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.

Table of Contents:
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.

About the Author :
M. Leann Brown is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, USA. She teaches International Political Economy, Politics of the European Union, and International Environmental Relations on the graduate and undergraduate levels. Michael Kenney is Assistant Professor of Public Policy in the School of Public Affairs at Pennsylvania State University, Capital College, USA. Immediately before assuming this post, he was a research fellow at the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. Michael Zarkin is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Between 2000-2003, he was Assistant Professor of Political Science at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas.

Review :
'This is an extraordinary book...the authors bring centre stage a penetrating arsenal of analytic and empirical tools to cast light upon issues of our knowledge based age. Students, scholars and interested citizens will profit immensely from this volume.' John de la Mothe, University of Ottawa, Canada 'This volume provides a theoretically useful and historically rich treatment of learning by different types of actors in a variety of interesting subject areas. It is an important contribution to our understanding of a critical aspect of social behavior that will be of interest to scholars and students in nearly all of the social sciences.' Jack S. Levy, Rutgers University, USA '...reaches a number of important policy-related conclusions that will be of use to policy makers as well as to all social scientists. Educators as well will find much of interest.' Sir Read A Lot 'For those interested in organizational learning and social sciences in general, this volume will be a welcome addition to their reading. It is a studious, well written, theoretically interesting and historically useful text.' Political Studies Review