Organizational Learning in the Global Context

Packed with case studies all based on original research, this volume investigates how various organizations exploit experience and knowledge to change their activities and understanding of the world. The volume addresses a variety of issue areas such as the US embargo against Cuba, food security, Colombian drug trafficking, terrorist groups, the Catholic Church, and foreign aid agencies.

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.