1.8 Conclusion

Traditionally, training has not been seen as a priority in organizations, and consequently, it was a low-budget item. The idea of training was to teach employees the skills needed for their current job with the hope that they would apply those new techniques to their daily activities. Today, organizations recognize that simple skills training is not enough. Organizations are increasingly looking to increase the value of their intangible resources, and many see their human resources in particular as a way to gain a sustained advantage over competitors. This attitude change is reflected in the increase US organizations are spending on training, with $156 billion spent on training in 2011 compared with just $51 billion in 1995.

In the end, what most organizations today are attempting to do is create what some have termed a learning organization.1 A learning organization is capable of adapting quickly to a changing environment by learning at three levels: individual, team, and organizational. Learning at the individual and team level is easy to understand. At the organizational level, learning means embedding new capabilities into organization-wide systems, processes, and, indeed, the culture. It means, as noted earlier in this topic, a relatively permanent change in knowledge, skills, attitudes, or social behaviors resulting from practice or experience. In a learning organization, learning is performance-based and tied to overall business goals and objectives. People take responsibility for their own learning and see the importance of doing so both for their own careers and also for the success of the organization. Learning is considered part of work and part of everyone's job description. The organization grows and develops, as do employees and managers. The rest of this book is designed to help organizations and individuals navigate this transition to continuous learning.