You wrote, "Finally, I have made a number of requests to this group either for
info. on relevant literatures or to open a discussion regarding the role of
conflict in LO/OL- to no avail. DO I take it then that conflict is not currently
perceived by LO leading lights as being critical to the field's devlopment or
the constructs internal validity?"
I don't think that conclusion fits, but I could be wrong. A quick scan of the
three LO books I own ("The Fifth Discipline," "The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook,"
and "Learning Organizations") reveals surprisingly little attention to conflict.
I have a friend who consults exclusively on LO stuff, doesn't seem to want to
acknowledge the possibility that conflict could occur in a learning
organization. He seems to believe that the process of dialogue can smoothly
channel all differences into a positive outcome, without any of that nasty old
conflict stuff along the way.
My guess is that most of the people who hang around this mailing list
acknowledge the possibility (inevitability, in my view) that conflict will
happen in learning organizations. (You may have noticed that there's no
shortage of conflict around *here*!)
I'm a relative newcomer here, and don't know of your earlier attempts to start a
discussion about conflict, so I can't comment on why it hasn't happened here.
I'm pretty sure I have some things to say, but I'm having some difficulty
knowing where to start to address your questions. My initial reaction is: of
*course* there will be conflict, and of *course* it plays a role in learning
organizations. After saying that, I'm not sure what to add. Could you perhaps
ask a more specific question or two? Or maybe offer some of your thoughts to
get us started?
I'll break this out into a separate thread. Perhaps that will help.
(Note to host: Is there a way to start a new thread, and still connect it to the
message I'm replying to?)
[Host note: Threads start with subject changes. The first message in the
thread, if you reply to a previous message, will start the new thread,
and by "replying to" message number connect the old thread. Once that
"replying to" line is lost, the new thread is independent. -- Johanna,
temporary LO host, jr@world.std.com]
Dale
--Dale H. Emery | 27 Tall Pine Road Consultant | Berwick, ME 03901 Relationship and Communication | (207) 698-1650 For Successful Organizations | 72704.1550@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>