Replying to LO29964 --
Dear AM DeLange et al.
Your post strikes a chord with me. I currently spend two days a fortnight
helping an Iranian friend (engineer) start up his manufacturing business
in Melbourne.
My experience ranges from analytical chemistry to engineering in both
public sector (defence) and private industry.
One thing we have both commented on is the apparent 'gap' between the
knowledge an engineer has and the knowledge of a tradesman.
Most Australian small businesses have been started by tradesmen, very few
by graduates.
Systematic management is largely unknown, as is any concept of risk
management.
It seems history repeats itself, the ancient Greeks had a two class social
system. The philosophers were upper class, however any form of
experimentation was usually carried out by slaves, who typically told
their masters what they expected they wanted to hear.
The point of what I am saying is - if you want to really know any subject,
go there and get your hands dirty, then write the book.
In Australia, I perceive a growing problem - the whole system runs on
'bullshit'. While parents push their kids away from technical training,
seeing it as 'inferior', we will continue to lose those extremely valuable
people - the tradesmen who become engineers. I suggest the next
generation might consist of total incompetents.
Best Regards,
Alan Cotterell
--"Alan Cotterell" <acotrel@cnl.com.au>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.