Levels 3 and 4 are the foci for those interested in learning becoming the business of organizations. Learning to reflect on the learning process itself is reflective of the double-loop learning that encourages critical examination of our assumptions and enhances our ability to create rather than absorb knowledge. Organizations learn as a result of the individuals learning within them. Individuals who are committed to personal mastery strive to learn and form the basis for team learning to occur. Their mental models must be brought to the surface, critically examined and shared in order for shared vision to occur.
Systems thinking is the integration of the other disciplines with one another.
Traditional learning in the organization occurs as reaction to external or internal problems. Such a philosophy of reactive learning is the enemy of continuos learning because it inhibits experimentation and learning that could lead to the improvement. A major task of any organization wanting to transform itself is to reflect critically on current assumptions. Often, assumptions held by the employees lead to fragmentation, competition and defensiveness by the parts of an organization rather than cooperation and movement by the whole. As members become more specialized in their knowledge, they become more isolated from one another.