Our nation’s business success and acumen was conceived and cultivated utilizing a hierarchical structure based on centralized decision-making and limited communication with upper management. While this has been successful in the past, our rapidly evolving world requires organizations that can quickly adjust to changes in their environment. This presentation compares the traditional top-down vertical structure and the more contemporary horizontal Learning Organization. While there are benefits to both models, the literature reviewed indicates that the learning organization can lead to greater success in today’s business environment as it is better able to respond to the increasing complexity present in our current market. Both decision-making and communication is decentralized, creating challenges and benefits not seen in traditional organizations. While experts suggest employees need to shift their mindset from materialism to finding the intrinsic value of work, they also conclude that characteristics of a learning organization offer employees a better sense of ownership and work satisfaction.