Keith says,
With this view, we can define systems at the root of most behaviour.
Having said that, I would hasten to add that the choice of which system to
try to change is a critical aspect to making systems thinking work as a
successful change consultant.
Robert said:
I don't know how much anger is out there, or exactly what you meant by
that statement, but I SUSPECT that there is a bias in this particular
online community against management, because the notion is that management
is the keeper of the system.
finally Dale said:
I see the system as broader than just those things that management is
responsible for. For example, the system includes the notion that
"management is responsible for the system." Whether it's management or
others holding this notion, it limits an organization's view of what's
possible and who is able to act to make things better.
== end quotes ==
I want to again throw out the suggestion that when systems are not working
as they should, and when no one is fixing them, then the blame, if one
exists, rests on the 'culture', not on the system, and not on the
participants.
A system is a regular, orderly way of doing things (my dictionary), but it
is generally not self-correcting. It continues to do whatever it was
intended to do, regardless of whether or not that is still appropriate.
The culture, on the other hand, is the tool set with which people work.
It is the concepts, habits, skills, arts, instruments, institutions, and
so forth of a group of people (my dictionary).
If the culture is to not repair systems, if the culture is to blame but
not take action, if the culture is to ignore workers who have ideas, if
the culture is to to do things out of unthinking habit, if the culture is
to be isolated in our manager's office, if the culture is to be ignorant
of how things get done, then the system will not get fixed. Therefore,
the culture is to blame for unrepaired systems.
It really is management and leadership's job to create and mold the
culture of an organization.
On the other hand, systems today are changing too fast for all of them to
be kept up-to-date. It is also management's job to prioritize which
systems will be upgraded or replaced, and which will have to muddle along.
Broken systems, therefore, can be symptomatic of an unhealthy culture, or
they can be symptomatic of tough choices in a complex world.
--Rol Fessenden LL Bean, Inc. 76234.3636@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>