You are a recent graduate of Kwantlen’s School of Business and have landed a dream job – Chief Human Resources Officer at ABC ltd in Surrey BC. During the interview process, you impressed the CEO in expressing your views that organizations just like ABC ltd need to become Learning Organizations (LOs) as a means of developing a competitive advantage. The CEO has been trying to have her organization be a LO for a number of years without much success. For some reason, sharing of knowledge does not seem to be a priority or happening.
Background: ABC ltd is in the business of selling products and services in the restaurant industry serving a wide array of restaurants. Currently, ABC ltd employs 100 sales personnel, 10 sales/regional managers, and 4 head office coordinators. These 4 coordinators will be reporting to you as the new Chief Human Resources Officer. The company is organized divisionally with a VP overseeing each of two regions in BC – division 1 and division 2. Both VPs report directly to the CEO.
As part of your new duties, you have been asked to provide Sr. management with a one page report identifying potential barriers keeping ABC ltd from becoming a LO. Of these potential barriers, which is the most significant and why? At a high level, how would you go about tackling your most significant barrier? You may make any assumptions you like about ABC ltd.
