Learning Organizations: Developing Cultures for Tomorrow's Workplace (Corporate Leadership) (Hardcover)

~ Sarita Chawla (Author), John Renesch (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In a rich dialogue of many voices, this book explores some key ideas of an emerging new management paradigm. Community, networks, feedback, self-organization, and learning are essential aspects of understanding business organizations as living systems. For managers and entrepreneurs in the twenty-first century this perspective will be vital."
Fritjof Capra, Author, The Turning Point , 06/01/04

"This book will be referenced many times because the depth of material is profound. Learning Organizations: Developing Cultures for Tomorrows Workplace is a collection of essays for the serious learner involved with creating learning organizations. The essays presented by key practitioners, range from theory to models and applications, and all are thoughtful and insightful. The result for the reader is a richer understanding of what organizations may become. I strongly recommend this collection."
Herbert Rau, Total Quality Manager, National Semiconductor 06/01/04

"The authors of Learning Organizations capture the depth, breadth, vision, and challenges inherent in the struggle for modern corporations to learn together as one body. This book is a magnificent mosaic of experience, theory, and practice."
Kazimierz Gozdz, Editor, Community Building: Renewing Spirit 06/01/04

Product Description

The ability to learn faster than your competition may be the only sustainable competitive advantage! A learning organization is one where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. This compilation of 34 powerful essays, written by recognized experts worldwide, is rich in concept and theory as well as application and example. An inspiring follow-up to Peter Senge's groundbreaking bestseller The Fifth Discipline.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 571 pages
• Publisher: Productivity Press; 1 edition (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563271109
• ISBN-13: 978-1563271106
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #826,494 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent combination of ideas, theory, and practice!, September 22, 1999

By A Customer

What is a learning organization? What are the principles upon which a learning organization is built? What is needed to develop a culture that embraces these principles? The concept of the learning organization began several decades ago, but only recently has it gained widespread recognition among business people and academics alike. This is in part due to the success of Peter Senge's 1990 book The Fifth Discipline and his pragmatic, step-by-step guide, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook (1994).

Thirty-nine of the most respected scholars and practitioners come together to share a comprehensive explanation of the ideas, principles, attitudes, skills, systems, and infrastructure needed to create the ideal workplace of the future. Authors including MIT's Fred Kofman and Peter Senge, Harvard's Rosabeth Kanter, and London Business School's Charles Handy are recognized worldwide for their work in teaching organizations about change, systems thinking, organizational development, diversity, and total quality management.

The author's essays are categorized into five main parts. Part One: Guiding Ideas primes our intellect by posing questions and sharing ideas about what learning organizations represent. Part Two: Theories/Methods/Processes presents how stories, dialogue, coaching, systems thinking, and other learning tools facilitate the creation of learning organizations. Part Three: Infrastructure identifies some of the ways we must change what we do to achieve maximum learning potential. Part Four: Arenas of Practice identifies various workplaces and takes a look at how to build learning organizations within them. Case studies are used to describe how learning organizations are working in various organizational settings.

This book is written for practitioners, scholars, and active participants of adult learning environments. The principles and practices can apply to any organization that wishes to increase its learning potential, including businesses, schools, health care, and governmental organizations.

The rate at which organizations and individuals learn must keep up with the ever-changing environment that surrounds them. This is a global environment that requires us to communicate and learn from our co-workers, customers, clients, competitors, investors, friends, and family. Our world is becoming increasingly interconnected and it would be prudent to take advantage of that fact. We are not islands and as such, we cannot learn alone. The more skilled we become at applying the breadth of knowledge and skills that are presented in this book on becoming a learning organization, the more prepared we will be for competing in the Knowledge Era.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strong collection of essays, December 12, 2001

By	M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I've had to read a slew of leadership books for my doctorate -- as for a collection of thoughtful essays, this is one of the best. It's well organized, well laid out and has almost every major thinker represented. It's got theoretical parts, practical parts and questions for down the road. The essays span all types of learning organizations: schools, hospitals, companies, etc... It's a bit long, but if you take it piece by piece, this is a very enjoyable and informative collection. Highly recommended and well-conceived.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Perspectives on Learning Organizations, July 19, 2002

By	Harald Nygaard (Norway) - See all my reviews

As far as I can see it is a book all about different perspectives, a book that adds on to the list of books that focus on the theoretical and/or philosophical sides of learning organizations. As such it is a good book, with contributions from 40 acknowledged authors/researchers.
The book is built up around four parts:
- Guiding ideas
- Theories/Methods/Processes
- Infrastructure
- Arenas of Practice
The book is packed with lots of good ideas that may form a base for further exploration in the field. Most of it is well edited, even though there is some extra "fluff" in some of the articles.
It is a good introduction to "learning organizations", but I will hesitate to call it a "how-to"-book . . . .