Success factors in learning organizations: an empirical study

The learning organization may be the key to future success for organizations. There is no blueprint for success, but companies need to recognize and utilize the experience and expertise of their employees. In return, they must provide appropriate rewards and generate an environment of mutual trust and openness. A significant factor in this is the sharing of information. Attempts to assess learning organization characteristics in an engineering company using a specially developed questionnaire. Presents findings using eight conceptual groups. The company could not claim to have become a learning organization, though it had moved in this direction. Empowerment and employees’ self‐development were the areas where the company had developed most. Progress appeared to have been impeded by lack of change in other departments and by failure to share information throughout the company. This, in turn, had precluded the growth of trust between management and other employees.