Organizational learning as an enabler of international maritime security cooperation

Abstract

Successive U.S. National Security Strategies and annual military posture statements presented to Congress point to a worldwide security landscape that has become increasingly challenging and complex. As one of the ways to address those increasing complexities, U.S. policymakers and national security leaders have directed the military services to work more collaboratively with regional allies. As a result of the top-down strategic direction, countries across all regions have been training, exercising, integrating and operating together in ways that few would have predicted three decades ago. That collaboration has been especially evident among maritime services, both Navy and Coast Guard. As a result, the world's waterways have remained relatively safe from conflict. The literature review presents evidence that organizational learning (OL) within the U.S. maritime services (both Navy and Coast Guard) and with partner countries is at least part of the reason for that success. The researcher conducted a qualitative study using Marsick's and Watkins' (1999) OL framework to explore: How do U.S. Navy and Coast Guard officers describe how they learn and work cooperatively with their foreign navy counterparts? The study found that OL does enable maritime security cooperation between partner countries and that OL itself is enabled through collaborative activities, communicative activities, organizational elements, human relationships, technology, formal and informal training and education-related activities, and work practices. The findings suggest a rich array of launch points for future study in both theory and practice.