Annette Kluge

Barriers to Organizational Learning: An Integration of Theory and Research

This paper develops a theoretical foundation to describe and explain impediments to organizational learning (OL). Based on the expanded 4I model (Crossan et al. 1999. Academy of Management Review, 522–537), which was further developed by Lawrence et al. (2005. Academy of Management Review, 180–191), different learning barriers are categorized and discussed with regard to factors complicating or impeding OL. Finally, the paper analyses the impact of particular barriers on different kinds of organizational units, the relationship between OL barriers, single-loop and double-loop learning, as well as typical combinations of barriers and their respective impact on organizational performance.

Performance Assessments With Microworlds and Their Difficulty

The use of microworlds (MWs), or complex dynamic systems, in educational testing and personnel selection is hampered by systematic measurement errors because these new and innovative item formats are not adequately controlled for their difficulty. This empirical study introduces a way to operationalize an MWs difficulty and demonstrates the strong effects of variations in it. A rationale for predicting an MWs difficulty (number and quality of relationships between the same number of variables) is tested for difficultys impact on assessed performance. As the number of relationships increases, control performance, acquired knowledge, and self-efficacy as moderating variables decrease. Analysis of knowledge types (qualitative and quantitative) shows that system difficulty affects quantitative knowledge more than it does qualitative knowledge.

Designing training for process control simulators: a review of empirical findings and current practices

Although simulators have been widely used as training environments in different industries (e.g. oil and nuclear power), there is little rigorous empirical work evaluating the effectiveness of the training methods employed. This article examines the use of simulator training in process control environments. The results of an exploratory field study are reported and the current practices of simulator training are described. The study revealed that simulator training varied considerably across organisations, often with little theoretical or empirical work to guide training design. To evaluate the utility and effectiveness of different methods of simulator training in process control environments, the article also presents a literature review of the research on laboratory- and field-based training. Several training methods are identified as having particular potential for temporal and adaptive transfer and are to be empirically tested in future studies.

Measuring organizational learning from errors: Development and validation of an integrated model and questionnaire

Errors are an inevitable by-product of human labour. Therefore, organizational learning from errors should be regarded as a strategic goal of HR development. Despite a large number of studies on organizational learning from errors, a thorough understanding of error-related learning processes at work is still missing. In the present article, we present the results of a literature review that was used to derive an integrated model of organizational learning processes in the consequence of errors and to develop the questionnaire to assess the error-related learning climate in organizations. The questionnaire was evaluated on a sample of 383 employees of two companies. Confirmatory factor analyses support the suggested structure of error-related learning climate. Further analyses stress the relevance of constructive error handling in organizations by revealing substantial links between error-related learning climate and the effectiveness of error learning, self-perceptions and error-related behaviours of team members, as well as group cohesion and certain aspects of team performance.

The effects of heuristic rule training on operator performance in a simulated process control environment

In complex work environments, the occurrence of novel system states represents a particular challenge for the design of training. This article is concerned with the use of heuristic rules to prepare operators for the management of unfamiliar fault states. An experiment was carried out to examine the effects of heuristic rule training on operator performance and system management behaviour. Thirty-nine trainee operators from the chemical industry took part in the study. They were trained for 4 h on a PC-based simulation of a process control task. Operators in the experimental group received training on heuristic rules while operators in the control group did not. One week later the operators participated in a 70-min testing session. While the results showed that heuristic rules training led to better diagnostic performance, it was also associated with increased operator fatigue and impaired secondary task performance. The implications of the findings for using heuristic rule training are discussed.

Experiential Learning Methods, Simulation Complexity and Their Effects on Different Target Groups

This article empirically supports the thesis that there is no clear and unequivocal argument in favor of simulations and experiential learning. Instead the effectiveness of simulation-based learning methods depends strongly on the target groups characteristics. Two methods of supporting experiential learning are compared in two different complex simulations with students and apprentices as the target groups, and with knowledge acquisition and control performance as the learning criteria. As a main result, students outperform apprentices in knowledge acquisition and transfer performance in general. And whereas students feel most self-efficient in the guided exploration learning setting, for apprentices it is just the opposite: apprentices feel less self-efficient after the guided exploration learning phase. Also in respect to knowledge acquisition, students benefit from both support methods equally well in the low complex simulation, whereas for apprentices the difference is great. Transfer performance and processing time is also affected by the target group, although the simulation complexity plays a greater role here. Finally, after the experiment both target groups differed largely in their motivation to use simulation-based learning environments again. Psychologically relevant differences in target groups are discussed.

Organisationales Lernen und Lernende Organisation - ein Überblick zum Stand von Theorie und Empirie

In diesem Beitrag wird der Versuch unternommen, die vielfaltigen Begrifflichkeiten, Richtungen und Forschungsansatze des Organisationalen Lernens (OL) und der Lernenden Organisation (LO) - im Weiteren kurz OL/LO - zu systematisieren und anhand der Empirie zu zeigen, dass es das Organisationale Lernen oder die Lernende Organisation als einheitliche Begriffsbestimmung nicht gibt. Die dem Themenfeld zugrunde liegenden Perspektiven Informationsverarbeitung, Informationstechnologie, Wissensmanagement, strategische Unternehmensfuhrung, Fertigungssteuerung, Unternehmenskultur, Community, Organisationsentwicklung und Mikropolitik werden dazu hinsichtlich ihrer Zielsetzungen, Konstrukte, Aussagen, Operationalisierungen und empirischen Umsetzung vergleichend herausgearbeitet.

Comparative study of three training methods for enhancing process control performance: Emphasis shift training, situation awareness training, and drill and practice

Three training methods to improve attention management skills in process control were compared. Forty students from technical disciplines participated in a five-hour module of emphasis shift training (EST), EST combined with situation awareness training (EST/SA), and drill and practice (D&P) on a simulated process control task. Participants were then tested three times for 45min each (immediately after training, two weeks after training, and six weeks after training) for system control performance and diagnostic performance on familiar and nonfamiliar fault states. D&P led to superior diagnostic performance on familiar system faults. EST/SA training supported the diagnosis of novel system faults. EST was less effective than expected for system control performance. Implications for training design in process control are discussed.

The predictive qualities of operator characteristics for process control performance: the influence of personality and cognitive variables.

This article examines the relationship between operator characteristics and process control performance. Thirty-nine trainee operators participated in a 4-h training session of a simulated process control task and a testing session in which various system faults had to be managed. Cognitive ability, cognitive flexibility, self-efficacy and personality traits were measured as operator characteristics. Cognitive ability related positively to system control performance but not to diagnostic performance. Participants with low cognitive flexibility performed best on system control, whereas participants with high cognitive flexibility performed best on diagnostic performance. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that cognitive ability, cognitive flexibility and declarative knowledge accounted for about 30% of the variability of system control. The findings suggest that consideration of cognitive ability and cognitive flexibility be increased in personnel selection for complex work environments.

What you train is what you get? Task requirements and training methods in complex problem-solving

The study measured the effect of tested training methods (direct instruction, guided exploration, and a combination of both) on the performance of 497 participants on qualitative and quantitative knowledge tests and control performance task under three complex problem (CP) conditions (easy, medium, difficult). All three methods proved equally suited to meeting the requirements of reproducing qualitative knowledge. For acquisition of quantitative knowledge, the direct-instruction method outperformed a method requiring participants themselves to infer solutions. The greater a CPs intrinsic load due to parallel effects, the more effective direct instruction was at increasing control performance. The guided-exploration group and the combined-method group scored mixed results. The more difficult the CP, the more overall control performance deteriorated regardless of the training method.