Replying to LO27945 --
Dear Organlearners,
Daan Joubert <daanj@kingsley.co.za> writes:
>We are all like water. (snip)
Greetings dear Daan,
Some 90% of our chemical composition is indeed water ;-)
Anyway, thank you for a wonderful introduction. It made me think again of
my own purpose in life.
>I come to this list like water in a well. Deep
>(in the literal sense, not metaphorical), enclosed
>in the earth. It would be nice to say that it is
>not by choice, but through nature. ...(snip)
>And then, one day, the serendipitous bucket
>that changed things in so many respects. The
>bucket that contained what is my revelation, I
>so believe, and perhaps my destiny. The concept
>that there is a purpose to management too; just
>like to all things under heaven.
The above, strangely, reminds me of Leibniz's "The Philosopher's Dream
LO16554" < http://www.learning-org.com/98.01/0155.html >
It also reminds me of Max Planck, the grandfather of QM
(Quantum Mechanics). In his younger days he tried to unify
thermodynamics and electromagnetism (like Einstein later
succeeded in unifying mechanics and electromagnetism with
his theory of relativity). In his unification effort he unexpectedly
discovered his famous quantum equation
energy = constant x frequency.
This equation opened up QM through the work of Heisenberg
and Schroedinger.
Few know that his awe for thermodynamics was far more than for QM. He had
a holistic outlook on thermodynamics and his interpretation for entropy is
peculiar. In those days entropy still had many interpretations such as:-
unavailability of energy, inefficiency of work, measure of chaos,
maximation principle and arrow of time. He persisted with his own
interpretation through all the years, despite the increasing and
eventually overwhelming acceptance of "measure of chaos" as the "correct"
interpretation. What was his interpretation? The increase of entropy
expresses the purpose (propensity) of all nature!
It would seem that he had a very narrow minded outlook on all nature with
such an interpretation. But should we study his correspondences on this
interpretation, his "one-becomes-many" treatment of this purpose is
striking.
The purpose of business management seems to be maximising profits. The
purpose of management in other kinds of organisations also seems to be
maximising something specific. The purpose of a LO seems to be maximising
learning. Perhaps there is something in the "hidden order" which gets all
these different interpretations of purpose. What would it be?
>What the future holds I do not know. Working
>on one's very own is time consuming and - with a
>renewed effort to turn Normative Management
>into a viable entity of some worth - I fear that the
>newly discovered wetness of being immersed in
>the world of this list may become unbearable, as
>it erodes away essential time that has to be spent
>on the matter of survival. And perhaps more.
It reminds me of what Herodotus, that ancient historian, once commented.
While the Athenians struggled for survival, they did not give up their
quest to understand the meaning of life. There are other fellow learners
in our region who would love to contribute to our LO-dialogue, but the
survival of our own Athens needs their attention.
I think that you got an important insight by connecting the purpose of
management with NM (Normative Management). As I see it, NM gives form to
the purpose of management. So what form will the norms of NM express?
>But I am looking forward intensely to
>dipping into the streams and rivers and,
>yes, the lakes, of this new world to
>alleviate the drought of so many years.
I am glad that you have joined the LO-dialogue.
With care and best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@gold.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
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