DLedingham@aol.com wrote:
>
> I am unclear about what exactly is meant by the term 'culture' in dicussions
> relating to Learning Organizations. What does Senge actually mean when he
> uses the word culture? I would appreciate any assistance.
Culture is defined as "an interdependent set of beliefs, values, ways of
behaving, and tools for living that are so common in a community that they
tend to perpetuate themselves, sometimes over long periods of time. This
continuity is the product of a variety of social forces that are
frequently subtle, bordering on invisible, through which people to learn a
group's norms and values, are rewarded when they accept them, and are
ostracized when they do not." (from Karen Bemowski, "Codes, cultural,
archetypes and the collective cultural unconscious," Quarterly Progress,
vol. 28, no. 1, Jan '95, p. 34).
There may be a multitude of cultural factors in any organization,
including how members identify themselves and each other; emphasis on
teams or individuals; distribution of power and autonomy; control; risk
tolerance; etc. The culture of a learning organization will include
values and tools based on the 5 disciplines of systems thinking, personal
mastery, mental models, building shared vision and team learning.
One of my favorite etchings is by the German artist, Paul Klee. It
depicts two wizened and naked old men, each bowing and scraping to the
other, as they pass by each other in a hallway. The inscription reads,
"two men meet, each supposing the other to be of higher rank." This is a
wonderful image of an organizational culture prevalent in our recent past.
Thank God for learning organizations, wherever they turn up.
hope this helps.
Doc
-- Richard C. "Doc" Holloway, Limen Development Network - olypolys@nwrain.com" An institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>