The Manager's Pocket Guide to Organizational Learning (Manager's Pocket Guide Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Organizational learning does not refer to training events such as classes, workshops, and seminars..." (more)
Key Phrases: organizational learning, appreciative inquiry, Operations Manager

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Today's organizations are in the learning business. Employees must take in a constant supply of new information and apply it to their work regardless of their position.

Organizational learning is the process of forming and applying collective knowledge to problems and needs. Organizations learn through five main activities: 1) systematic problem solving; 2) experimentation with new approaches; 3) learning from their own experience; 4) learning from the experiences and best practices of others; and 5) transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization.

Organizational learning requires constant reexamination of the effectiveness of one's ideas while engaging in a long-term effort to change the behaviors and practices of individuals, groups, and the organization as a whole. This pocket guide can aid you in these tasks. It is intended as a handy, easy-to-use reference that will help you identify useful learning strategies which you can then adapt to your particular circumstances.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: HRD Press; illustrated edition edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874255880
• ISBN-13: 978-0874255881
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,744,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Organizational Learning Made Easy, May 11, 2001

By	John Baldoni - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The learning organization is one of those terms that people like to use but often really don't know what it means. Well now help is here! Look no further than The Manager's Pocket Guide to Organizational Learning. In fact, I had been looking for such a book when happily I came across this one. And it's a delight. Author Stephen Gill boils the concepts down into neat, easily and easily actionable ideas. Gill, a noted consultant with three decades worth of experience, creates a tripartite prism for coming to grips with organizational learning: individual, team, and whole organization. After deftly explaining that while learning begins with individuals, it is the application of that learning as it spreads to groups and whole organizations that gives rise to organizational learning. Learning, as Gill states, is imperative for organizations to grow and thrive.

The power of this book echoes in its strategies for learning, which Gill groups into his three frameworks. In "Strategies for Individual Learning," we discover the importance of the personal learning style as well as worklife balance. "Strategies for Group Learning" emphasizes alignment with organizational goals and the importance of creating a shared vision. Action learning is also integral to this strategy; adults often learn best by doing. In "Strategies for Whole Organization Learning," there is an exploration of the causal loop to show how feedback reinforces the learning process. Gill also includes a case study on the World Café process that provides just enough detail for consultants (internal or external) to include it in their arsenal of knowledge tools. It's a powerful resource that integrates questions with discovery as a means of making connections for performance growth and improvement. Benchmarking, too, plays a strategic role because it enables individuals to learn from example as well as evaluate the virtues and practicality of their own practices.

A subsequent chapter on evaluation opens with reflective questions that organizational learners need to ask themselves: What are we doing? How well are we doing it? How can it be improved? Gill then offers tips on measurement and a good piece of advice: involve customers in the process. Who better to evaluate an organization's ability to learn that its customers; after all, as consumers they are critical (if not ultimate) judges of organizational effectiveness? The organizational self-audit at the conclusion of the book is invaluable. The audit itself seeks to measure individual, team, and organization processes as a means of gaining a holistic picture of the learning process.

Gill also includes chapters on communications and knowledge management, both essential to the proliferation of and nurturing of organizational learning. Key sections also contain assessments and action planning tips for those who want to improve their learning capacities as well as those of their teams and organizations.

Don't be put off by the series title "pocket guide." There's nothing small in this book except size. Organizational Learning is of big ideas that will enable individuals to grow, teams to develop, and organizations to thrive by following the principles of organizational learning. It's a must-have for anyone interested in this vital and important topic.