Chapter 1: Why is shared information so important in a learning organization in comparison to an efficient performance organization? Discuss how an organizations approach to sharing information may be related to other elements of organization design such as: structure, tasks, strategy, and culture.

One of the most notable aspects of Chapter 1 is the ways in which it illustrates the failures of organizations like Xerox and Kodak, which struggled to learn organizationally (Daft, 2016). During their heyday, both organizations performed efficiently, but they were unable to be sufficiently responsive in terms of altering their organizational offerings to suit the needs of the new marketplace, after their core product lines became obsolete. This failure to re-strategize can be traced back to an inflexible organizational structure: Xeroxs was described as slow to adapt and almost totally paralyzed by politics (Daft, 2016, p.6). At some organizations individual departments or entities may attempt to hoard information out of a spirit of competition. Ideally, in a learning organization, dialogue is facilitated to enhance mutual dialogue and adaptability, breaking down barriers to building new knowledge (Hussein, et al., 2014). As technology changes the world more quickly than before, free and open communication channels via a variety of media, including social media, is critical.

Chapter 1: What are some differences that one might anticipate among the expectations of stakeholders for a nonprofit organization versus a for-profit business? Do you believe nonprofit managers have to pay more attention to stakeholders than business managers?

It is true, as Daft (2016) states, problems occur when all organizations are treated as similar, and all organizations are not necessarily responsive to

But paying attention to stakeholders is critical for all businesses, at least in todays day and age. In previous eras, the for-profit firm may have been conceptualized largely as an entity which only had responsibility for enhancing the profit of shareholders in the organization. Today, even for-profit businesses are held responsible for the impact they have upon employees, the environment, customers, and even the wider world outside of the immediate sphere of the business. For-profit entities must still make money to remain in business, of course, and there are often higher expectations regarding growth. But even not-for-profits must still manage their money to stay solvent, market themselves to donors as well as raise awareness about their causes, and both types of entities are increasingly using their social conscience as a marketing or promotional technique (think The Body Shop and Starbucks, to name just two).

Chapter 2: How might a companys goal for employee development be related to its goals for innovation and change? How might a companys goals for employee development be related to its goals for productivity? Explain the ways that these types of goals may conflict in an organization?

Todays economy is a service-based economy. Quality of service, whether the employee is in a call center in India, or someone close by taking the time to properly install a refrigerator in a customers home, can mean the difference between a consumer selecting one company over another. But to provide quality of service requires an investment in employees. Employee…