They imply the domination of hierarchy in our thinking as well as our systems. I think this is useful distinction. The phrase the learning organisation implies either that there are organisations which don't learn or that there is an ideal. In the first case, there might be temporary conditions that we might call pathologies where no organisational learning takes place - but they can be counted on to be temporary and not a major concern or focus. In the second case, we are inviting frustration and a small following of a conversation remote from real world concerns.
Most efforts seem to be exploring organisational learning as the sum of individual learning.
The view of organisations as complex adaptive systems suggests that learning can take place at a level far beyond the sum of the individuals.