Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas or comments on how you can tell,
as an *outsider*, how far along the Organisational Learning road a company
has progressed?
There would seem to be several attributes (some that I have listed
below) of a Learning Organisation, but none are particularly easy
to measure, without first gaining access to the company and its
employees.
- Having a wider vision
- Greater sensitivity to change
- Rehearsal of responses to events
- Increased dialogue - both internally and with other stakeholders
- Shared vision
- Systems thinking
For my research (PhD), I am keen to understand what qualities a
Learning Organisation exhibits to the outside world and whether these
can be measured and compared with other non-learning companies. My
only idea to date, is to take an industry and a well-publicised
discontinuity and to analyse how quickly and how well companies have
either anticipated or responded to the event.
Second, it would seem to be accepted that individuals and indeed the
organisation can make mistakes in the *short-term* in order to achieve
real and sustainable competitive advantage in the *longer-term*. My
question is, over what period of time should a Learning Organisation
be judged? If it is too long then shareholders will perhaps switch to
another company's stock/shares.
I warmly welcome comments on any aspect of this posting and will post
a summary of any emails that I receive direction from people.
Regards,
Brian
--Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>