I V N S Raju asks in LO16064 "How does a Nation learn?"
I think that a nation learns in the same way as an individual,
organization or any other entity learns- through independence and
incentives. These are the two things that must be present for learning to
be present- the learning entity must be motivated to learn through
incentives and they must have the independence- the ability to explore
learning opportunities.
Incentives without independence means the learning entity comes up against
barriers and structures that hinder effective space for exploration
"spielungsraum". Independence without incentives is laziness and
stagnation.
For effective learning- progress- you need to have both at once- arguably,
from this layman's perspective, India has had not had either
simultaneously pre- or post British rule. Much of the limbo, lack of
momentum "corrpution, criminalisation" etc. in Indian and most other
political systems is simply the lack of incentives that politicians act
under- they are interested in survival, they are not rewarded in
proportion to their efforts, their efforts are diluted by the political
process, they turn to brides to earn what they see as a fair return from
their positions of powers. Incentives are flawed, independence
non-existent.
The problem with today's individuals tends to be a lack of incentives and
independence, the problem with companies seems to be a lack of incentives
and a lack of independence, the problem with nations seems to be a lack of
incentives and independence.
We need to create new dynamic vehicles through which all entities, giant
or small can learn. This is through going from rankers to branders via
lifestreams (See http://www.unorg.ccom/index3.htm) to gain voluntary
independence and organizations that incentivize and reward all members for
learning and progress. If we can introduce effective incentives and
independence, usually through the market process, then we can achieve the
joy of realizing mankind's full potential.
regards sincerely Simon Buckingham
--Simon Buckingham <go57@dial.pipex.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>