Abstract

PENALOZA, Augusto. AN APROXIMATION OF BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING IN THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE SANTA MARIA UNIVERSITY. Investigación y Postgrado [online]. 2005, vol.20, n.2, pp.63-122. ISSN 1316-0087.

This investigation is focused on the analyses of changes that occur in formal organizations, in this case a private university in Venezuela. Conceptually, it is based on Argirys y Schon´s Action Theory (1976, 1989, 2000, 2001) through its dimensions: theory of explicit action and theory in use. The reference for the study is the Faculty of Graduate School (DEPG) of the Santa Maria University (USM) and was done through a descriptive and explicative field research with a non experimental design that analyzes the structural changes and process occurred in the Faculty of the USM between 1990-2001, the effects that such changes have generated in the organization and, then a tentative explanation about if such modification are a product of organizational learning is provided. To gather the information: document analysis techniques, interviews of key informants and participant observation were used. This last one was done through the comparative-continuous method (Glaser y Strauss, 1999), and validated through methodological triangulation (Arias Valencia, 2001). It was concluded that the behavioral patterns and organizational learning that predominates in the Faculty of graduate school (DEPG) of the USM combines models I and II of Argirys y Schon, with prevalence of the first, which generates a limited capacity to reach higher goals in Organizational Learning.

Keywords : organizational learning; organizational behavior pattern.