Valuable Disconnects in Organizational Learning Systems or Strategic Management

Valuable Disconnects in Organizational Learning Systems: Integrating Bold Visions and Harsh Realities

Author: Kevin Ford

Valuable Disconnects in Organizational Learning Systems: Integrating Bold Visions and Harsh Realities offers a comprehensive framework for understanding how knowledge, skills and capabilities are developed in organizations--and how this process offers deep insights into the predictable barriers to success. Written in a clear, accessible style, it highlights the crucial part "disconnects" play in the learning cycle--a role that it is essential to understand in today's increasingly knowledge-driven work systems.

The conceptual framework of the text is grounded in scholarly research and detailed case studies that focus on an organization's front-line operating practices, the governance of training and learning activities, and ties to the strategic level. The book highlights six types of organizational learning--including learning that is incremental, experimental, continuous, synergistic, entrenched, and revolutionary--all of which have different implications for theory and practice.

The book is organized into three parts. Part I, Bold Visions, introduces the importance and great potential of systems for learning, training, and knowledge. Part II, Harsh Realities, takes a detailed look at the dynamics of "disconnects," "divergence," and "dilemmas" in the learning process.
Finally, Part III, Integration, highlights the interconnections between the Bold Visions and the Harsh Realities.

Valuable Disconnects in Organizational Learning Systems: Integrating Bold Visions and Harsh Realities is essential reading for organizational leaders at all levels and it is ideal for courses in industrial/organizational psychology, business, and public policy.

Table of Contents:

1	Pressure in the system	1
2	Building capability	21
3	The slipepry slope	39
4	Predictable disconnects	59
5	Enduring dilemmas	81
6	Divergent learning	104
7	Changing skill sets	124
8	Changing mindsets	148
9	Sustaining learning systems	171

Book review: Learning PHP and MySQL or Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII

Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization

Author: Michael A Hitt

Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization, 6th edition provides the most accurate, relevant, and complete presentation of strategic management today. Authors Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Ireland, and Robert E. Hoskisson thoroughly revised each chapter, weaving cutting-edge ideas, research, and modern practice to create a presentation that captures the dynamic nature of the field. The authors integrate the traditional industrial organizational model of strategic management with the more modern resource-based view of the firm to explain how firms use the strategic management process to build a sustained competitive advantage.

Booknews

This textbook for strategic management and business policy courses shows how organizations analyze competitive forces to develop competitive advantages systematically. In the second half of the book, 40 new full-length case studies from a variety of industries illustrate use of the strategic management process. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)