In The Faster Learning Organization, consultant Bob Guns addresses the key element in sustaining competitive advantage-faster learning-which he defines as "the process of figuring out more quickly than the competition what works better."

Finally in paperback, Senge's national bestseller The Fifth Discipline, which has turned the principles of the learning organization into a movement of snowballing size and strength. The ability to respond to change is the crucial issue of the '90s, but management tools such as "reengineering" and "total quality" simply treat the symptoms. Adopted by Ford, AT&T, and others, here is a cure for the disease Senge calls "learning disabilities."

From the bestselling author of The Fifth Discipline and his colleagues comes a step-by-step guide on how to build a learning organization in your own company. This participative book offers tools, techniques, exercises, ideas and stories to help put Senge's revolutionary theories into practice.

Today, more than ever before, knowledge is power. Fortune magazine recently proclaimed that "the most successful corporation of the 1990s will be something called a learning organization." The Learning Edge responds to this new market reality with a dynamic, concrete approach executives can use to take charge of their futures.

The ability to learn faster than your competition may be the only sustainable competitive advantage! A learning organization is one where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. This compilation of 34 powerful essays, written by recognized experts worldwide, is rich in concept and theory as well as application and example

In this incisive look at the impact of new information technology on business and education, the authors identify current trends and explain their importance in shaping the future.

Revealing the hands-on, "how-to" techniques of businesses that thrive by teaching their employees to think--and act--like owners, "The Open-Book Experience" describes how companies--both large and small--have actually implemented open-book management and how they have taught employees to understand the business.

Table of Contents
Series preface
Preface
1. Introduction
2. A theoretical framework of individual learning
3. A theoretical framework for organizational learning
4. The organizational learning cycle
5. Theory and research - the organizational learning cycle
6. Accelerating the organizational learning cycle
7. Developing managers for organizational learning
8. Defining a culture that supports learning
9. Beyond organizational learning
Appendix A: Definitions of organizational learning
Appendix B: Glossary
Index

Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method, and Practice expands and updates the ideas and concepts of the authors' ground-breaking first book. Offering fresh innovations, strategies, and concise explanations of long-held theories, this book includes new alternatives for practitioners and researchers. Argyris and Schon address the four principle questions which cut across the two branches of the field of organizational learning. Why is an organization a learning venue? Are real-world organizations capable of learning? What kinds of learning are desirable? How can organizations develop their capability for desirable kinds of learning? With new examples and the most up-to-date information on the technical aspects of organization and management theory, Argyris and Schon demonstrate how the research and practice of organizational learning can be incorporated in today's business environment.

This book takes a new angle on the topics of change and continuous learning, showing how to effectively link strategic planning to the process of creating a successful learning organization. It focuses on developing important skills in four areas: constant readiness; continuous planning; improved implementation; and action learning.