“Reinventing the wheel, over and over again”. Organizational learning, memory and forgetting in doing diversity work

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge of organizational change towards diversity by bringing together concepts from organizational learning and diversity studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This longitudinal study was conducted over two years. It involved interviews, observation of meetings and consultation of documentation and the analysis focused on organizational learning. The key research question was how do organizational members institutionalize their individual learning process to change in organizational cultures, routines and structures in a sustainable way?

Findings

The results showed that there had been learning at the individual level but this did not necessarily mean that participants had been able to transfer their learning into behaviour change.

Research limitations/implications

The research suggested that training alone may not be sufficient to promote effective organizational change regarding diversity. Additional measures are likely to be required, for example, including diversity targets in performance management plans and reviews.

Practical implications

In order to achieve greater diversity, organizations are likely to need to use a number of methods to supplement initial training.

Social implications

This research gives insight into how greater diversity may be achieved in organizations.

Originality/value

Previous literature understates the complexity of the change processes for enhanced diversity to be sustained in organizations. This study has originality in its focus on organizational learning.

Citation

(2023), "“Reinventing the wheel, over and over again”. Organizational learning, memory and forgetting in doing diversity work", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 23-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLO-11-2020-0219