Standard Operating Procedures and Organizational Learning

We report results of a study on processes of Organizational Learning (OL). Changes and suspensions of organizational rules are taken as indicators for OL. The empiric analysis is performed with personnel rules of a German bank. The aim of our study is to identify factors that have an impact on rule changes and suspensions and thereby on OL. These influence factors are, on the one hand, variables that reflect experiences of organizational members with rules and, on the other, variables which capture organizational and environmental shifts. An important finding of this study is that the processes of rule change and rule suspension follow quite different patterns. The changing of a rule is mainly influenced by experience variables. Two basic modes of experiential influences could be shown: habitualization and working one's way out of a failure trap. Experience variables also play a role in the process of rule suspension. The negative influence of rule age on the suspension process suggests that the habitualization of rules over time increases reluctance to abolish a rule. It could also be shown that the positive version age effect on the suspension rate, which indicated an obsolescence process during the existence of a rule version when no additional variables are controlled, is explained by ecological shifts. Organizational and environmental shifts hardly display any significant effects on the rate of rule change. On the other hand, these shifts represent distinct influences on rule suspension. When the environment of a rule changes the need for an abolishment of this rule rises. The attention towards rules which are no longer appropriate seems to be stimulated by these environmental and organizational shifts. These findings suggest that OL can consist of a type of learning which is rather independent of certain ecological triggers and it can also consist of a type of learning which is maintained in order to adapt to certain changes within and outside the o

Limited Rationality, Formal Organizational Rules, and Organizational Learning (OL)

In spite of a broad agreement among researchers in organizational theory on the importance of rules for the functioning of organizations, most theories of OL neglect or tend to underestimate the role of organizational rules in processes of OL. However, there is one important exception: James G. March, his cooperators and his students. He and Richard Cyert (1963) developed a theory of OL long before this concept became a management fashion. And since that then he and his group have continuously revised and developed this theory. These theories provide fundamental insights into processes of OL, although, so far, they have not yet received adequate recognition in the more popular management literature. These theories assume that complex organizations learn by the ways in which individuals experiment, form inferences and code the lessons of history into rules. OL is based on routines. It is history-dependent and target-oriented. To a large extent OL depends on the relation between observed organizational outcomes and the aspirations set for these outcomes (Levitt and March, 1988: 320). In this article we try to give an introduction into the theories on learning in the March school and link it with our own conceptual and empirical work.

Standard operating procedures and organizational learning

We report results of a study on processes of Organizational Learning (OL). Changes and suspensions of organizational rules are taken as indicators for OL. The empiric analysis is performed with personnel rules of a German bank. The aim of our study is to identify factors that have an impact on rule changes and suspensions and thereby on OL. These influence factors are, on the one hand, variables that reflect experiences of organizational members with rules and, on the other, variables which capture organizational and environmental shifts. An important finding of this study is that the processes of rule change and rule suspension follow quite different patterns. The changing of a rule is mainly influenced by experience variables. Two basic modes of experiential influences could be shown: habitualization and working one's way out of a failure trap. Experience variables also play a role in the process of rule suspension. The negative influence of rule age on the suspension process suggests that the habitualization of rules over time increases reluctance to abolish a rule. It could also be shown that the positive version age effect on the suspension rate, which indicated an obsolescence process during the existence of a rule version when no additional variables are controlled, is explained by ecological shifts. Organizational and environmental shifts hardly display any significant effects on the rate of rule change. On the other hand, these shifts represent distinct influences on rule suspension. When the environment of a rule changes the need for an abolishment of this rule rises. The attention towards rules which are no longer appropriate seems to be stimulated by these environmental and organizational shifts. These findings suggest that OL can consist of a type of learning which is rather independent of certain ecological triggers and it can also consist of a type of learning which is maintained in order to adapt to certain changes within and outside the organization

It’s not charisma that makes extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs, but extraordinary success that makes entrepreneurs charismatic : a second-order observation of the self-reinforcing entrepreneurial ideology

Extreme success among entrepreneurs is often attributed to their charisma. In contrast, this essay claims that success causes the ascription of charisma to entrepreneurs. The proponents of the entrepreneurial ideology uphold successful charismatic entrepreneurs as role models to attract aspiring entrepreneurs in the face of deterrent information like the share of luck accountable for many prosperous entrepreneurial projects, startups’ low success rate, the entrepreneur’s restricted role in creating economic growth, and the routinization of the entrepreneurial function. Yet, due to the ideological functionality of attributing charisma to successful entrepreneurs, we suggest that – despite the strong contrary evidence – the glorification of entrepreneurs will continue to exist (and might become even stronger) in times of “alternative facts”. Yet, such a strategy of biased fact interpretation may have considerable negative side effects on society and individuals striving for entrepreneurship. Therefore, we not only call for more research taking into account the multidimensional nature of entrepreneurship, but also sensitize researchers for the threat of post-factual thinking when engaging in an ideological intervened research stream

