Def of Learning Org LO4847

Roy Winkler (rwinkler@iquest.net)
Sat, 13 Jan 1996 09:59:57 -0800

Replying to LO4808 --

Rol Fessenden wrote:
> The alternative paradigm is that a manager will realize that anything she
> can do to enhance the performance of her staff will naturally be to her
> benefit as well. I find this to be a far more common point of view than
> the one you suggest, but yours is certainly out there more than it should
> be.

Peter Block in the "Empowered Manager" describes the differences
in norms and in outcomes between a paternal organization and an
entrepreneurial one. At the time of the book's writing, around 1986,
Block considered the paternal organizations to be in the majority.
A major component of paternal organizations is their traffic in
the currency of information. To get ahead in a paternal organization, one
must "please daddy." Pleasing daddy can mean looking good yourself, or it
can mean looking good compared to others on your level in the
organization. Selective information sharing is often the mechanism used
to differentiate one's self from the pack.

Paternal Organization: 1) A paternal contract exists between superiors and
subordinates. 2) Myopic self-interest prevails for those who would
advance in the organization. 3) Manipulative tactics are utilized to
improve status in the eyes of "daddy." 4) Dependency results between
subordinates and superiors such that the future of the subordinate is
determined by how "pleased" the superior is with him/her.

Entrepreneurial Organization: 1) An entrepreneurial contract exists
between superiors and subordinates. 2) Enlightened self-interest prevails
for those who would advance in the organization. Getting ahead means
getting the job done instead of pleasing daddy. This creates
collaboration in the organization for mutual gain. 3) Authentic tactics
prove more useful to organizational members because trust is essential if
collaboration is to exist between them. 4) Autonomy instead of dependency
is the norm at all levels of the organization.

> However, in both cases, it is a well documented fact -- in our world --
> that more information leads to better performance, and the supervisor(s)
> benefit from that. Therefore I don't know of any supervisors who actively
> with hold information.

Although the outcomes from sharing information are enhanced for
the organization, this may not be true for a given individual. This
dynamic is not lost on members of the organization. If not consciously,
at least unconsciously, we all learn how to play the game.

-- 
@__Roy_J._Winkler,_AAS,_BSM...
@__Consultant/Facilitator/Trainer__UAW-GM
@__Organization/Human-Resource_Development
@__Anderson,_Indiana,__USA__ rwinkler@iquest.net