People around the world have their own unique values. Values represent what people believe, and how they think and act. What they believe and how they think and act, represents their cultural values which can be seen in the stories they tell, the heroes they embrace, and their rituals and symbolisms.
Just like countries, companies also have cultures. It is somewhat ironic that the culture of many modern companies today continues to promote a culture of non-learning. Just like countries and peoples, you know them by the values they support and embrace.
The non-learning company typically supports the old command and control hierarchical structure and leadership style that discourages sharing information, taking risks, speaking up, or in any way challenging the status quo. What non-learning companies fail to understand is that the values a company embraces must align with the vision the company desires to achieve. When there is a misalignment between the values of a company and their vision, there is little likelihood the company will ultimately achieve its long-term vision.
Companies that embrace learning and seek to develop a learning culture, are the opposite of command and control. They encourage people to learn by creating ways of rewarding learners and those who take reasonable risks. They know that continued survival and success requires continuous learning, so they provide creative opportunities to create a learning climate within their organizations. They not only value learning, they demonstrate their commitment to learning with practices and processes that promote and encourage learning by all its members.