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ID: 165354

Military as a learning organisation: establishing the fundamentals of best-practice in lessons-learned / Dyson, Tom

Dyson, Tom	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

The post-Cold War era has witnessed the rapid expansion of organisational learning initiatives within NATO militaries, especially formal “lessons-learned” processes. The effectiveness of national lessons-learned processes in recalibrating military activity to the demands of ongoing operations has been highly-differentiated. However, the academic literature on military change and practitioner guidance has been slow to investigate the key features of best-practice in military learning. This article breaks new ground by drawing upon the literature on dynamic organisational capabilities to explore the fundamental organisational processes and activities which are necessary to implement successful lessons-learned. It examines, in particular, the organisational features which facilitate “knowledge transformation”: the effective combination of new knowledge gained from intra- and inter-organisational learning with existing organisational knowledge. The article concludes by highlighting several potential future empirical and theoretical research agendas in military learning and the importance of engagement between lessons-learned practitioners and organisational learning scholars.

Key Words

Military Learning ; Dynamic Organisational Capabilities ; Knowledge Transformation ; Lessons-Learned ; NATO Lessons-Learned Handbook

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ID: 175458

revolution in military learning? Cross-functional teams and knowledge transformation by lessons-learned processes / Dyson, Tom

Dyson, Tom	Journal Article
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The post-Cold War era has witnessed the widespread development of lessons-learned processes within NATO member-states. However, practitioner guidance and military innovation studies are yet to properly investigate the insights of management studies about best-practice in lessons-learned processes. In particular, they have failed to identify the activities which enable militaries to “transform” knowledge, by effectively combining new knowledge with existing organisational knowledge. Drawing upon the academic literature on cross-functional teams and original interview research, this article examines the organisational activities which improve the crucial “remedial action” phase of lessons-learned processes. It breaks new ground by identifying six key dimensions of lessons-learned process cross-functional teams and the organisational activities which enhance their performance. In doing so, the article improves understanding about the team processes and wider organisational activities which shape lessons-learned process effectiveness. It also examines the challenges associated with encouraging well-informed oversight of lessons-learned processes by the civilian and military leadership. The article concludes by identifying a number of important research agendas on lessons-learned processes.

Key Words

NATO ; Military Learning ; Absorptive Capacity ; Knowledge Transformation ; Cross-Functional Teams ; Lessons-Learned Processes

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