Organizational Learning in the Global Context

Organizational learning is an area of study that focuses on models and theories about the way an organization learns and adapts. This volume investigates how various global and regional intergovernmental organizations, states and national bureaucracies, as well as nongovernmental organizations, exploit experience and knowledge to change their understanding of the world, their policies and their behaviours. Drawing upon and synthesizing organizational, social and individual-level learning theories, the cases explicate various learning processes, learning by illicit actors, and deterrents to organizational learning. The twelve case studies of this volume consider organizational learning associated with multiple issue areas including the United States embargo against Cuba, food security in the European Union, the Russian energy sector, Colombian drug trafficking, terrorist groups, the Catholic Church, and foreign aid agencies. Based entirely on original research, the volume is relevant to international relations, comparative politics, organizational sociology and policy studies. Contents: Organizational Learning: theoretical and methodological considerations, M. Leann Brown and Michael Kenney. Learning Processes: Learning and food security in the European Union, M. Leann Brown; The US Congress and the Cuban embargo: analysis of a learning process, Paolo Spadoni; Epistemic communities and the Russian energy sector, Eric A. Morgan. Social Learning: US telecommunications policy: a process of social learning, Michael J. Zarkin; Lesson-drawing, policy transfer and social learning: what can the economic historian learn?, Michael J. Oliver; An ecology of learning: concepts, methods and the United States 1992 Somalia intervention, David C. Ellis. Learning by Illicit Actors: Organizational learning processes in Colombian drug trafficking networks, Michael Kenney; Organizational learning and terrorist groups, Brian A. Jackson. Deterrents to Learning: Changing church: middle managers and learning in dogmatic organizations, William J. Campbell; 'Getting it right or wrong': organizational learning about the physical world, Lynn Eden; Unlearning war: US military experience with stability operations, Karen Guttieri; Learning problems in foreign aid agencies, Goran Hyden. What Have We Learned About Organizational Learning?, M. Leann Brown. References; Index.