Organizational Learning in China,Germany and Israel [1]

The empirical research in China, Germany and Israel was conducted with support from the Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Foundation in the context of the Kolleg on ‘Organizational Learning in Various Environmental Conditions’. The authors would like to thank X. Zhang, Udler E. , A. Hoffmann and B. Raske for their cooperation in the project as well as K. Vaillant and C. Kerlen for their support in preparing this article.

Thurow L. , The Future of Capitalism, London: Nicholas Brealey, 1996; M Dierkes, ‘Zukunftswissenschaft? Über den Ausgangspunkt und die (Un)Realisierbarkeit einer Forschungsanforderung’, Wechselwirkung, 19/83, pp. 46-56; C. Offe, Arbeitsgesellschaft. Strukturprobleme und Zukunftsperspektiven, Frankfurt: Campus, 1984; P. Wagner, A Sociology of Modernity: Liberty and Discipline, London: Routledge, 1993.

Schein E.H. , ‘How Can Organizations Learn Faster? The Challenge of Entering the Green Room,’ Sloan Management Review, Winter, 1993, pp. 85-92; M. Dierkes and K. Hähner, ‘Unternehmenslernen als Komponente des Wachstums’, in: Albach H. (ed.), Globale soziale Marktwirtschaft. Ziele-Wege-Akteure, Wiesbaden: Gabler, 1994, pp. 247-262.

Dierkes M. , Albach H. , ‘Lernen über Organisationslernen’, in: Albach H. , Dierkes M. , Antal A. Berthoin , Vaillant K. (eds.), Organisationslernen: Institutionelle und kulturelle Dimensionen, Berlin: edition sigma, 1998, pp. 15-30.

For a review of the development of the field see Antal A. Berthoin , ‘Die Dynamik der Theoriebildungsprozesse zum Organisationslernen’, in: H. Albach, Dierkes M. , A. Berthoin Antal, Vaillant K. , Ibid, pp. 31-52.

J. March and Olsen J.P. , ‘The Uncertainty of the Past: Organizational Learning Under Ambiguity’, European Journal of Political Research, 3, 1975, pp. 147-171; C. Argyris and D. Schön, Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective, Reading, MA.: Addison-Wesley, 1978; C. Argyris and D. Schön, Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method, and Practice, Reading, MA.: Addison-Wesley, 1996; for an overview, see M. Dierkes, Alexis M. , A. Berthoin Antal, Hedberg B. , Pawlowsky P. , Stopford J. , L. S Tsui-Auch, The Annotated Bibliography of Organizational Learning (http://duplox.wz-berlin.de/oldb/bibliography.html).

A conscious attempt to expand the scope of research on organizational learning to include different kinds of organizations beyond companies was undertaken by the Science Center Berlin. Articles about organizational learning in such varied organizations as political parties, research institutes, local authorities, unions and international networks are to be found in: H. Albach, Dierkes M. , A. Berthoin Antal, K., op. cit.

Dierkes M. , Berthoin Antal A. and Helmers S. , ‘Unternehmenskultur: Eine Forschungsagenda aus Sicht der Handlungsperspektive’, in: Dierkes M. , von Rosenstiel L. and Steger U. (eds.), Unternehmenskultur in Theorie und Praxis, Frankfurt: Campus, 1993, pp. 200-218; E. Tsang ‘Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: A Dichotomy between Descriptive and Prescriptive Research’, Human Relations, 50/1, pp. 73-89. An example of an historical study is G. Feldman, ‘Organizational Learning and the German Banking Crisis of 1931 ‘, in: Albach H. , Dierkes M. , Antal A. Berthoin , Vaillant K. (eds.), op. cit., pp. 79-99. An example of a longitudinal study is J.C. Collins and Porras J.L. , Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, New York: Century, 1994.

Edmondson A. and Moingeon B. , ‘When to Learn How and When to Learn Why: Appropriate Organizational Learning Processes as a Source of Competitive Advantage’, in Moingeon B. and Edmondson A. (eds.), Organizational Learning and Competitive Advantage, London: Sage, 1996, pp. 17-37.

Kim D. H. , ‘The Link between Individual and Organizational Learning,’ Sloan Management Review, Fall, 1993, pp. 37-50; V. Friedman ‘The Individual as Agent of Organizational Learning,’ in, Dierkes M. , Berthoin Antal A. , Child J. , Nonaka I. (eds.), The Handbook of Organizational Learning, Oxford: Oxford University Press, (forthcoming).

Sandelands L.E. and Stablein R.E. , ‘The Concept of Organization Mind’, in: Bachararch S. B. (ed.), Research in the Sociology of Organizations: A Research Annual, Greenwich: JAI Press, 1987.

Shrivastava P. , ‘A Typology of Organizational Learning’, Journal of Management Studies, 20/1, pp. 7-28.

Katzenbach J. and Smith D.K. , The Wisdom of Teams, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1993.

Shrivastava P. , Mitroff I. , ‘Frames of Reference Managers Use: A Study in Applied Sociology of Knowledge’, Advances in Strategic Management, 1, 1983, pp. 161-182.

