Re: Impact of reengineering on jobs
Mariann Jelinek (mxjeli@mail.wm.edu)
Fri, 27 Jan 1995 17:09:54 -0500
Alexia's cite of the Hammer & Champy interview is on target; it
also caught my eye. The issues it raises are especially difficult because
the academic world is still struggling with the residues of the past -
most notably, the bureaucratic rules of accreditation and courses, credits
and degree requirements for students; and the bells, whistles and hoops of
performance assessment for faculty. Who measures or values what we do? All
too often, what gains promotion or tenure, or at least makes one
invulnerable to harassment by others, is not what communicates with, or is
accessible to, managers. What do students want? All too often, they're
more interested in grades (and an easy course) than in getting their
perceptions stretched, and they certainly find it much easier to compute
(easy to learn; just drill) than to reconceptualize (tough to do, and when
you've done it, then you get to convince others you have a point . another
tough job).
In this time of reaccreditation and changes in the standards, the
insights of those who genuinely think in systemic terms is crucially
important. Is an MBA useful, anymore, or better, since demand continues
unabated, can we educate MBAs who would be learning org members? What
SHOULD thoughtful professors be teaching, in your view, to prepare
students to be useful in contemporary organizations, especially to be
useful in moving them toward becoming learning organizations???
MXJELI@MAIL.WM.EDU
Mariann Jelinek
Richard C. Kraemer Professor of Business
Graduate School of Business,
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23185
Tel. (804) 221-2882 FAX: (804) 229-6135