Learning Practices: Assessment and Action for Organizational Improvement

For courses in Organizational Development, Change Management, Organizational Learning, Organizational Assessment. Part of the Organizational Development Series.Unlike other texts on the subject-that tend to be too technical, too conceptual, or too dogmatic-this book offers a practical, hands-on, pluralistic approach to building learning capability that is consistent with OD principles and that carefully explores the links between learning, corporate strategy, and knowledge management. Through a systematic series of applied exercises, it shows students how learning in, of, and among organizations can be recognized, analyzed, and put into practice through a variety of learning actions and styles that improve organizational performance.An innovative framework-Includes seven different Learning Orientations exhibited by teams and organizations, which, because they are bi-polar dimensions of contrasting learning approaches, result in 14 approaches. Provides an inventory of learning practices that shows students how capability can be developed within these 14 approaches. Ex.___Diagnostic instrument-The Organizational Learning Inventory (OLI) (a tool to profile a team or organization's learning capability). Gets students immediately into the task of assessing ANY organizational unit-e.g., department, workgroup, task force, or a company subsidiary-to profile its learning capability and align it with the strategic direction of a team or company. Ex.___Critical issues in implementation-E.g., how to adapt learning methods and styles to different contexts and how to promote staff identification and commitment to borrowed "best practices." Specific Actions/Recommendations about learning practices. Takes students beyond the boundaries of their own team/organization to examine the challenges of learning across those boundaries. Ex.___Ways to design/build corporate learning architectures-E.g., shows how learning practices within companies form patterns and portfolios that need to be managed strategically; examines several critical challenges facing companies that try to learn; considers the concept of "best practices;" and discusses how space and time relate to learning and can be circumvented through innovative means. Shows students how to maximize their return on learning investments. Ex.___