Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content
Study
Classic

Building a learning organization.

Garvin DA. Building a learning organization. Harv Bus Rev. 1993;71(4):78-91.

Save
Print
December 24, 2008
Garvin DA. Harv Bus Rev. 1993;71(4):78-91.
View more articles from the same authors.
Garvin, a Harvard Business School professor, postulates that for organizations to truly improve over time and succeed, they need to become "learning organizations,” which are skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge and modifying their behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. As a framework, Garvin states organizations must have the “three Ms”: meaning, management, and measurement. Using examples from different industries and companies, including Xerox and GE, the author states that true learning organizations become skilled at five main activities: systematic problem solving, experimentation with new approaches, learning from past experience, learning from the best practices of others, and transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization.
Save
Print
Cite
Citation

Garvin DA. Building a learning organization. Harv Bus Rev. 1993;71(4):78-91.