Affiliations: [a] Uludağ University Health Services Vocational School, Görükle Campus, Nilüfer, Bursa, Turkey | [b] Bülent Ecevit University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Zonguldak, Turkey
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Assist. Prof. Dr. Sinem Somunoğlu, Uludağ University, Uludağ University Health Services Vocational School, Görükle Campus, Nilüfer, Bursa, Turkey. Tel.: +90 224 294 24 93; Fax: +90 224 294 24 52; E-mails: ssomunoglu@yahoo.com, ssomunoglu@uludag.edu.tr
Abstract: Currently, while considering the responsibilities of organizational activities, it is observed that there is a fast change in the present environment of organizations, the technology they exploit, the speed of the society's expectations. The nature of the change compels the organizations to acquire a more dynamic structure, to improve the skills that can be adapted to the surrounding area, to promote the quality of their staff, and to search ways to improve their operations. All these undertakings bring together the necessity of continuous learning in the organizations. Organizations acquire the structure of a learning organization by apprehending the value of knowledge, accessing knowledge, and enhancing knowledge, at the point where they begin giving importance to education and development. In order to maintain its existence with the knowledge it has acquired, a learning organization is concerned with the ability to conform the organizational behaviour, to adopt learning as a manner of life, and to maintain continuing education activities. The learning organization ultimately learns from past experiences, solves the problems and adopts new approaches. This study covers continuing education in the organizations, concept of learning organization, the contribution of continuing education to the learning organization process, overall characteristic of the learning organization.
