Scott Simmerman writes:
"Steve took the position that organizations are not alive and therefore may
not have any of the attributes of living creatures. Seems a bit rigid to
me."
I do want to my personal learning organization--me-- to learn not to be
rigid.
There are two propositions in your summary of my position. Are both rigid?
Don't you agree that organizations are not literally alive?
The second proposition is that they don't have the attributes--the literal
biological attributes-- of living creatures. They're are not born and they
don't die--except if you call bringing folks together the "birth" of an
organization, and unless you want to call disbanding, or Chapter 13, the
"death" of an organization.
I don't want to be rigid. On the other hand, it might be that those who
are insisting that organizations are "alive" are being a bit rigid.
Maybe not. I want to be flexible about this.
"And I've seen thinking / living managers who don't share too many of the
basic habits of social animals!"
What's a social animal, Scott, and how does a social animal differ from a
living manager who acts differently with his social group than you'd like
him to act?
"Lots of folks have been using a wide
variety of metaphors for organizational and individual behavior from the
mathmatical chaos stuff to the Meg Wheatly sociobology kinds of things."
Yes indeed, Scott. We're going through the predictable transfer from the
latest scientific "paradigm" to common discourse. When the apple falls on
Ike Newton, all organizations are machines that generate heat as well as
light, need lubrication, with parts that wear out and need replacement,
need sources of fuel, etc. When A. Einstein predicts the perihelion of
Mercury with his relativity, everything becomes relative. When Heisenberg
tells us everything is uncertain, organizations become nonlinear and
uncertain too. And now: we move from sociophysics to sociobiology, and
organization are born, bleed, age, and die.
"Personally, I do think that organizations can learn and they they do have
an intelligence. Certain stimuli generate predictable behavior. Starve
them and they die. Feed them and they grow. Some of the limbs have the
power to regenerate (take the Baby Bells, now some of the largest
organizations in the world)."
Oh, boy, Scott!
Actually before a Bell can have Babies it has to marry--with stockholders
who provide the "seed" money that allows the conception and reproduction
to take place, so that Baby Bell can have babies bells of its own.
I'm poking fun, Scott, because I think it important for us to learn as
well our clients, anFrom learning-org-approval@world.std.com Thu Dec 11 03:59:14 1997
Return-Path: <learning-org-approval@world.std.com>
Received: from europe.std.com by world.std.com (5.65c/Spike-2.0)
id AA09534; Thu, 11 Dec 1997 20:13:04 -0500
Received: by europe.std.com (8.7.6/BZS-8-1.0)
id UAA11396; Thu, 11 Dec 1997 20:11:35 -0500 (EST)
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 22:59:14 -0500
Message-Id: <199712110359.WAA07276@sherman.shentel.net>
X-Sender: tjcdsgns@pop.shentel.net (Unverified)
X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
To: learning-org@world.std.com
From: Tom Christoffel <tjcdsgns@head.globalcom.net>
Subject: Goals vs. Objectives LO16205
In-Reply-To: <199712072024.MAA19567@iceland.it.earthlink.net>
Sender: learning-org-approval@world.std.com
Precedence: list
Reply-To: learning-org@world.std.com
Status: O
X-Status:
Replying to LO16140 --
>Would you be so kind to explain me why most of you, gentlemen, up/North
>use Goal with a rather generic, broad purpose, meaning and Objective as a
>very well defined "Goal"?
In my workbook: "Plan-Do: Defining and Achieving Your Life Goals!" c 1988
I differentiate goals as follows:
I was motivated to put together a seminar based on my experience in
developing a personal plan, when at the chapel I attend, someone asked,
"How do you get goals?"
"Goals are the focus of a plan. Are your goals objective or subjective?
"OBJECTIVE GOAL - One whose completion can be quantified or
measured in some way. You want to go somewhere, do something, purchase a
certain item, earn a certain amount of money. How do you feel when you
achieve an objective goal? Good! You have a sense of accomplishment
which encourages you to tackle other and perhaps more difficult
objectives. We will refer to objective goals as "objectives."
"SUBJECTIVE GOAL - One whose determination of progress or
completion is based on your judgment. It might deal with a relationship,
an emotional state or sense of security. Subjective goals are at a higher
level than objective goals since they represent the outcome of your life.
They cover a broader view and are more open ended in terms of completion.
They are accomplished over a longer term and are more complex, often the
result of completion of many objectives. Depending upon your perception of
time, a goal might be accomplished in the short or long term, one to five
days, weeks or months. The time frame for goals in a personal plan are
measured in terms of the life time, or even beyond it. In the sense of
your life spanning many years. Collectively your subjective goals are your
personal vision and form the basis for your personal plan, your "life
goals."
Thomas J. (Tom) Christoffel * TJCdesigns * E-mail: tjcdsgns@shentel.net *
Box 1444 * Front Royal, Virginia (VA) 22630-1444 *
"Design with re-use in mind. Peace Dynamic' !"
--Tom Christoffel <tjcdsgns@head.globalcom.net>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>