. Prestige in the closed model derives from internal status, from one's office and rank, while in the open model prestige derives from professional ability and reputation.
Handy indicates the importance of learning in the organization of any form, and he describes a theory of learning which takes advantage of the w...