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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Enabling success: organising

Brindle Foods reviews a series of product complaints. Managers fix each defect by adjusting the existing quality procedure, without questioning whether the procedure or the underlying quality targets are appropriate. Under Argyris and Schön's learning model, what type of learning is this?

This is single-loop learning. Managers correct errors by tweaking the existing procedure while leaving the underlying quality targets, norms and assumptions unquestioned. Double-loop learning would require challenging those governing values themselves.

  1. ADouble-loop learning, because the defects are corrected
  2. BSingle-loop learning, because errors are corrected within existing norms and assumptionsCorrect
  3. CDouble-loop learning, because the procedure is adjusted
  4. DDeutero-learning, because the process is repeated each time

Explanation

Single-loop learning detects and corrects errors without challenging the governing values or policies. Double-loop learning would question the quality targets and assumptions themselves. Adjusting the procedure within the same goals is still single-loop.

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