Litmus tests of a Learning Organization

According to Harvard Business School Professor, “David A Garvin,” in his book “Learning in Action,” to qualify as a learning organization, a company should pass the following litmus tests:

a) The organization must have a learning agenda. It must be clear about what knowledge it needs and have a strategy in place to gain that knowledge.
b) The organization must be open to bad news. It must not have the “shoot-the messenger” syndrome.
c) The company should be able to avoid past mistakes by reflecting on past experience, distilling into useful lessons and sharing the knowledge across the organization.
d) The company should not be vulnerable to the risk of losing knowledge when talented people leave. These companies have mechanisms to institutionalize the tacit, unarticulated knowledge of such people. Learning organizations find ways to embed such knowledge within the company’s systems, processes and values.
e) Learning organizations believe in getting into action mode. They take advantage of their new knowledge and adapt their behavior accordingly.