In today's rapidly-developing business world, organizations need to be ready to adapt to changes in order to survive and prosper. The more rapidly the world changes, the more importance will be given to learning. According to Revans [1] an organizational rate of learning (L) should be equal to, or greater than, the rate of change (C) in their environment: L/C. To do so require managers recognize the value of individual, team and organizational learning. By encouraging individuals and teams to accept responsibility and authority for their actions, and by encouraging experimenting and open communication, businesses are more likely to become innovative, creative with high staff motivation and performance.
Being innovative and creative is the responsibility of the whole workforce and allows organizations to adapt to changes in the market, technology and competition [2, 3]. Training is necessary but not always the key when the atmosphere for growth and development is not provided. Building a learning organization can merge people and systems enabling not only to survive but create a type of organizational culture that supports personal development and earns profit to the company.
The learning organization is an ideal type of company in which the organisational structures, strategy and values are continually adapted to their current reality through collective learning at all levels of the company. All people are empowered to make relevant decisions. Structure supports teamwork and strong lateral relations. As the concept of a learning organization attracts the interest of many scholars, there is a wide variety of approaches and definitions. The current article explores learning organization theories with particular attention paid to the works by De Geus, Marsick, Watkins, Garvin, Garrat, Senge, Pedeler et al.
Although the topic of a learning organization is widely approached by theorists, there are not many diagnostic tools to measure the current status and explore the level of developments in comparison of the theory and practice of a learning organization. One of the best-known among others is the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) developed by Watkins and Marsick [3, 4].
Relying on available audit instruments and literature on a learning organization, the authors developed an assessment instrument for evaluating employees’ perceptions of theory in practice in Estonia. The constructed model consists of six characteristics – developing vision and strategy, information flow, developing learning environment, teamwork and people. The questionnaire was carried out in 2006/2008 and involved 291 respondents. The data were processed using MS Excel.

Keywords: learning organization, learning, knowledge management, research projects.

References:

[1] Revans, R. W. (1982). The Origins and Growth of Action Learning. Chartwell-Bratt, Bromley and Lund.
[2] Senge, M. P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. The Art of Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Random House.
[3] Watkins, K. E. and Marsick, V. J. (1996). Creating the Learning Organization. Alexandria, VA: ASTD.
[4] Watkins, K. E. and Marsick, V. J. (2003). Demonstrating the Value of an Organization’s Learning Culture: The Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire. Advances in Developing Human Resources, May, Vol. 5, No. 2.