Limited rationality, formal organizational rules, and organizational learning (OL)

In spite of a broad agreement among researchers in organizational theory on the importance of rules for the functioning of organizations, most theories of OL neglect or tend to underestimate the role of organizational rules in processes of OL. However, there is one important exception: James G. March, his cooperators and his students. He and Richard Cyert (1963) developed a theory of OL long before this concept became a management fashion. And since that then he and his group have continuously revised and developed this theory. These theories provide fundamental insights into processes of OL, although, so far, they have not yet received adequate recognition in the more popular management literature. These theories assume that complex organizations learn by the ways in which individuals experiment, form inferences and code the lessons of history into rules. OL is based on routines. It is history-dependent and target-oriented. To a large extent OL depends on the relation between observed organizational outcomes and the aspirations set for these outcomes (Levitt and March, 1988: 320). In this article we try to give an introduction into the theories on learning in the March school and link it with our own conceptual and empirical work

Die Akkreditierung - eine Leistungsbeurteilung mit System? : die Überprüfung der Qualität der universitären Ausbildung am Beispiel AACSB

Die zunehmende Intensität des interuniversitären Wettbewerbs erhöht die Bedeutung des Qualitätsmanagements. Die Qualität von Forschung und Lehre wird durch Evaluationen er-fasst. Evaluation ist Teil einer Akkreditierung, bei der vor allem geprüft wird, ob die Qualität eines Studiengangs vorgegebenen Mindeststandards entspricht. In der deutschen Hochschul-landschaft gibt es bisher kein etabliertes Modell zur Qualitätsmessung und -verbesserung. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt ein Instrument zur Messung der Qualität von (wirtschaftswissen-schaftlichen) Fakultäten vor. Das behandelte Modell, das AACSB (The International Asso-ciation for Management Education)-Modell zur Leistungsbeurteilung und Akkreditierung, besticht durch seine erschöpfende Behandlung aller mit der Qualität einer Fakultät verbunde-nen Themenkomplexe. Es geht damit weit über eine bloße Evaluation von Studium und Lehre hinaus. Im Hinblick auf Rigorosität und Handhabbarkeit ist es u.E. den bisher entwickelten Konzepten überlegen. empirischen Studie zu quantifizieren

Leistungsorientierte Entlohnung - kann die geplante Dienstrechtsreform die Abwanderung von qualifizierten Nachwuchswissenschaftlern verhindern?

Mit der geplanten Dienstrechtsreform, die von Edelgard Bulmahn, Bundesministerin für Bildung und Forschung, vorgestellt wird, sollen Hochschullehrer in Zukunft leistungsorientiert entlohnt und für junge Nachwuchswissenschaftler bessere Arbeitsbedingungen geschaffen werden. Für Hans Zehetmair, Bayerischer Staatsminister für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur, müssen die Chancen einer stärker an Leistung orientierten Professorenbesoldung genutzt werden, »denn nur so werden wir im internationalen Wettbewerb der deutschen Hochschulen um die qualifiziertesten Wissenschaftler weiterhin erfolgreich sein können«. Auf heftige Kritik stoßen diese Pläne allerdings bei den Betroffenen: Prof. Dr. Hartmut Schiedermair, Präsident des Deutschen Hochschulverbandes, Prof. Dr. Klaus M. Schmidt, Universität München, sowie Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Alfred Keser, Universität Mannheim, wenden sich gegen die Reformmaßnahmen und befürchten, dass »diese Reform nicht zusammen mit den Betroffenen politisch gestaltet werden soll, sondern Politik gegen die Betroffenen gemacht wird«.Deutschland; Leistungsorientierte Vergütung; Vergütungssystem; Hochschullehrer

Erinnerte Macht. Antike Herrschergräber in transkultureller Perspektive

Zu den Leitformen der alten Reiche Ostasiens und der westlichen Antike gehören exponierte Gräber der führenden Persönlichkeiten. Die Beiträge untersuchen, wie die Grabanlagen die Erinnerung an den Toten formten, zugleich die Wertvorstellungen ihrer Zeit spiegeln und zur Stabilisierung der geltenden Ordnung beitrugen. Dabei interessiert die Funktion der Gräber als Mittel der Selbstdarstellung und als Selbstbeschreibung des Herrschers. Aufschluss geben vor allem jene Monumente, die vom Regenten selber zu Lebzeiten geplant und errichtet worden sind. Ein zweiter Aspekt ist die Bedeutung des Grabs als Manifestation von Vorstellungen über Herrschaft. So kann die Wahl der Bauform den Bezug auf frühere Denkmäler herstellen und damit den Verstorbenen in eine bestimmte Tradition stellen oder aber grundlegende neue Formen finden und so seine besondere Position betonen. Ebenso untersucht wird der Einfluss der Gräber auf das Bild der Nachwelt von der Person des Herrschers und ihre Instrumentalisierung durch die Nachfolger zur Stabilisierung der eigenen Macht