Abstract

The first aim of this study was to measure the perceived extent to which clubs had adopted the information technology (IT) characteristics of a learning organization as identified by Marquardt (2002). This was done through a staff survey across four participating Australian social clubs. The second aim was to determine if managers’ perceptions differed to those of non-managers and whether these differences were significant, both statistically and practically. The theoretical framework adopted for the study was Marquardt’s (2002) model of organizational learning encompassing five key learning subsystems but only one of those, the technology subsystem, was investigated. The survey instrument – the Learning Organization Profile (LOP) (Marquardt, 2002) – was chosen as the primary data collection method involving 124 employees from four different clubs. Within the LOP, Marquardt included a technology sub-system which contained two components, one for the management of information and the other for the enhancement of learning. The results revealed the extent to which the respondents considered that their organizations exhibited the IT characteristics of a learning organization. The overall perception of all respondents was that the technology sub-system applied only to a minor extent in three of the four clubs. The mean for one of the four clubs was found to be statistically significantly different to the means for the other three clubs. The overall conclusion was that respondents perceived the technology subsystem as a weakness within the clubs that contributed to those clubs developing themselves as learning organisations.