Nice topic....
>When changes are needed to meet the current challenges, I watch
>as executives, managers and supervisors lock themselves away
>into "the cave" to come up with a plan, a process etc.
Which is a pity because they are probably doing really great work
with the best of intentions and yet their very best efforts will
often merley maintain the staus quo.... It seem to me they rarely
have enough of a picture of the whole system to develop ways
forward which will make sense to everyone and be implementable.
>Are most companies this way? Is there a benefit in including
>front-line workers, whether they are white collar or blue collar
>in the developement of processes that they will have to use?
>What affect could it have on the quality of the process and
>overall community buy-in?
If the processes for involving them are truly inclusive I believe
that they can only move things forward faster and more effectively.
>When I pose this question I sometimes get a response out of
>a manager who says that it is the job of management to do these
>things. Is it possible that part of the "how" in management's job
>is to engage the workforce and get them to actively participate
>in building the kind of environment we all want, and to be involved
>in the developement of processes we will all use?
It may have been effective at one time for this type of role for
managers however, it seems to me, that in times of rapid change,
large organisations and multiple processes it is no longer
possible for manager to fulfill this role. In 'Corporate Democracy'
Russell Ackoff also notes that levels of educationa and development
have vastly improved since the days when this type of management
of the system was effective - people are capable of so much if they
have access to the same strategic information managers do them
they will be able to participate fully in developing strategy,
designing process and implementing it --- and the whole process
can happen in real time without the inefficiencies of cascade and
communication ...... often in one room with 100s of people...
>I would like to add an additional series of comments about this
>list. It's been about 1 month since I've joined. I've posted a
>few messages, one of which was on "Understanding Special
>Causes". I appreciate all of the feedback, both through the list
>and through personal e-mail. The discussions have me thinking >in
an entirely different way now and, thanks to some of the
>participants, I've been able to locate some good information on
>the subject, in addition to that which I've received through
e-mail. >
I feel the same way about it myself - sometime hard to keep up with
all the conversations - but even when I see I have 89 messages to
read I am never tempted to stop participating.... great
learnings... good questions....
>As I think back over this last month what I have seen on this list,
>I can't help but think about the high level of diversity on it. Though
>we all come from walks of life and business that are very different
>from each other, we certainly share a common interest. It has
>also been interesting to me, just how much of this applies to
>most anything. This can be seen in the diverse series of companies,
>countries and professions interacting on the list. I am overwhelmed
>sometimes at the level of synergy (excuse the buzzword, please) that
>takes place on the Learning Org list.
>
>What a wonderful learning experience this truly is! :-)
AMEN
-- Julie Beedon <julie@vistabee.win-uk.net>