Re: Def. of Learning Org LO4041

OrgPsych@aol.com
Sun, 3 Dec 1995 23:52:06 -0500

Replying to LO3960 --

I have seen what is, to me, a potentially distirbing trend in much of the
dialogue here. That is the tendency to try to fix "in stone" exactly what
something is and what it will produce. One example of this is the
definition of a learning organization. Another example is the whole
subject of teams.

Each person, and each group, learns in its own unique way. This way may
share some common characteristics with the ways of others, but it is still
unique to the particular person or group.

Likewise, a team in one situation may not work at all in a different
situation. Peter Drucker gives three types of teams. These are the
baseball/traditional manufacturing assembly organization,
football/symphony, and the tennis doubles. Each of these is a true team
according to any definition of a team. Yet, each type of organization
will tell you that they are the best type of team. We also seem to have a
tendency to pick the type of team that is most familiar to us and to try
to build that type of team as a panacea for all our organizational woes.

My point in all of this is that the basic question for me is "what does it
look like?" This does not mean what SHOULD it look like? Nor does it
mean what is the IDEAL? I mean simply that any given concept applied in
any number of organizational contexts will yield that many different
manifestations of "what it looks like."

When I read so many trying to define a cocept and then fine tune that
definition to include all possible permutations, I get worried that we are
missing the chance to make a real difference in people's lives and their
organizations rather than engaging in a pedagogical discussion or
dialogue.

I believe in the need for "pure" science or knowledge. However, I have
just seen this pursuit taken to such extremes in the past that any real
value of that knowledge is lost on those who really need it (i.e.
application).

Just a couple of thoughts to ponder.

--
Clyde Howell
The Howell Group
Aiken, SC
Orgpsych@aol.com