An Intelligent Organization [Hardcover]

Pentti Sydänmaanlakka (Author), Pentti Sydanmaanlakka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2002

When everyone in an organization is focused on results it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. This book uses the experience of Nokia to develop a frame-work for the organization of the future - one which is efficient, learning and healthy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

It is tragic how many and how often organizations operate inefficiently. It is only through competent and motivated personnel that a company can ultimately achieve a permanent competitive edge. But how can you take all the varied viewpoints from individuals and teams and turn those into intelligent changes - changes that actually make a difference?

In An Intelligent Organization Pentti Sydanmaanlakka, former Director of Human Resources at Nokia, examines how leaders can develop the ideal organization for the future: one that is efficient, capable of learning and sensitive to the well-being of its personnel all at the same time. Combining learning and organizational health with business performance is a major challenge - one which Nokia is famous for meeting.

An Intelligent Organization takes a long-term view of competencies and employees. The transformation toward an intelligent organization is not easy. It demands a deep change in our ways of thinking. This book gives a remarkable insight into the thought processes of a global winner and provides an excellent guide to the ideal organizations.

From the Back Cover

* How can we improve the organization's capacity to learn?
* How can we develop the right comeptencies needed in theorganization?
* How can we improve individual performance throughout the organization?
* How can we achieve better business results?
* How will we manage in the ever more competitive global business environment?
In An Intelligent Organization Pentti Sydanmaanlakka, former Director of Human Resources at Nokia, examines how leaders can develop the ideal organization for the future. Through improving processes for performance, competence and knowledge management, leaders will be able to find concrete answers to these questions and more, clearing the path to the ultimate intelligent organization.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Capstone; 1st edition (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841120480
• ISBN-13: 978-1841120485
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,907,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How it all fits together., November 2, 2003

By 

Bill Godfrey (Mt Stuart, TAS Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Intelligent Organization (Hardcover)

An Intelligent Organization: Integrating Performance, Competence and Knowledge Management.

The author was Director of Human Resources at the Finnish company Nokia. What the book adds to the literature on organizational learning is the detailed integration, in every aspect of operation, between development of the individual, the work group or team and the organization as a whole. He insists that ensuring that organizational learning takes place at a greater rate than external change is an holistic endeavour. For success, all aspects must be addressed together in a coherent way,

Virtually all of the separate principles, tools and techniques set out in the book are accessible from other sources, but the author explains clearly, with the help of good charts and diagrams, how these all fit together. The Introduction and first Chapter provide a particularly good overview of the issues.

The author seeks to provide an integrated answer to the key questions of:

* how to improve an organization's capacity to learn
* how to improve organization competence and individual and team performance
* how to integrate the efficiency, the renewal and the well-being of the organization.

His solution is based on personal experience plus an overview of the literature of organizational learning. The book is largely concerned with three elements of:

* performance management, which he relates to the individual and identifies as bringing together clarity of direction with management both for current results and continuous learning;
* knowledge management which he identifies with team learning; and
* competence management, which he identifies with strategic management of the organization as a whole.

The careful strategic integration of these three elements produces what he calls the intelligent organization, defined as one that is capable of continuous renewal, of anticipating changes and of learning fast. Its capacity to learn fast is in turn based on its capacity to develop, understand and effectively apply knowledge.

The book also serves as an excellent introduction for those who are new to the ideas of the learning organization/organizational learning, because it provides an excellent framework within which to fit the many elements that make up effective organizational learning. It also provides useful references to many of the main authors in the field.