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https://surveys.hbs.edu/perseus/se.ashx?

s=381B5FE533C282FF

Learning Organization Survey


Thank you for your interest in the Learning Organization Survey. This is a complete version of the survey
described in our Harvard Business Review article "Is Yours a Learning Organization?"
The survey is meant only for your personal benefit, and your answers will not be used or seen by anyone
other than yourself. It is our hope the survey results will provide a starting point to help you assess how well
your organization meets the criteria for being a learning organization, especially in comparison to the
benchmarks we have established in previous research.
The output you receive will show your own scores on every learning building block as well as the
corresponding benchmark scores; the benchmark medians and quartiles you will see after completing this
survey are the very same ones that appear in our article. Please note that because your results will be based
solely on your own perceptions of your organization's learning environment, processes, and leadership, they
may differ from the results of other employees within the organization.
Amy Edmondson, David Garvin, & Francesca Gino
For each of the following questions please refer to the unit you work in. All questions in this survey
will refer to this unit.
Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of the unit that you work in.

Highly
Inaccurate

In this unit, it is easy to speak up


about what is on your mind.
If you make a mistake in this unit,
it is often held against you.
People in this unit are usually
comfortable talking about
problems and disagreements.

People in this unit are eager to


share information about what
doesn't work as well as to share
information about what does work.

Keeping your cards close to your


chest is the best way to get ahead
in this unit.

Moderately
Inaccurate

Neither
Slightly
Slightly
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate
Accurate
Inaccurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Highly
Inaccurate

Differences in opinions are


welcomed in this unit.

Unless an opinion is consistent


with what most people in this
unit believe, it wont be valued.

This unit tends to handle


differences of opinion privately
or off-line, rather than
addressing them directly as a
group.
In this unit, people are open to
alternative ways of getting work
done.

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Highly
Inaccurate
In this unit, people value new
ideas.

Unless an idea has been around


for a long time, no one in this
unit wants to hear it.

In this unit, people are interested


in better ways of doing things.

In this unit, people often resist


untried approaches.

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither Accurate
Nor Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Highly
Inaccurate
People in this unit are overly
stressed.
Despite the workload, people
in this unit find time to review
how the work is going.

In this unit, schedule pressure


gets in the way of doing a
good job.
In this unit, people are too
busy to invest time in
improvement.
There is simply no time for
reflection in this unit.

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Highly
Inaccurate

This unit experiments


frequently with new ways of
working.
This unit experiments
frequently with new
product/service offerings.

This unit has a formal process


for conducting and evaluating
experiments or new ideas.

This unit frequently employs


prototypes or simulations
when trying out new ideas.

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

This unit systematically collects information on:


Highly
Inaccurate

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither Accurate
Nor Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

competitors
customers
economic and
social trends
technological
trends

This unit frequently compares its performance to:


Highly
Inaccurate
competitors
best-in-class
organizations

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither Accurate
Nor Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Highly
Inaccurate
This unit engages in
productive conflict and
debate during discussions.
This unit seeks out
dissenting views during
discussions.
This unit never revisits wellestablished perspectives
during discussions.

In this unit, we frequently


identify and discuss
underlying assumptions that
might affect key decisions.

This unit never pays


attention to different views
during discussions.

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither
Slightly
Accurate Nor
Accurate
Inaccurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Highly
Inaccurate

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Newly hired employees in this


unit receive adequate training.
Experienced employees in this
unit receive periodic
training/updating
Experienced employees in this
unit receive training when
shifting to a new position
Experienced employees in this
unit receive training when new
initiatives are launched
In this unit, training is valued.
In this unit, time is made
available for education and
training activities.

This unit has forums for meeting with and learning from:

Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Highly
Inaccurate

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

experts from other


departments/teams/divisions
experts from outside the
organization
customers/clients
suppliers

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of your work unit
Highly
Inaccurate
This unit regularly shares
information with networks of
experts within the organization
This unit regularly shares
information with networks of
experts outside the organization
This unit quickly and accurately
conveys new knowledge to key
decision makers.

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

Highly
Inaccurate

Moderately
Inaccurate

Slightly
Inaccurate

Neither
Accurate Nor
Inaccurate

Slightly
Accurate

Moderately
Accurate

Highly
Accurate

This unit regularly conducts


post-audits and after-action
reviews.

Please respond to each item in terms of how descriptive it is of the manager(s) to whom you report,using the
following scale:
Never Infrequently Sometimes Often Always
My manager(s) invite(s) input from others in discussions.
My manager(s) acknowledge(s) his/her own limitations with respect to knowledge,
information, or expertise.
My manager(s) ask(s) probing questions.
My manager(s) listen(s) attentively.
My manager(s) encourage(s) multiple points of view.
My manager(s) establish(es) forums for and provide(s) time and resources for
identifying problems and organizational challenges
My manager(s) establish(es) forums for and provide(s) time and resources for
reflecting and improving on past performance
My manager(s) criticize(s) views different from his/her own.

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