Creating the global learning organization (GLO)

Creating the Global Learning Organization is an action research model to assist US-based corporations in creating an organizational culture that is globally inclusive in theory and practice at all levels. It is based on the principles of organization development (including learning organizations), human resource management, and change theory to move the corporation from an ethnocentric to a geocentric corporate worldview in all its business and people practices, policies, procedures, and technologies. The model is envisioned as a viable and ethical approach to the challenges of globalization. There are a number of challenges to the implementation of the model, including the difficulties in dealing with the ambiguities of a process that is not concrete and fully specified. Further, a truly global model will be applicable across cultures. There is no existing evidence of the application of the model in cultural contexts other than the US. As a result, in addition to exploring some human resource development implications of the model, the article also suggests several areas for future research.