In Action: Creating the Learning Organization (Vol. 1)

Karen E. Watkins and Victoria J. Marsick (Editors). In Action: Creating the Learning Organization (Vol. 1). Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development, 1996, 288 pages, $50.00 softcover.

I usually approach book reviews somewhat cynically, having in the past been unduly influenced by reviewers-usually into reading something which, frankly, has not proved worthwhile for me. Therefore it's a complete mystery to me why I have allowed myself to be in a position where I might be a prejudicial influence on others.

What are my credentials for carrying out a review of a book on learning organizations? Very few, really. Because I believe that learning is a natural process, and agree with Robert Dilts (1995) that we often do not even know how we acquired so much of our basic learning, it follows that I believe all organizations are learning organizations. One of the difficulties I experience with the concept of the learning organization is that there does not appear to be an agreed set of criteria for its judgment. At my last count there were approximately 130 different elements suggested by various authorities, and individual writers/organizations seemed to perm any 8 or 10 from these. I'm a bit cynical, to say the least.

My only other credential for this review is that for a number of years, before my semiretirement at the end of 1996, I led the Rover Learning Business, an organization within Rover Group dedicated to creating competitive advantage through corporate and individual learning. In Europe, at least, Rover Group is increasingly recognized as, perhaps, the exemplar learning organization, and the organizational announcement of my retirement suggested that I might have had something to do with that. Even though I don't understand it, I seem to be credited with some learning organization expertise.

Because this book is one of the "In Action" series, it's a casebook-a casebook...