Intro -- Leon Khaimovich LO11079

Leon Khaimovich (LKHAIM+@pitt.edu)
Wed, 20 Nov 1996 15:58:20 +0000

Hello!

Ley me introduce myself with a story that should describe what I am
interested in and why.

In 1985 I earned MS in theoretical physics from Vilnius University in
Lithuania. At that time my favorite sayings were: "there are only two
things worth doing in this world: physics and dancing" and "people
socialize when they have nothing better to do." These were happy days
which ended when I started to work building math models of disk drives for
purposes for designing quality control equipment. Yes, in the former
Soviet Union they hired theoreticians to support QC activities.

Two things astonished me after I'd left the world of "physics for its own
sake". First, how complex electronic equipment is designed and built with
really limited knowledge of mathematics by engineers. Second, almost
complete irrelevance of scientific rigor for creating trust into my
models. I also felt being mis- and under-utilized. A question "what can I
do in this situation" brought me to study role of rationality in
collective decision making. A book "Order out of Chaos" by Ilia Prigogine
convinced me that synergetics is able to bridge social and exact sciences.
I went to study mathematical sociology at the University of Pittsburgh
making a big mistake.

Fortunately, it was possible to focus my studies in the area of my
interests. Now I am working on my dissertation tentatively called:
"Solving a Problem and Getting Along: Analytical Problem Solving in
Cross-Functional Teams." The thesis is based on field studies centered
around several re-engineering workshops, one of which I was allowed to
videotape. I will be satisfied, if I am able to make a couple of steps
toward developing a language to describe both cognitive and emotional
dynamics of a problem-solving group involved in a specific task like
root-cause analysis or process mapping. The language is intended to be
useful for examining impact of problem-solving process on effectiveness
(from the point of view of double-loop learning) of a problem-solving
team.

For the last two years I was "working for data" naturally combining
research with practice. So far, action research looks as the most
attractive future to me.

Thank you for your attention.

-- Leon

Leon Khaimovich
PhD Candidate e-mail:LKHAIM@pitt.edu
Learning R&D Center phone: 412/624-5613
University of Pittsburgh fax: 412/624-9149

-- 

Leon Khaimovich <LKHAIM+@pitt.edu>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>