MON2149@ritvax.isc.rit.edu wrote:
>I'm interested in identifying and knowing more about progressive
>organizations that are interested in developing state-of-the-art human
>resource/learning organizational strategies and techniques in such subject
>areas as leadership, cultural diversity, supervision, long-term learning
>strategies and career development and in acquiring an experienced
>professional in interpersonal and group facilitation skills, solutions to
>operational problems, administration and project development to help
>develop the above subjects.
>
>Rather than just a philosophical discussion on some aspect of when, why
>and how we learn, per se, I thought it would be interesting to focus on
>some of the "tools and techniques" used by colleagues to encourage
>"learning". For example, I'm in a university setting and have found that
>it usually takes a functional topic, such as leadership or diversity, to
>maximize participation re: value of philosophical discussions.
>
Hello there
I guess I'd give a couple of suggestions. First, the most important
technique I've come across is the educational approach called ACTION
LEARNING, which if you're unfamiliar with I can elaborate on. It seems to
deliver double loop benefits. I would absolutely endorse your notion to
base learning around a functional topic. I find things like "change" way
too woolly. Go for people's and the organisation's two or theree key
concerns, and there's your "syllabus".
I'm working at present with the Unipart Group in Oxford, England, who are
one of the few British firms to set up an in-house "university". also,
with the publishers of a journal I edit, MCB University Press, who are
trying very hard to actualise the notion of a learning organisation.
My friend Richard Osborne at Weatherhead School of Management, Case
Western, seems to be doing really good things there. Ken MacKenzie in
Kansas has an interesting diagnostic instrument to measure organisational
"intelligence" or learning capability. Stephen Drew at MacMaster in Canada
has done some good thinking about this. Lots of write-ups are available in
The Learning Organization - an International Journal, which you may have
in your library? That's the one I'm editor of. I have no interest
whatsoever in selling subscriptions! But there's some good stuff in there.
I'd be happy to elaborate. My modest consultancy operation works kind of
in and around all this field.
Good luck!
John Peters
Red Swan Ltd, England.
--
john peters (johnpeters@gn.apc.org)