Reflection as a Catalyst for Organisational Learning

This article takes a psychological perspective on organisational learning, putting "reflection" into the centre of attention. We argue that (1) organisational learning is based on individual and team learning at work, (2) reflection is the driving force that leads to organisational learning and (3) cumulation of the staff's reflection outcomes allows for integration of individual and team learning into organisational best practice. Building on a vast amount of theory in this area, we provide a refined psychological model of the socio-cognitive processes of reflective learning within organisations including the initiation and the termination of reflection. Further, we discuss in depth the role of reflection for organisational learning in the light of recent theories of organisational learning. (Contains 4 figures.)