Cleaner production: organizational learning or business as usual? An example from the domestic appliance industry
研究探讨清洁生产中的组织学习概念，指出尽管管理哲学倡导员工参与和赋权，但结构性文化障碍限制了实际变革，尤其在英国商业背景下，低成本低技能低信任的竞争路径削弱了学习动力。
It is frequently argued that approaches to minimizing the environmental, health and safety impact of industry (i.e. cleaner production) require that firms engage in a process of participative learning involving all levels of the organizational hierarchy. This paper examines the key concept of organizational learning, particularly in terms of the associated concepts of ‘participation’ and ‘empowerment’, drawing on a study of a large, environmentally pro-active firm and recent critical literature on the experience of work. It is suggested that, although contemporary management philosophy pays lip service to increased workforce participation and empowerment, there are formidable structural and cultural barriers to such change. Initiatives within firms to stimulate learning and continuous improvement around cleaner production can be understood in terms of firstly the relative power of individuals and groups within organizations to define and activate learning agendas and secondly the emphasis given to low cost, low skill and low trust as a route to competitiveness, particularly in a UK business context. Finally, attention is drawn to the weakness of external mechanisms for supporting genuine participation and empowerment within enterprises around health, safety and environmental issues. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment