Augustine,
Something that I work with in corporations is to connect them to
their historical roots. That is, to see a (not *the*) pathway which
makes sense of what is. The roots of importance seem to me to be in
the principles, explicit or implicit, which were foundational. These
might be termed the "attractors" around which the current
organisation formed or, in my preferred way of saying it, from which
it emerged.
This might provide a tie of interest to the connection between
history and theory. The principles are the theories, expressed in
operational terms, which were the DNA of the organisation. Its
history is the interplay of these principles or theories with the
more or less accidental occurrences of independent human beings and
the marketplace.
I hope this sparks something. I like your questions and
explorations.
Michael McMaster : Michael@kbddean.demon.co.uk
book cafe site : http://www.vision-nest.com/BTBookCafe
Intelligence is the underlying organisational principle
of the universe. Heraclitus
--Michael McMaster <Michael@kbddean.demon.co.uk>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>