Revisiting the learning organization: How to create it

Business leaders are facing whole new set of management challenges. Increasing uncertainty and environmental changes (e.g., global economic stagnation, terrorism, Brexit) must be dealt with to maintain competitive advantage, but the widely known and practiced techniques for leveraging physical and financial resources are no Longer sufficient. Rather, innovation, flexibility, responsiveness, and the creative redefinition of markets and opportunities represent the new sources of competitive advantage. The globalization and the rapid diffusion of information and communications technologies have transformed the economies of the developed world. Citing a 1997 OECD study, the economist pointed out that "more than half of the total GDP in the rich economies is now knowledge-based, including industries such as telecommunications, computers, software, pharmaceuticals, education and entertainment. Overcoming the barriers to change and fostering creativity at every level of the organization is a difficult task -- but at the heart of becoming a learning organization. There are no instant answers and no shortcuts to learning how to learn.