Ends and Means LO7953

Matzdorf, Fides (F.Matzdorf@shu.ac.uk)
Tue, 18 Jun 96 22:10:00 0BS

Replying to LO7923 --

On 17 June 1996 15:14, Fred Nickols wrote

>When I wrote, "the means suggest the ends," I meant simply that
>the means being employed are good indicators as to the ends sought.
[...]
>John's examples display a problem commonly found in ends-means
>discussions, namely, that ends and means are treated as though they
>exist apart from one another. They do not. Ends and means are
>relative constructs, they have meaning only in relation to something
>else.

I certainly agree, and for me this is becoming a central principle in
working with other people and facilitating learning. This is probably not
the kind of context you were thinking of, Fred, but nevertheless I'd like to
contribute a little story (don't read any further, If, you've probably heard
it twice already...).

A few months ago, I had an eye-opening experience when I went to a
conference on Stakeholder Capitalism. This conference was supposed to give
participants the chance to get acquainted with stakeholder theory and
practice and discuss its political and economic potential. Interestingly,
however, the means to this end, i.e. the conference structure, layout,
set-up (whatever you call it) did not reflect this end at all. The
participants - a substantial body of stakeholders in this conference! - were
not given much chance to participate at all; they were predominantly talked
at and lectured, and even a number of (what was announced as) workshops were
run as lectures with a short Q-and-A session at the end, which was used by
some members to read out pre-prepared statements.

I did not have the impression that a stakeholder approach was practised
here; I did not find this event particularly learningful - and then realised
that I had lived with the assumption that a conference ought to be a
learning event. (Which is debatable.) On the other hand, I _had_ learned
something - but not what was intended (if anything was intended).

Since then I have begun to think even more carefully about the method of a
learning event reflecting its end... Does this make sense?

Fides

Fides Matzdorf
Research Assistant
Sheffield Hallam University
f.matzdorf@shu.ac.uk

-- 

"Matzdorf, Fides" <F.Matzdorf@shu.ac.uk>

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