Senge P. , The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, New York: Doubleday, 1990; Cook S. and Yanow D. , ‘Culture and Organizational Learning’, Journal of Management Inquiry, 2/4, pp. 373-390.

Gherardi S. , ‘Looking for a New Frontier in Organizational Learning: Learning in the Face of Mystery’, paper presented at the conference ‘Organizational Learning: Moving from Theory to Research’, George Washington University, March 22-23, 1998; Tsang E. , op.cit; A. Berthoin Antal, ‘Die Dynamik der Theoriebildungsprozesse zum Organisationslernen’, in: Albach H. , Dierkes M. , A. Berthoin Antal, Vaillant K. , op. cit, pp. 31-52.

Hofmann J. , Implizite Theorien in der Politik: Interpretationsprobleme regionaler Technologiepolitik, Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1993; Hofmann J. , ‘Implicit Theories in Policy Discourse: An Inquiry into the Interpretations of Reality in German Technology Policy’, Policy Sciences, 28, 1995, pp. 127-148.

Argyris C. and Schön D. , 1978, 1996, op. cit.

Senge P. , op.cit.

Hofmann J. , 1993,p. 243, our translation.

Hofmann J. , 1993,p. 23, our translation.

Bourdieu P. , Homo Academicus, Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1985; Engler W. , Die zivilisatorische Lücke: Versuche über den Staatssozialismus, Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1992; P. Wagner, op. cit.

Blume S. , ‘Policy as Theory: A Framework for Understanding the Contribution of Social Science to Welfare Policy’, Acta Sociologica, 20/3, pp. 247-262; J. S. Brown and Duguid P. , ‘Organizational Learning and Communities of Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning and Innovation’, Organization Science, 2/1, pp. 40-57.

Nonaka I. , Takeuchi H. , The Knowledge-Creating Company, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Argyris C. and Schön D. , 1978, 1996, op. cit.

Przeworski A. and Teune H. , The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry, New York: Wiley, 1971.

Experience with such a process of analyzing qualitative data is documented in Antal A. Berthoin , Dierkes M. , Hahner K. , ‘Business Perception of Contextual Changes’, Business & Society, 4, 1997, pp. 387-407.

The findings reported in this section are based on X. Zhang, ‘Organizational Learning Instead of Shock Therapy: The Chinese Experience’, presentation at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, August 8, 1995, Vancouver; M. Dierkes and Zhang X. , ‘Corporate Transformation and Organizational Learning: The People's Republic of China’, Working Paper No. 202, The William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan Business School, March 1998, and transcripts and summaries of the interviews conducted in Chinese companies.

This section is based on research reported in Dierkes M. and Raske B. ‘Wie Unternehmen lernen’, Manager Magazin, July 1994, pp. 142-154; M. Dierkes ‘Transforming Organizations for the 21st Century: Lessons to be Learned from the Comparative Study’, presentation at annual meeting of the Academy of Management, August 8 1995, Vancouver; and on the transcripts of interviews conducted in German companies.

The findings presented in this section are based on Udler E. , ‘From Public Sector Shelter to Global Market Exposure. Reorientation in Israeli Business’, presentation at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, August 8, 1995, Vancouver; E. Udler, ‘Israeli Business in Transition’, discussion paper, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung FSII, 99-101; and on transcripts and summaries of interviews conducted in Israeli companies.

In 1992, 14 per cent of the labour force was employed in Histadrutowned companies, 60 per cent in private companies and 26 per cent in the public sector, Statistical Yearbook of the Central Bureau of Statistics, 1993.

Udler E. , ‘Israeli Business in Transition’, WZB discussion paper FSII, 99-101.

Hedberg B. , ‘How Organizations Learn and Unlearn’, in, Nystrom P.C. and Starbuck W. (eds.), Handbook of Organizational Design, Vol. 1, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981, pp. 3-27; M. E. McGill and Slocum J. W. , Jr., ‘Unlearning the Organization’, Organizational Dynamics, 1993, 22/2, pp. 67-79.

A study conducted in Hong Kong using the same semi-structured instrument also found that a harmonious combination of the three elements of structure, culture and human resource perspective is needed for organizational learning, and it confirmed the findings on factors promoting or blocking organizational learning: C. Kerlen, ‘Organisationslernen: Anpassungsstrategien von Großunternehmen in Hongkong’, unpublished thesis, Technical University of Berlin, 1995. Furthermore, a recent multi-country study using a very different methodology came to similar conclusions regarding structures, processes of communication and organizational culture, which they summarized under ‘learning orientations’, DiBella A. , Nevis E. , J. M. Gould, ‘Understanding Organizational Learning Capability, Journal of Management Studies, 33/3, 1996, pp. 361-379.

The early empirical research conducted by Paul Shrivastava, op.cit, in 32 companies in the US which generated six types of learning systems, suggests a similar insight. One of the conclusions of the study brings together the elements of structure and culture: ‘If the design of planning, information, and control systems is inconsistent with, and in conflict with the socio-cultural norms of the organization, there is a good chance of implementation failure. Hence, system designers should be careful to match the existing learning characteristics or practices within the organization’,p. 25.

Schein E. , op. cit,p. 90.