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The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the learnings from prior interviews with thought leaders in learning organization conceptual development. Prior interviews with Karen Watkins, Victoria Marsick, Michael Marquardt, Bob Garratt and Peter Senge are included in the summary, which is an interim step as The Learning Organization continues to explore the learning organization history and evolution.

The paper summarizes prior interviews to uncover commonalities and differences in the development and evolution of the learning organization concepts as described by thought leaders.

Both commonalities and differences exist in definition, development of theory and resilience since original publication. Common threads in concept develop appear across the authors mainly in influences by Revans, Argyris and Schön. Differences also exist in how each author developed learning organization constructs.

The synthesis reveals that although the learning organization may have differing definitions, there are commonalities that tie some concepts together. Additional interviews will be continued in the exploration of the learning organization evolution.

This paper aims to attempt to collate and understand the fragmented research on female entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The review assesses the literature at the macro, meso and micro analysis levels and addresses the obstacles, challenges, motivations and characteristics of female entrepreneurship in the MENA region.

The analysis bases on a gender aware, narrative review, which is an appropriate method when aggregating studies of different methodological approaches, covering broad and fragmented topics in different settings. The study analyzes the areas that have received sufficient research attention and those which are still under-developed.

Important gaps in the field are lack of theoretical foundations; an over emphasis on macro level indicators, such as culture and religion and an under emphasis on organizational level variables; a lack of studies that analyze female entrepreneurship within ethnic groups, or studies that acknowledge the complex social, cultural and religious diversity of the region; and inattention to particular regional experiences (e.g. refugees crisis) and emerging trends.

This is the first integrative review of the literature in the growing field of female entrepreneurship in the MENA region that identifies areas of particular research interest and questions that are still under-developed. The study proposes further avenues for future research.

This paper aims to provide an overview of the development of learning organization concepts from the perspective of Nancy Dixon, who has been at the forefront of the learning organization discussion since the 1980s.

Through a conversation with Dixon, and a scan of some of her works, this paper discusses several topics pertaining to the evolution of the learning organization debate, from Dixon’s perspective.

Dixon’s understanding of learning organizations was influenced by concepts related to action learning where people in organizations learn through meeting and talking about their problems. What distinguishes her understanding from others in that it is built more on the perspective of psychological safety, as inspired by Amy Edmonson's work.

Dixon acknowledges that her work has had more impact on the practitioner side. Dixon maintains that learning organizations are more egalitarian and move away from hierarchy. There are ethical underpinnings to this understanding as, with psychological safety, people are willing to speak up in those situations when their voices are needed to be heard.

This paper aims to provide an overview of the development of learning organization concepts from the perspective of Professor Bob Garratt and presents an interesting evolution toward his work on learning boardroom members.

Through a conversation with Professor Garratt, the authors capture several topics pertaining to his evolution of learning organization concepts, those who have differing views and ultimately what led him to develope his theories on the impact of the most senior members of an organization on the learning constructs.

The learning organization debate has many foundations that today have led to differing perspectives. Professor Garratt provides his particular background and how he developed his opinions, which he admits have not always been embraced in practice.

The discussion with Bob Garratt reveals his understanding of the learning organization concept and how it developed from a lifetime of practical application. Ultimately, the reader will understand, in Professor Garratt’s own words, where he was confronted with challenges and why his concepts evolved to where they are today.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between Islam and economic underdevelopment that characterizes many Muslim societies. It examines the Weberian thesis regarding Islam and development, assessing the role of Islamic law, in addition to the concepts of rationality and fatalism.

The paper reviews the major theses regarding the link between Islam and development and makes an attempt at explaining economic underdevelopment by engaging the most prominent arguments in this regard.

Lack of development in most Muslim societies is a multidimensional problem, and it would not help to rely on explanations that are culturally deterministic or sociologically reductionist.

Development requires improvements at various regulatory, economic, educational, and social levels. It also requires a significant transformation in people’s value systems that guide their actions. This requires a process of self-examination, not only looking at exogenous factors to explain failures, but also to focus on one’s own responsibility to alleviate crisis situations.

This paper challenges many of the for-granted theses regarding the purported link between Islam and development. While not dispelling the need for internal reflection for Muslim societies, it puts some of the popular arguments regarding this link in proper perspective.

This paper aims to provide an overview of the development of learning organization concepts from the perspectives of Dr Victoria Marsick and Dr Karen Watkins and presents an interesting evolution of their work together spanning over three decades.

Through a conversation with thought-leading scholars Dr Victoria Marsick and Dr Karen Watkins, this paper discussed serval topics pertaining to the evolution of the learning organization debate and provides their unique perspective on the development of their theories.

The learning organization debate has many foundations that today have led to differing perspectives, which Dr Marsick and Dr Watkins advocate. They developed their learning organization concepts from their particular background, which varies from others. To these thought leaders, cultural aspects are the critical focus of the learning organization.

The discussion with Victoria Marsick and Karen Watkins reveals their understanding of the evolution of the contested discussion around learning organization definition and implications. The understanding of this evolution, in their words, provides context for researchers and practitioners.

This paper aims to provide an overview of the development of learning organization concepts from the perspective of Dr Michael Marquardt and presents an interesting evolution of his work spanning three decades in the learning organization field.

Through a conversation with a thought-leading scholar, Dr Michael Marquardt, this paper discusses several topics pertaining to the evolution of the learning organization debate and provides his perspective on the development of his theories.

The learning organization debate may have differing perspectives. However, the theories foundational to Dr Marquardt’s research originated from those in the field during the 1980s and 1990s. He built upon the foundation through his consultancy work to develop his current perspective.

The discussion with Dr Marquardt reveals his perspective on the evolution of the learning organization debate. He began with similarities to others and over time built his definition based upon those areas of that he saw most impactful in practice.