A Concise Guide to the Learning Organization

Citation

Coghlan, D. (1999), "A Concise Guide to the Learning Organization", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 20 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.1999.02220aae.002

A Concise Guide to the Learning Organization

A Concise Guide to the Learning Organization

Mike Pedler and Kath AspinwallLemos & CraneLondon1998163 pp.ISBN 1-898001-43-X£12.99, paperbackKeywords Case studies, Learning organisations, Training techniques

Mike Pedler has been associated with the notion of the learning organisation for many years, so a new book by him is worthy of consideration. A Concise Guide to the Learning Organization is precisely what its title says it is ­ a concise guide. While much of it gathers together theoretical material on the learning organisation published elsewhere, particularly Pedler, Burgoyne and Boydell's The Learning Company and Senge's The Fifth Discipline, it synthesises it concisely and adds case examples and learning activities, whereby these concepts can be applied concretely.

There are seven chapters, which are constructed around questions which anyone might pose about the learning organisation: definitions of the learning organisation; what the learning organisation looks like; how an organisation can learn; what can go wrong; how to create a learning organisation; and how the learning organisation contributes to stakeholders' value and society. Each chapter contains brief case examples.

There is a set of 12 activities at the end of the book, which acts as a learning structure for the themes articulated in each of the chapters. In each chapter, there are references forward to a learning activity at the end of the book, which helps enact application and learning around the theme of the particular chapter.

This is a useful little book, which provides concise summaries of broader theoretical works with case examples and learning activities. Managers, consultants and trainers will find it useful.

David CoghlanUniversity of Dublin, Ireland