> From: "Forbes, Ted" <ForbesT@darden.gbus.virginia.edu>
> Date: Thu, 30 Nov 95 08:57:00 EST
>
> Sam Jelinek wrote:
>
> >Note, too, that as we "streamline," downsize, "rightsize," etc., we are
> removing what used to be called "organizational slack." Because there's
> less slack, there's less buffer to recover in, fewer organizational
> resources to respond to crisis, especially repeated crisis. People simply
> get tired, but much of the contemporary business writing seems to envision
> people working at a constant fever pitch of intensity, engagement and push
> - as if we were all machines that could endlessly perform. Instead, crisis
> mode and high intensity operations are more like running a marathon - tens
> of thousands of people of all ages have done it, some for year after year.
> But not every day, and not without rest and recovery time. Athletes train
> with rest days built in. So how can we adapt our organizations to both
> high performance and humane recognition of people's needs?
>
They may not go to the orginal type of slack, but they will always
go back to organizational slack. Even if it is not organizationally
created slack, workers/employees/firefighters/police officers/etc., will
find the time to stop and think, or exhange ideas, or critisize
management, or...
>
> I agree with Sam that the reduction of slack in organizations has
> dramatically reduced, if not totally eliminated, the time for reflection.
> Moreover, this seems to negatively affect the process of learning. How
> can we learn if we cannot reflect on what we have done?
>
I use the the "learnig wheel" proposed by Charles Handy (The Age
of Unreason), where he represents learning as a wheel that covers four
different aspects: questions, theories, testing, and reflections (I tried
to draw the diagram but failed!), but you can imagine a cycle composed of
these four parts! I use the diagram to show poeple how to check if
learning is really taking place. If any one, or more, of these components
is missing from the situation, then learning may be happening.
> In my experience, learning (my own and that which I hope occurs in my
> classroom) is often disconfirmational. When mental models are called into
> question - when all of one's assumptions are turned upside down - we
> experience, at least initially, profound discomfort. This is a critical
> point; because it has been threatening, it is easy to discount, to ignore
> or to attack. Instead, if learning is to occur, this period of
> disorientation needs to be accompanied by an assimilation of what we have
> just experienced, followed by a reconfiguration of mental maps to
> accomodate new perspectives and insights.
>
I think that I try to accomplish the same in my classes. Students
must questions, and if they don't it I help them. I also believe that
learning starts with questions!
> I often wonder if this is why it currently seems so difficult to "bring
> back home" what goes on in training or educational experiences. Having
> been thrown back into the fire, survival is the only reasonable mode to
> adopt.
>
> So here is a question - how should/do organizations address the tension
> created by the need for maximum work efficiency and productivity with the
> need to allow learning to "sink in?" And how do we recognize this
> learning once it has occured?
>
> "Forbes, Ted" <ForbesT@darden.gbus.virginia.edu>
Reflection is basic! I experienced an interesting process in the
fire department. In this organization, one practices (drills,
simulations, pre-planning, etc) the potential contingencies. Then these
contingencies are present, and one resolves them (put the fire out, or
whatever). Then, one goes back to the station and discusses what happened
in light of the preparation prior to the problem, and what relly happened
during the real thing. This leads to adjustments in the preparation for
future problems! Neat process! And it involves most everyone who
participates in the situation.
Ivan
--
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"Si un hombre fuera necesario para sostener el Estado, este
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