VOA慢速英语2010年-Education Report - How Failure Can Lea

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.

One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.

They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years.

He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.

The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights.

In two thousand two, a piece of insulating¹ material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still, the flight was considered a success.

Then, in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation² struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation³ led to suggested changes.

Retired⁴ Navy Admiral Harold Gehman served as chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, which sought lessons from the 2003 shuttle disaster

Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to airlines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past.

He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal.

The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly.

Fabricio Cimino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum shows up and, passing by, says to me "Did you try plugging it?" I was like "I'm just dusting, Mum!" so she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!

Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in his pocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after a few weeks ... where is my wallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place.

You can find more comments like these on Facebook at VOA Learning English. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Avi Arditti. I'm Steve Ember.

　
 

1 insulating   

adj.绝缘的；保暖的

参考例句：

• Help to conserve energy by insulating your home. 对房屋做隔热处理来帮助节约能源。
• Insulating materials of this type are in two forms. 这类保温材料有两种形式。

2 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。