Global crises are squeezing the world from all directions. Mostly they have to do with not enough: not enough natural resources to maintain our standard of living, not enough carbon rich soil to grow crops enough to feed the world, not enough fresh clean water, nor air or ozone. A new book by Robert Hall, Compression: Meeting the Challenges of Sustainability Through Vigorous Learning Enterprises, sounds a clarion that business and society cannot afford to ignore.
A founding member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, Robert “Doc” Hall has dedicated much of his career to redefining business practices in ways that are feasible and transferable. He explains that for lasting change to occur, we need to provide stakeholders with access to new tools and new paradigms that eschew outdated learning methods and enable organizations to learn more effectively. The main emphasis of the book is on what leaders can do to change the mindset of stakeholders at all levels. Specifically, Hall shows how the Toyota model, the most successful and enduring manufacturing system ever implemented, can be applied and adapted to help identify roots of problems, eliminate waste, and create a new vision along with the path to realizing that vision.
To implement the sort of changes that will allow civilization to prevail rather than merely endure requires a resourcefulness and ingenuity beyond any the world has ever employed. In this volume, Doc Hall shows how both individuals and organizations need to learn to learn more effectively. He invites readers to rethink their perpetual devotion to old ideals and welcome the shift in thinking that must be our first and immediate step.
Compression: Meeting the Challenges of Sustainability Through Vigorous Learning Enterprises …
· Provides in-depth evidence of the major global challenges to society and industry in the 21st century
· Reviews the history of present business systems, their inherent shortcomings, and the new organizational values that must be implemented
· Explores how to "learn to learn" more effectively, covering individual learning, process learning, and organizational learning
· Describes the key elements of Toyota practices as a holistic system for organizational learning and improvement
· Presents a vigorous learning enterprise model
About the author:
Robert W. Hall, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of operations management at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University in Plainfield, Ind. Hall is a founding member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) and served as editor-in-chief of AME’s publication, "Target". He authored and co-authored six books on manufacturing excellence, and he has provided insight regarding manufacturing excellence for more than 20 years. Dr. Hall has been an examiner for the U.S. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and is now a judge for the Pace Award (innovative auto suppliers). He has reviewed applicants for Industry Week’s annual 10 Best Plants competition since it began in 1990. Before academia, Dr. Hall worked for Eli Lilly and Union Carbide. His undergraduate degree is in chemical engineering; his graduate degree is in operations management.
