Organizational Learning (organizational + learning)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting

Terms modified by Organizational Learning

  • organizational learning theory

  • Selected Abstracts


    Organizational Learning in Global Purchasing: A Model and Test of Internal Users and Corporate Buyers,

    DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2000
    G. Tomas M. Hult
    ABSTRACT This research examines a model centered on organizational learning in purchasing. Two different studies are conducted to test the hypotheses among purchasing users (Study 1) and buyers (Study 2). The user sample consists of users representing 355 strategic business units of a Fortune 500 multinational corporation. The buyer sample consists of corporate buyers of 200 multinational corporations drawn from the membership directory of the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM). In each study, the focus is on the learning relationships between corporate buyers and internal users in the purchasing organization. Based on the two studies, the results suggest that organizational learning in the purchasing process is influenced by the organizational culture factors of localness, transformational leadership, and openness. Organizational learning has a positive effect on information processing in the purchasing system, which, in turn, has a positive influence on the cycle time of the purchasing process. [source]


    The Failure of Organizational Learning from Crisis , A Matter of Life and Death?

    JOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2009
    Dominic Elliott
    The continuing failure of organizations to learn from crisis has many costs, social, political, financial and individual and may be attributable to a misunderstanding of learning processes. This paper maps out contributions to learning from crisis from a number of fields. Central to the paper's argument is that the separation of policy development from practice, in theory and action, has contributed to a failure to learn. The paper considers two cases where the failure of child protection services resulted in the deaths of the children concerned. These two cases, separated by seven years, were connected by the failure of the same local authorities and agencies. The paper concludes with a number of observations concerning the public inquiry process. [source]


    Influences On Knowledge processes In Organizational Learning: The Psychosocial Filter

    JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 6 2000
    Kate M. Andrews
    This paper reports a segment of broader theory-building case study research exploring organizational learning and knowledge processes in a bio-medical consortium. Its focus is the individual-level factors that influence knowledge processes associated with organizational learning. As we explored how rganizational learning occurred, the underlying knowledge processes came forward as complex and idiosyncratic. In an unanticipated finding, micro-processes emerged as highly influential, with individual perceptions of approachability, credibility and trustworthiness mediating knowledge importing and knowledge sharing activities. We introduce a model ,the psychosocial filter, to describe the cluster of micro-processes that were brought forward in the study. Firstly, scientists filtered knowledge porting by deciding whom they would approach for information and from whom they would accept input. The individual's confidence to initiate information requests (which we termed social confidence) and the perceived credibility of knowledge suppliers both mediated knowledge importing. Secondly, scientists mediated knowledge sharing by actively deciding with whom they would share their own knowledge. Perceived trustworthiness , based on perceptions of what olleagues were likely to do with sensitive information , was the factor that influenced knowledge-sharing decisions. Significantly, the psychosocial filter seemed to constitute a heedful process with high functionality. Its effect was not to block knowledge circulation, but instead to ensure that nowledge-sharing decisions were made in a thoughtful and deliberate way. The psychosocial filter suggests an initial framework for conceptualizing the role that individual-level processes play in organizational knowledge sharing. Building on this, the model provides a platform for more focused exploration of knowledge processes and social relationships in organizational learning. [source]


    Organizational Learning: An Empirical Assessment of Process in Small U.K. Manufacturing Firms

    JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001
    Ians Chaston
    Organizational learning is increasingly being mentioned in the literature as a mechanism for assisting small firm survival. There exists, however, limited empirical evidence to validate the benefits claimed for the concept. A survey of small U.K. manufacturing firms was undertaken to ascertain whether entrepreneurial firms use higher-order (or double-loop) learning. Additional research aims included assessing whether organizational learning confers information management advantages and contributes to the upgrading of managerial competencies. The results suggest entrepreneurial firms do utilize higher-order learning and are able to manage information more effectively than non-entrepreneurial firms. Some evidence was found to support the view that higher-order learning influences certain managerial competencies. The implications of these findings are discussed and proposals presented on the needs for further research [source]


    Organizational Learning and Productivity: State Structure and Foreign Investment in the Rise of the Chinese Corporation

    MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2005
    Doug Guthrie
    abstract Over the two and a half decades of economic reform in China, two types of Chinese firms have consistently outperformed their peers. In the 1980s, it was the firms at the lower levels of the industrial hierarchy, the township and village enterprises that were closely monitored by local governments. In the 1990s and beyond, the top performers have been those Chinese firms that have formal relationships with foreign investors. While many studies on the economic reforms in China have focused on the hardening of budget constraints and the transfer of technology from foreign to Chinese firms, I focus here on the stability created by relationships with local government offices and with powerful foreign investors. Where advocates of shock therapy have argued that a rapid transition to market institutions was the best path to building a market economy, I argue that the successful practices of the market are learned gradually over time, and the Chinese firms that are stabilized by attention from local government offices and relationships with foreign investors are well-positioned to successfully navigate China's emerging markets. A quantitative analysis of 81 firms in industrial Shanghai and three case studies help illuminate the mechanisms behind these relationships. [source]


    Organizational Learning and the Case for Knowledge-Based Systems

    NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 113 2002
    Lisa A. Petrides
    This chapter discusses organizational learning and the required reassessment and redesign of internal structures and procedures related to the flow of information throughout the organization. It provides a framework for the integration of institutional research within the larger context of organizational learning and the creation and maintenance of a research culture facilitated by knowledge management. [source]


    Creating the Potential for Organizational Learning Through Interactive Simulation Debriefing Sessions

    PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2001
    Michael D. Proctor
    ABSTRACT High-end and high-cost technologies such as interactive simulation are increasingly being applied to government operations such as police, emergency management, SWAT, and fire fighter training to maintain readiness and improve performance. The simulation experience, when combined with after-training debriefing sessions, creates the potential for organizational learning. This research reports findings from field observations of debriefing sessions following organizational operations in interactive simulation systems. The findings focus on the relationship of different debriefing session techniques to identification of potential organizational learning opportunities. [source]


    On Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management

    BRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue S1 2004
    Stephen Gourlay
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Organizational Learning: New Directions

    BRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue S2 2002
    Russ Vince
    First page of article [source]


    Puzzles in Organizational Learning: An Exercise in Disciplined Imagination

    BRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue S2 2002
    Karl E. Weick
    Theory construction is in part an exercise in ,disciplined imagination'. One way to discipline our imaginations around the topic of organizational learning, it is to pay special attention to things we forget, values we slight, goals we neglect, facts we avoid and questions we fear. Each aspect of this framework is explored in the paper through a variety of stories and examples. These include Charles Handy's first job, fighting fires, medical diagnosis, Winston Churchill's reflections on the fall of Singapore and the identification of dangerous viruses. These rich and evocative stories offer moments for reflection on underlying issues involved in sense,making, and provide the reader with insights into the relationship between leadership and learning. [source]


    Organizational Learning in Global Purchasing: A Model and Test of Internal Users and Corporate Buyers,

    DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2000
    G. Tomas M. Hult
    ABSTRACT This research examines a model centered on organizational learning in purchasing. Two different studies are conducted to test the hypotheses among purchasing users (Study 1) and buyers (Study 2). The user sample consists of users representing 355 strategic business units of a Fortune 500 multinational corporation. The buyer sample consists of corporate buyers of 200 multinational corporations drawn from the membership directory of the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM). In each study, the focus is on the learning relationships between corporate buyers and internal users in the purchasing organization. Based on the two studies, the results suggest that organizational learning in the purchasing process is influenced by the organizational culture factors of localness, transformational leadership, and openness. Organizational learning has a positive effect on information processing in the purchasing system, which, in turn, has a positive influence on the cycle time of the purchasing process. [source]


    Organizational learning as an organization development intervention in six high-technology firms in Taiwan: An exploratory case study

    HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2007
    Bella Ya-Hui Lien
    Organizational learning (OL) is about how individuals collect, absorb, and transform information into organizational memory and knowledge. This case study explored how six high-technology firms in Taiwan chose OL as an organization development intervention strategy. Issues included how best to implement OL; how individuals, teams, and organizations learn; and the extent to which OL activities contributed to organizational performance. Five themes emerged as findings: (1) using language with which employees are familiar, (2) implementing OL concepts that are congruent with employees' work or personal life, (3) putting individual learning first and diffusing it to team learning and organizational learning, (4) using the knowledge management system to create an opportunity for individuals, teams, and the organization to learn, and (5) linking OL to organizational strategy to improve organizational performance. [source]


    Organizational learning and compensation strategies: Evidence from the Spanish chemical industry

    HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005
    Pilar Jerez-Gómez
    This study explores the role of compensation strategies in promoting organizational learning capability. By analyzing a sample of 111 Spanish firms from the chemical industry, we highlight how compensation strategies can be used to influence employees' commitment to learning and shape their understanding of the overall purpose of the organization. We also show that inappropriate strategies can lead to short-term efficiencies but damage longer-term learning. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Predicting the Performance of International Joint Ventures: An Investigation in China*

    JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 2 2003
    John Child
    ABSTRACT Organizational learning, resourcing and control have been identified in the literature as potential firm-level influences on the performance of international joint ventures (IJVs). The study reported here examines the impact of these factors on the performance of Sino-foreign IJVs. Their performance is assessed in terms of both ,goal' and ,system' criteria. The hypothesized performance determinants are found to be more strongly associated with variance in system performance than in goal performance. The main performance predictors are the parent companies' experience with international business and joint ventures, and the quality of resources they provide to the joint ventures in respect of capital investment, new facilities and operational inputs. When good quality resourcing is provided, the sharing of control with local partners also predicts higher IJV performance. The performance effects of these factors appears to be cumulative, implying that further research should examine them together rather than singularly. [source]


    Organizational Learning: An Empirical Assessment of Process in Small U.K. Manufacturing Firms

    JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001
    Ians Chaston
    Organizational learning is increasingly being mentioned in the literature as a mechanism for assisting small firm survival. There exists, however, limited empirical evidence to validate the benefits claimed for the concept. A survey of small U.K. manufacturing firms was undertaken to ascertain whether entrepreneurial firms use higher-order (or double-loop) learning. Additional research aims included assessing whether organizational learning confers information management advantages and contributes to the upgrading of managerial competencies. The results suggest entrepreneurial firms do utilize higher-order learning and are able to manage information more effectively than non-entrepreneurial firms. Some evidence was found to support the view that higher-order learning influences certain managerial competencies. The implications of these findings are discussed and proposals presented on the needs for further research [source]


    Organizational learning through knowledge workers and infomediaries

    NEW DIRECTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Issue 131 2005
    John Milam
    Knowledge management is defined and compared to information management and the institutional research function. In order to promote learning, new tools such as learning histories are needed, mistakes must be valued, and dissatisfaction recognized as part of the learning process. [source]


    The effectiveness of nonprofit lead-organization networks for social service delivery

    NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, Issue 4 2010
    Bin Chen
    Public agencies increasingly contract with nonprofit organizations to lead community-based networks for social service delivery. We explore the role that partnership characteristics play in the effectiveness of these networks. Using data on children and family services in Los Angeles County, we consider the impact of both the motivations for forming partnerships and the nature of the resulting partnerships on perceived outcomes for clients, interorganizational relationships, and organizational learning. We find that client outcomes and interorganizational relationships are enhanced when partnerships are formed to meet certain programmatic and organizational goals. Organizational learning, however, is affected only when partnerships are formed to enhance organizational legitimacy. Partners selected because they share common vision increase effectiveness, while those selected because there are few alternative partners decrease effectiveness. Finally, when partnerships use an interorganizational coordination mechanism, client outcomes are improved. The managerial implications of these impacts for the nonprofit sector are developed. The results lend considerable support to the role of partnership motivation and partner selection in the effectiveness of nonprofit lead-organization networks, and specificity about the nature of that role. [source]


    Organizational learning to manage sustainable development

    BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 5 2007
    Bernd Siebenhüner
    Abstract Combating global warming, safeguarding ecological support systems and reducing energy and resource use as well as maintaining functioning societies are key challenges for many businesses today and in the near future. These problems have been addressed under the integrating concept of sustainable development. Implementing sustainable development in corporations, however, necessitates organizational learning. In light of a wide variation in corporate behaviour in accepting these challenges or not, the question arises of when and why companies pursue processes of learning and change to integrate sustainability, what effects these innovations have, and to what extent, and what factors promote or inhibit learning. This article addresses these questions on the basis of an empirical analysis of six companies. The study analyses internal and external explanatory factors for the occurrence of sustainability-oriented learning and change processes in medium-sized and large companies. Our findings highlight the role of learning mechanisms, leadership styles, internal networks and change agents. In terms of company-external factors, the study focused on the pressure applied by stakeholders and governmental regulation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]


    Organizational Learning in Global Purchasing: A Model and Test of Internal Users and Corporate Buyers,

    DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2000
    G. Tomas M. Hult
    ABSTRACT This research examines a model centered on organizational learning in purchasing. Two different studies are conducted to test the hypotheses among purchasing users (Study 1) and buyers (Study 2). The user sample consists of users representing 355 strategic business units of a Fortune 500 multinational corporation. The buyer sample consists of corporate buyers of 200 multinational corporations drawn from the membership directory of the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM). In each study, the focus is on the learning relationships between corporate buyers and internal users in the purchasing organization. Based on the two studies, the results suggest that organizational learning in the purchasing process is influenced by the organizational culture factors of localness, transformational leadership, and openness. Organizational learning has a positive effect on information processing in the purchasing system, which, in turn, has a positive influence on the cycle time of the purchasing process. [source]


    Involvement in Knowledge-Acquisition Activities by Venture Team Members and Venture Performance

    ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 3 2009
    Gaylen N. Chandler
    This research uses concepts of organizational learning to analyze knowledge acquisition by management teams in emerging firms. Involvement in ongoing knowledge-acquisition activities is positively and significantly related to venture performance. In addition, task environment dynamism is a positive moderator of the relationship between involvement in knowledge-acquisition activities and venture performance. [source]


    How Corporate Entrepreneurs Learn from Fledgling Innovation Initiatives: Cognition and the Development of a Termination Script

    ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 6 2007
    Andrew C. Corbett
    Through a parallel examination of literatures on new product development termination and entrepreneurial cognition, this study explores a specific form of human capital development: learning from failure. Specifically we advance the literature on entrepreneurial human capital by linking cognitive scripts used by corporate entrepreneurs in project termination decisions to corresponding levels of learning. Our longitudinal investigation of technology-based firms suggests that corporate entrepreneurs use three types of termination scripts: (1) undisciplined termination, (2) strategic termination, and (3) innovation drift. We illustrate the presence of each script and analyze learning implications during innovation projects (action learning) and after termination (post-performance learning). Based on our analysis we suggest that organizational learning is dependent upon the type of termination script individuals employ. [source]


    How ABN AMRO and other international banks are succeeding in Romania

    GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 1 2007
    Roxana Wright
    The dynamic financial environment of Central and Eastern Europe allows for a clear determination of "best practices" in the banking industry through analysis of common patterns in banking and finance. We explain the specific practices that have led to successful adaptation on the part of international banks like ABN AMRO in Romania and to Romanian financial markets. In general, we have found, through a series of case studies designed to assess best practices, that the best performing strategies are those which are based upon "distributed decision making," allowing for decisive action and rapid organizational learning at the local level. In order for rapid organizational learning to take place, efficient business relationships are critical to the firm's functioning. In addition, the firm must develop a substantial diversity in both its internal and external networks. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Strategic adaptation to change: A practical system for achieving breakthrough performance

    GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 3 2002
    Martin M. Stein
    One of the best ways to understand the value of and need for organizational learning is to begin by setting a goal. Then examine the organizational barriers to achieving it,and design the policies, programs, and practices that will overcome them. This process, properly sustained, can continuously upgrade an organization's core competencies and intellectual capital. People get energized, knowledge gets communicated and applied, and change becomes a challenge rather than a threat. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Non-Governmental Organizations as Motors of Change

    GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 4 2007
    Cornelia Beyer
    On one hand, NGOs are seen as experts because of their proximity to the problems they address. They provide knowledge relevant to the solution of these problems and can bring this into the political process. They are able to increase the efficiency of global governance by participating in the policy-formation processes of international organizations. In this paper I will explain the role and functions of NGOs as described in the debate about their legitimacy and theorize , while applying Ernst Haas's theory of organizational learning , on the mechanisms likely to lead to their increasing integration into international institutions as well as the implications of this integration. [source]


    Changing the internal health and safety organization through organizational learning and change management

    HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 3 2006
    Peter Hasle
    Research from several countries indicates that the internal health and safety organization is marginalized in most companies, and it is difficult for the professionals to secure a proper role in health and safety on the companies' present agenda. The goal of a Danish project involving a network of 11 companies was to search for a solution to this problem. The health and safety managers and safety representatives played the role of "change agents" for local projects aiming to develop the health and safety organization. The study showed that 3 of the 11 companies proved to be able to implement successful changes; 5 were partially successful; 3 were nonperformers. The more successful outcomes seem to depend on the abilities of change agents to handle a complex and unpredictable project. Based on these case studies, it has been possible to deduce some strategies change agents must follow to fulfill such a process. Such strategies require the ability to be able to identify opportunities for change, establish a sustainable problem definition, and build coalitions. An amoeba model is suggested as a metaphor for this type of development project. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 16: 269,284, 2006. [source]


