Abstract
Learning organisations are those which undertake continuous improvement in the what, how and why of product and service delivery. They are a new source of competitive edge and require different systems and different employee skills and behaviours. Organisations that can learn the most rapidly will be the ones which survive and thrive. In this context it is argued that organisations in Australia cannot afford to waste sectors of their workforce that demonstrate these changed behaviours and motivations, and urgently need to develop other sectors of their workforce that do not.
In this report, a survey of 270 women In New South Wales is described. The results suggest that women who are actively managing their careers and succeeding in them exhibit characteristics such as being educated, appropriately skilled, and motivated to learn. It is important that organisations provide structures to ensure that women's talents and skills are not underutilised. It is suggested that an effective learning-based career development system can be the vehicle to ensure growth and recognition of employee's talents and skills, and deployment of staff in a way that will allow maximum contribution and benefit to both employees and organisations. Ways in which effective career development systems can be designed and implemented are outlined.
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