Building the Learning Organization: Achieving Strategic Advantage Through a Commitment to Learning

by Michael J. Marquardt

From technology and globalization to the increasing power of customers, the forces that have created the seismic changes in business today also serve as the foundation for the next generation of learning organizations. With lessons forged by such world-class leaders as Nokia, Alcoa and Canadian Imperial Bank, Michael Marquardt explains how to improve performance and transform an organization into one that continues to flourish with knowledge. In this new edition of his award-winning book, Marquardt advises how to harness the collective genius of people within an organization to perpetuate the power of the learning organization. He also added dozens of case studies to demonstrate the applicability of his Systems Learning Organization model and to illustrate how each of the five subsystems--learning, organization, people, knowledge and technology--synergize. "Finally, a tool for practitioners that takes the mystery out of building a learning organization. This how-to book is great for any business of any size or industry that wants learning to be at the heart of its business direction." --Mary F. Tomasello, Organizations Development Consultant, Alcoa, Inc. Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments About the Author 1 The Emerging Need for Learning Organizations 2 The Systems Learning Organization Model 3 Building Learning Dynamics 4 Transforming the Organization for Learning Excellence 5 Empowering and Enabling People 6 Knowledge Management in Learning Organizations 7 Technology for Building the Learning Organization 8 Becoming a Learning Organization Appendix: Learning Organization Profile Glossary Bibliography Index

Genres: Leadership

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Jessica Buike · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a required reading in one of the courses I took while obtaining my Master's degree. While I liked that it wanted to cover best practices in some of the most successful companies in the world, I think that it just plain dragged along and was incredibly dry and boring. It could have easily been gleaned down to fewer pages, and have been reorganized to read a little more interestingly. While I agree that every organization should strive toward being a more flexible, learning-based organization, I don't necessarily recommend reading this book because it is so uninteresting.

[Andrei Gavrila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many things.

Long, attacking many things about many other things, this book feels like a never-ending journey.

I found it dry and lacking, especially in the how-to area. In a way, it is filled with how-to ideas, but as the book, they are quite dry.

There were also some good parts like:
* The first chapter is a great introduction to how change affects us and why it is the number one reason for a learning organization
* Each chapter has a great ending with the top 10 strategies from the chapter

I recommend reading chapter 1 and probably also 2 and then skipping to the end of each chapter.

[Dr. Chad Newton, PhD-HRD · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read for organizational scholars, executives, HR personnel, theorists of andragogy, and systems thinkers! Dr. Marquardt wrote a brilliant text for integration of key aspects of adult learning with organizational objectives.

[Duong Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical book for implementor.
Good companion with Senge's Fifth Discipline.