LEARNING ORGANIZATION IN A JUNIOR ENTERPRISE

This paper, qualitative as to its nature, aims at answering the following research-based question: to what extent is a Junior Business Enterprise characteristically an educational organization? To answer this question, a field survey was conducted on the basis of in-depth interviews. The data collection process consisted in the approach to twelve members of a Junior Business Enterprise established in a University in Rio de Janeiro. The interviews followed a semi-structured agenda which aimed at investigating those considered as characterizing elements of educational organizations in addition to Senge's (1990) five disciplines. The content analysis derived from the interviews revealed that the organization is proficient in two of Senge's (1990) individual-level disciplines, namely, Personal Mastery and Mental Models. A certain effort was identified in terms of resources development so as to provide for the mastering of Senge's three other disciplines (1990) that deal with the collective level. However, in accordance with Garvin's premises (1996), the high turnover represents an obstacle, particularly to Systemic Reasoning, and hinders the full development of the organizational learning process.