What is a learning organization? Watkins and Marsick (1994) define a learning organization as one that continuously learns and transforms itself. Garvin (1993) defines a learning organization as one that is skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. Bencivenga (1995) states that a learning organization is developing shared vision, challenging assumptions, and devising a system for new ideas. The Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Garvin, 1993) sums up a learning organization as a process in which every employee is dedicated to constant learning, learning that advances the individual career as well as the organization's business goals.

Obviously, there are no clear definitions what make up a learning organization, only a description for what is desired in an organization. Although the above definitions are diverse and often appear elusive, they underscore the fact that learning is the critical competency of the 21st Century. On this note, HR professionals must realize that they alone cannot create a learning organiz

Last, HR professionals must initiate programs that allow employees to learn from each other. Enlightened employees are fertile sources of ideas and catalysts for creative and innovative thinking. In this way, HR professionals can invariably stimulate learning by helping employees understand their contributions to the organization. Before employees are willing to relinquish their own systems and ways of working, they must understand how their jobs fit into the organization. Linking the learning needs of employees to business needs is a critical step in creating a learning organization. For example, Motorola has named its training organizations "universities," signaling a change for complete development of all employees, research, connection to the larger education community, and leading edge thinking. Motorola has demonstrated that more than training is required from its HR practitioners.

Third, because of the new needs for the future workplace, HR professionals can no longer afford to think of themselves as being merely trainers. If they do so, management will treat them as trainers and, in the final analysis, their roles may be limited and restricted within the organization. As a result, HR must begin to function in a proactive role that stresses dialoguing, learning networks, learning laboratories, corporate universities, collaborative learning, mental models, systems thinking, and teamwork. In reidentifying their role, HR professionals can be the catalyst that starts a "change" reaction by bridging a gap between training and learning. Fundamentally, HR professionals must make a conscious effort to become a pragmatic bridge between management and employees, and between training and learning. Essentially, HR professionals can no longer be perceived as a profession of skill-builders but one that puts HR methodologies in everyone's hands within the organization.

First, to bridge the gap between training and learning, HR professionals must become change agents in managing organizational change efforts. In essence, they must take a proactive, creative approach in helping organizations learn new ways of thinking. Only in this way will HR be instrumental in establishing a learning infrastructure within the organization, one in which employees are continually learning how to learn together and one that emphasizes learning as the cultural value of the organization. Successful benchmarks are Honda, Corning, and General Electric. These organizations have actively managed the learning process by design rather than chance. Another successful benchmark is Mercury Marine located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Th

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