Learning by Design: Building Sustainable Organizations

ISBN-13: 9780631232773 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 240 str.

Ronald Wardhaugh; Abraham B. Shani; Peter Docherty

Opis

This book advances a design-based approach for the investigation and creation of sustainable organizations. The learning-by-design framework is utilized to examine learning in six successful companies in different industries and national settings and provides a roadmap for improving systematic learning in organizations.

• Investigates learning-by-design in successful companies.
  
• Focuses on the choices organizations make about the design of learning mechanisms.
  
• Built around six detailed case studies taken from different industries and national settings.
  
• Provides a framework for improving the conditions for systematic and sustainable learning in organizations.
  
• Offers a clear process model for action and change.

Recenzje

It provides a much–needed bridge from an organizational learning literature that is often abstract and idiosyncratic to concrete organizational learning mechanisms that can make the space for adaptive learning to occur for individuals, teams and the organization. Shani and Docherty have created a book that is valuable for both scholars and practitioners in management and organizational learning. David A. Kolb, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Collective design is certainly one of the main issues for the advancement of management and social sciences, and by adopting a learning perspective Shani and Docherty offer fresh, perfectly grounded, and valuable views to the field, both in theory and practice." Armand Hatchuel, Ecole des Mines de Paris, Paris, France

These authors have been pioneers in the area of organizational learning. The insights and experience on which they draw, backed by recent case examples, are a major strength of the book and make it a valuable resource for practitioners in industry and for students of organizational learning and change. Bengt Stymne, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden

"This book belongs to the management literature, but as so few libraries have become learning organisations that it would be good if more managers read books like this one" Electronic Library

Spis treści

1. The Critical Need for Learning by Design.

2. Competitive Strategy, Sustainablility and Learning.

3. Individual Competencies, Learning and Performance.

4. Designing Business–focused Teams.

5. Transformation and Learning.

6. Development Processes, Learning and Competitiveness.

7. Knowledge Management Processes and Learning.

8. Learning in Multi Stakeholder Network.

9. Designing Sustainable Learning Organization.

10. Learning by Design: Change and Future.

Index

O autorze

A. B. (Rami) Shani is Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He is a visiting Research Professor on the FENIX Programme at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden.

Peter Docherty is Professor of Services Operations Management at the Institute of Industrial Economics and Management (INDEK) at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm. He is also a Senior Researcher at the National Institute for Working Life in Stockholm.A. B. (Rami) Shani and Peter Docherty have collaborated previously on the book Creating Sustainable Work Systems: Emerging Perspectives and Practice (2002).

Blurb

Learning is an essential process for attaining and maintaining sustainability at both the individual and business level. Establishing a learning organization requires a whole–hearted and sustained endeavour. This book facilitates such an endeavour by providing both a coherent framework for analysis and practical models for action. It focuses on the choices organizations make about the design and implementation of specific learning mechanisms.

The authors illustrate this learning–by–design approach through six detailed case studies, taken from different industries and national settings and focusing on different aspects of organizational learning. They then present an overall analysis of the cases, capturing the nature of the learning requirements, design dimensions and mechanisms, and looking at how these link to each other and to company strategy, resources, and performance. Various learning paradoxes are discussed, as well as issues that merit further study.Students of management and organizational studies, academics in these fields, and executives will find this a valuable resource for learning, reflection, and practice.