The purpose of this paper is to investigate the organizational learning methods that contribute to increasing effective disaster management skills. This study compared and analyzed the organizational learning process of two incidents: the Sea Prince oil spill in 1995 and the Hebei Spirit oil spill in 2007.
Five organizational learning factors--shared vision, institutional improvement, leadership, systematic thinking, and knowledge creation were reviewed. The results indicate that shared vision, institutional improvement, and knowledge creation has gradually enhanced after the occurrence of the Sea Prince oil spill. Due to doubts about the effectiveness of newly adopted policies, institutions, and programs increase the capacity of shared vision, institutional improvement, and knowledge creation, however, it is difficult to assert that virtual development has been made; leadership and systematic thinking were both insufficiently dealt with in either case. Consequently, disaster management on the Hebei Spirit accident failed to learn anything from the former Sea Prince incident where there was rather a ‘non-learning' attitude towards the issue.
The lack of safety awareness, ineffective leadership, absence of systematic thinking, sketchy education, weak information infrastructure, and the inflexible organization structure are obstacles to an effective organizational learning process for better serving disaster management skills. These elements should be eradicated in such a way to help create an environment for adequate organizational learning.