Mas wrote:
> ...... It is well known, that anyone who goes to academic institution
> believes that after they have concluded their studies, analysis and
> descriptions are enough to face the world. But analysis and descriptions
> alone cannot move us forward and due to this conclusion, we need to switch
> from analysis to design. My question is, how can we design to get things
> done?
>
> I would trully appreciate any answers or comment you could give on
> the question above. Thank You for your cooperation.
After receiving my degree I eagerly went to one job interview after
another and ran, unexpectedly, into this exact mental model. Possible
employers were looking for someone who could analyze and describe, and
thus be able to "see" their world. They believed this was what their
company needed. What I wanted to offer was "the ability to achieve the
results that are truly intended." I would work for minimal wages just to
have the chance to demonstrate the effectiveness of taking a systematic
approach to "problem" solving and solution design. However, these are not
mutually exclusive approaches. One must be able to analyze and describe
the situation as it is - the current reality - in order to approach an
effective design.
One of the most helpful tools I've found is the Thinking Processes and The
Theory of Constraints (TOC). It is an overall philosophy developed by Dr.
Eliyahu M. Goldratt, and usually applied to running and improving an
organization. The Thinking Processes often help me to logically and
systematically answer the three essential questions:
"What to change?"
"What to change to?" and
"How to cause the change without causing more problems?"
TOC was first popularized in the Manufacturing & Production fields but
blends nicely with Learning Organization concepts.
If you are interested, there are a some pretty good web resources out
there dealing with TOC. Hope you can find something in this you can use.
<http://www.saigon.com/~nguyent/toc.html>
Sincerely,
--| Dennis Keibler | HSC Biostatistics Center | | University of Louisville | Louisville, KY | | <djkeib01@homer.louisville.edu> | | http://www.louisville.edu/~djkeib01 |
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>