    The integration of work process knowledge into human resources development

    HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 4 2005
    Martin Fischer
    In this contribution the relationship between work process knowledge and human resources development is discussed. The concept of work process knowledge is described as it evolved as an outcome of a research network involving research institutions from 10 European countries (N. C. Boreham, R. Samurçay, & M. Fischer, 2002). Historical origins of the concept are mentioned and different dimensions of work process knowledge are depicted as a topic of ongoing research. How work process knowledge is considered within current research activities focusing on measures of organizational learning is also defined. In this respect, research results from the European research project OrgLearn ("Ways of Organisational Learning in the Chemical Industry and Their Impact on Vocational Education and Training," funded under the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Union and coordinated by the author) are reported. Finally, the implications of the concept of work process knowledge are discussed, which have become apparent in recent developments within vocational education and training in Germany. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 369,384, 2005. [source]


    Organizational learning as an organization development intervention in six high-technology firms in Taiwan: An exploratory case study

    HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2007
    Bella Ya-Hui Lien
    Organizational learning (OL) is about how individuals collect, absorb, and transform information into organizational memory and knowledge. This case study explored how six high-technology firms in Taiwan chose OL as an organization development intervention strategy. Issues included how best to implement OL; how individuals, teams, and organizations learn; and the extent to which OL activities contributed to organizational performance. Five themes emerged as findings: (1) using language with which employees are familiar, (2) implementing OL concepts that are congruent with employees' work or personal life, (3) putting individual learning first and diffusing it to team learning and organizational learning, (4) using the knowledge management system to create an opportunity for individuals, teams, and the organization to learn, and (5) linking OL to organizational strategy to improve organizational performance. [source]


    Invited reaction: The utilization of training program evaluation in corporate universities

    HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2004
    Rosalie T. Torres
    This reaction piece briefly reviews the findings from the Bober and Bartlett study of training evaluation use in corporate universities. It then focuses on the importance of context in understanding and facilitating evaluation use. The author suggests an alternative interpretation of particular findings based on a deeper consideration of the evaluation context in the settings studied. Additional suggestions for considering context are to identify the role of evaluation in organizational decision-making processes and identify the how and why of less prevalent uses of evaluation at particular sites. The piece concludes with a discussion of the purposes that the Bober and Bartlett study serve (their detailed accounts of the evaluation use literature and their methodology, and findings about instrumental uses of training evaluation), as well as a call for empirical studies investigating how evaluation use can best facilitate organizational learning. [source]


    Promoting organizational learning and self-renewal in Taiwanese companies: The role of HRM

    HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003
    Bih-Shiaw Jaw
    This study identifies key characteristics of human resource management (HRM) practices that contribute to promoting positive learning attitudes and creating a self-renewal organizational climate. We use a behavioral perspective to develop a framework to show the relationships among learning-oriented HRM, positive learning attitudes, and a self-renewal organizational climate. Structural equation analysis is applied to empirically test the relationships and the path model suggests that a learning-oriented HRM plays an important role in either directly creating a self-renewal organizational climate or indirectly facilitating positive learning attitudes that foster organizational self-renewal. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Developing a dynamic project learning and cross-project learning capability: synthesizing two perspectives

    INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 6 2008
    Sue Newell
    Abstract Driven by the complexity of new products and services, project work has become increasingly common in all types of organizations. However, research on project learning suggests that often project teams do not meet their stated objectives and, moreover, there is limited organizational learning from the experiences of project work. We use the dynamic capabilities framework to argue that building a dynamic project learning capability is useful for organizations that make extensive use of projects. We use both survey and interview data to discuss the key ways in which such a dynamic capability can be built. Our survey data demonstrate the importance of documenting project learning, but our interview data show that teams are often remiss at documenting their learning. The results from the two different approaches are synthesized using Boland & Tenkasi's notions of perspective-making and perspective-taking. Importantly, combining the results from the two sets of data suggests that organizations need to emphasize the benefits from project reviews and documentation and explore ways in which the documents produced can be made more useful as boundary objects to encourage the sharing of learning across projects. [source]