Question: No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from 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 insulating 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 insulation 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 investigation led to suggested changes.

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 Cmino 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 showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it'? 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 hispocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after-a few weeks,where is mywallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place. 1. What do organizations learn more from than successes?
2. Do they learn more from failures or successes?
3. What do they keep longer as a result?
4. Who was Vinit Desai's research partner?
5. What type of learning did they not find much of?
6. How long does knowledge from failure last?
7. What does Professor Desai say that organizations should treat failures as?
8. What kind of vehicles did the companies the study looked at launch?
9. What year was the Atlantis damaged?
10. How many crew members on the Columbia died?
11. What industry does Professor Desai use as an example of learning from failure?
12. What does he urge leaders to encourage?
13. Where was this study published? Provide a numbered list of answers.
****
A numbered of answers: 1. not much
2. failure
3. knowledge
4. Peter Madsen
5. organizational learning
6. years
7. learning opportunities
8. space vehicles
9. 2002
10. seven
11. the airline industry
12. open sharing of information
13. the Academy of Management Journal.

input: Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and some other Asian languages. In Standard Chinese they are called Hanzi (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ). They have been adapted to write a number of other languages including: Japanese, where they are known as kanji, Korean, where they are known as hanja, and Vietnamese in a system known as chu Nom. Collectively, they are known as CJKV characters. In English, they are sometimes called Han characters. Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world. By virtue of their widespread current use in East Asia, and historic use throughout the Sinosphere, Chinese characters are among the most widely adopted writing systems in the world.

Chinese characters number in the tens of thousands, though most of them are minor graphic variants encountered only in historical texts. Studies in China have shown that functional literacy in written Chinese requires a knowledge of between three and four thousand characters. In Japan, 2,136 are taught through secondary school (the Joyo kanji); hundreds more are in everyday use. There are various national standard lists of characters, forms, and pronunciations. Simplified forms of certain characters are used in China, Singapore, and Malaysia; the corresponding traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and to a limited extent in South Korea. In Japan, common characters are written in post-WWII Japan-specific simplified forms (shinjitai), which are closer to traditional forms than Chinese simplifications, while uncommon characters are written in Japanese traditional forms (kyujitai), which are virtually identical to Chinese traditional forms. In South Korea, when Chinese characters are used they are of the traditional variant and are almost identical to those used in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong. Teaching of Chinese characters in South Korea starts in the 7th grade and continues until the 12th grade where 1,800 total characters are taught albeit these characters are only used in certain cases (on signs, academic papers, historical writings, etc.) and are slowly declining in use. 1. What is used to write Asian languages?
2. What kind?
3. Do they use them in Japanese?
4. What do they call them?
5. What are they in standard Chinese?
6. In Korean?
7. What do they use in Vietnam?
8. What are they referred to as in English?
9. How many Chinese characters are there?
10. How many should you know to be literate in Chinese?
11. How many forms are there?
12. Where do they use traditional characters?
13. What kind do they use in Malaysia?
14. What about in Hong Kong?
15. How many characters would you learn in a secondary school in Japan?
16. What is that group called?
17. Do they use more than that on a daily basis?
18. When do they start learning them in South Korea?
19. When do they stop?
20. How many do they learn? Return numbered answers in your output.

output:
1. characters
2. CJKV characters
3. yes
4. kanji
5. Hanzi
6. hanja
7. a system known as chu Nom
8. Han characters
9. the tens of thousands
10. between three and four thousand characters
11. There are various national standard lists of characters, forms, and pronunciations
12. In South Korea
13. Simplified forms of certain characters
14. A traditional variant
15. 2,136
16. the Joyo kanji
17. yes
18. the 7th grade
19. the 12th grade
20. 1,800