The Learning-Driven Business

In any kind of organization, learning has become a vital part of the growth and development process, but it only produces effective results if it is pursued strategically and embedded deeply into the culture of the workplace. In recent years, there has been a growing consensus that, for many organizations, learning is their only sustainable competitive advantage – ensuring a committed and engaged workforce that is positioned to identify and exploit business opportunities in an increasingly volatile and uncertain world. This makes it essential for leaders and senior managers to investigate the full range of learning processes and to understand exactly how individual, group, machine and organization-wide learning can produce long-lasting results for individuals as well as for the company itself.

Backed by new academic theory, yet designed to be completely accessible to a business readership, The Learning-Driven Business highlights the importance of Organizational Learning (OL) for organizations which wish to remain competitive and profitable, before clarifying the various pathways and frameworks that can lead to success. With the onset of automation and artificial intelligence, as well as the proliferation of redundancies and the economic instability of modern times, organizations and their employees must prioritise effective OL in order to overcome these challenges and remain competitive and relevant in the 21st century. This book is a guide for all business leaders and academics looking to adapt to the changing world through OL, using Garand & Golds' unique and original academic model.

About the Authors

Alaa Garad, FRSA, PhD, is a Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of Portsmouth Business School, he is a technical member at ISO Committee TC/260. Besides, he is the Deputy Chair of the Human Capital Committee at the British Standards Institution (BSI), a Fellow at The Learning and Performance Institute. Alongside his academic experience, Alaa is an award-winning executive with over 20 years of experience designing, leading and managing organizational development projects; he has assessed and advised over 500 organizations.

Jeff Gold is co-founder of the HRD and Leadership Research Unit at Leeds Business School and the Director of the DBA programme at Leeds Beckett University. He is also the Professor of Organisation Learning at York Business School. He has worked as a consultant with orgnanizations such as the NHS, Hallmark Cards and the Police Service, and is the co-author of Human Resource Management, now in its 6th edition.