This paper offers an analysis of learning in organizations in conditions of radical change, in which organization restructuring was motivated by a change in ideology and ownership. It is argued that in these conditions learning does not necessarily represent an improvement to the collective as a whole. The empirical source for this paper is a case study of Telemig, a major Brazilian telecommunications company. The research employed the multiple methods and sources. This approach permitted an investigation of the content and process of learning, and its agents over time. The present study elaborates and illustrates the concept of 'contested learning'. It concludes that this concept needs to be incorporated into the theory of learning in organizations.
Learning in organizations; contested learning; radical change