Title : Failing To Learn? The Effects of Failure and Success on Organizational Learning in the Global Orbital Launch Vehicle Industry. (2010)
Author : Peter M.Madsen
Hypothesis :
Hypothesis 1. Prior organizational failure experience reduces the likelihood of future organizational
failure more than does prior organizational success experience.
Hypothesis 2. Observation of others’ prior organizational failure experience reduces the likelihood of future organizational failure more than does observation of others’ prior organizational success experience.
Hypothesis 3. Knowledge gained through prior direct organizational success experience depreciates
more rapidly than does that gained through prior direct organizational failure experience.
Hypothesis 4. Knowledge gained through observation of others’ successes depreciates more rapidly than does that gained through observation of others’ failures.
Hypothesis 5. Prior organizational experience with major failure reduces the likelihood of future organizational failure more than does prior organizational experience with minor failure.
Hypothesis 6. Prior success experience increases the likelihood of future organizational failure for organizations with relatively little direct failure experience.
Hypothesis 7. Observation of others’ prior success experience increases the likelihood of future organizational failure for organizations with relatively little direct failure experience.
Hypothesis 8. Observation of others’ prior failure experience increases the likelihood of future
organizational failure for organizations with relatively little direct failure experience, but it reduces the likelihood of future organizational failure for organizations with significant direct failure experience.
Method :
a) The sample consists of all orbital launch attempts carried out by any organization worldwide
in the period beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, through March 2004
b) Several databases was compared to ensure completeness and accuracy, but the principal data was taken from National Space Science Data Centre
c) Analysis carried out by using logistic regression and depreciation parameter
Conclusion :
a) Learning from large failure drives organizational improvement in the orbital launch vehicle industry
b) Knowledge gleaned from failure persists longer than that knowledge develop through successes
c) Different form of experience drives organizational learning interactively
Opinion :
Members of public organization have huge stigma over failure, especially in the corporate level. Because, members refuse to acknowledge failure, and refrain to communicate about it.The culture of embracing failure should be cultivated at the corporate level. Methods such as lesson learn, postmortem after each programs/projects should be compulsory in each level. This to ensure, members learn failure from others and perhaps avoiding it again.
