Harvard Business Review on Organizational Learning [Paperback]

Harvard Business School Press (Compiler)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1578516153 | ISBN-13: 978-1578516155 | Publication Date: June 15, 2001 | Edition: 1

In today's ever-changing economic landscape, innovation has become even more of a key factor influencing strategic planning. This helpful volume will help the reader recognize and seize innovation opportunities. The "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series" is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the preeminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the "Harvard Business Review" as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Since 1984, Harvard Business School Press has been dedicated to publishing the most contemporary management thinking, written by authors and practitioners who are leading the way. Whether readers are seeking big-picture strategic thinking or tactical problem solving, advice in managing global corporations or for developing personal careers, HBS Press helps fuel the fire of innovative thought. HBS Press has earned a reputation as the springboard of thought for both established and emerging business leaders.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Press; 1 edition (June 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578516153
• ISBN-13: 978-1578516155
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #881,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.", December 11, 2001

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Organizational Learning (Paperback)

The title of this review is borrowed from Derek Bok who, when president of Harvard, responded to parents who crticized a recent tuition increase. Now the review.

This is one in a series of several dozen volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Each offers direct, convenient, and inexpensive access to the best thinking on the given subject in articles originally published by the Harvard Business School Review. I strongly recommend all of the volumes in the series. The individual titles are listed at this Web site: www.hbsp.harvard.edu. The authors of various articles are among the world's most highly regarding experts on the given subject. Each volume has been carefully edited. Supplementary commentaries are also provided in most of the volumes, as is an "About the Contributors" section which usually includes suggestions of other sources which some readers may wish to explore.

In this volume, we are provided with eight separate but related articles in which their authors examine these subjects: "The Organizational Frontier" (Wenger and Snyder), "The Smart-Talk Trap" (Pfeffer and Sutton), "Balancing Act: How to Capture Information Without Killing It" (Brown and Duguid), "What Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?" (Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney), "Good Communicating That Blocks Learning" (Argyris), "Coevolving: At Last a Way to Make Synergies Work" (Eisenhardt and Galunic). "Organigraphs: Drawing How Companies Really Work" (Mintzberg and Van der Heyden), and "Stop Fighting Fires" (Bohn). Here are a few brief excerpts:

"As communities of practice generate knowledge, they renew themselves. They give both the golden eggs and the goose that lays them." (Wenger and Snyder)

"People will try to sound smart not only by being critical but also by using trendy, pretentious language." (Pfeffer and Sutton)

"[Organizational defensive routines] consist of all the policies, practices, and actions that prevent human beings from having to experience embarrassment or threat and, at the same time, prevent them from examining the nature and causes of that embarrassment or threat." (Argyris)

"The most effective decision makers are those at the business-unit level, where strategic perspective meets operating savvy." (Eisenhardt and Galunic)

No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the rigor and substance of the articles provided. It remains for each reader to examine the list to identify those subjects which are of greatest interest to her or him. My own opinion is that all of the articles are first-rate. For me, one of this volume's greatest benefits is derived from various charts and diagrams included such as "How Consulting Firms Manage Their Knowledge" (on page 68). Here Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney juxtapose Codification with Personalization in areas such as competitive strategy, economic model, knowledge management strategy, information technology, and human resources. Another valuable chart is found on page 168. Bohn lists a series of "Rules of Thumb" (rational rules which create irrational results) and suggests why each such "Rule" should be carefully re-considered. Great stuff.

Even those who already subscribe to the Harvard Business Review will greatly appreciate this series because each volume gathers together separate but related articles (previously published in the HBR) on the same general subject. The cost of each volume in the series is relatively modest; the value provided is substantial. Those who share my high regard for this one are urged to read various books written by Peter Senge as well as Working Knowledge (Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak), Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Life (William Isaacs), If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice (Carla S. O'Dell et al), and finally, The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation (Daniel Yankelovich).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Practitioner Guide!, May 26, 2005

By 

Michael A. Beitler (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Organizational Learning (Paperback)

This is another great book in the extraordinary Harvard Business Review (HBR) paperback series. It is one of the books I highly recommend.

This book begins with an outstanding article on communities of practice by Wenger & Snyder. If you can't read Wenger & Snyder's entire book, be sure to read this article/chapter.

There is a chapter by Pfeffer & Sutton on the knowing-doing gap that's very helpful. John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid offer a fascinating chapter on knowledge transfer through casual discussion.

Perhaps the most useful chapter in the book is Hansen, Nohria, & Tierney's article on managing knowledge. In this chapter, they discuss the critical distinction between codification and personalization knowledge management systems. This chapter alone is worth the cost of the book.

Add to these chapters the work of Argyris, Mintzberg, and others, and you have a resource every practitioner should own.

Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Learning"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars HBR on Organizational Learning is good but dated, October 26, 2009

By 

Global Marketing (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Organizational Learning (Paperback)

While the articles in the review contain some gems that certainly stand the test of time, most of the articles are about to reach their 10th birthday - and with changing times comes new challenges.
"Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier" aptly demonstrates this by describing how groups of people informally bound by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise can connect a learn from each other. All good stuff but in this day and age breakfast and lunch meetings are now being superceded by new technology platforms that connect people globally online.
My favorite article was "The Smart Talk Trap". For those working in big companies the issues outlined are probably familiar. However help is at hand because this article not only outlines the issues but it also provides some concrete and actionable remedies.
For those with interest in this subject it is well worth reading - but more recent reviews will hold more relevance for todays business environment.