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I'm not going to get into issues of whether orgs are living things or not;
nor into complexity, evolution memes, genes and all that stuff. The
opinions on the list so far reveal nothing more than two world views. We
cannot expect alignment until we're all singing off the same sheet. This
stuff gets heavy...I mean do we want to start debating whether the the
earth exists by intelligent design. I don't think so.
One thing that strikes me as a bit odd, is how everyone talks about
learning in a positive sense. When Tony Dibella speaks of learning by
passing on cultures et al from one generation to the next, someone else
(can't remember who) says, NO, that's not learning. Of course it's
learning. You learn good habits and bad habits. I don't want my children
learning my bad habits, but they do of course, and if they do they are
still learning...
I know several organisations that hold onto cultures of those that are now
dead and buried. The culture isn't just passed on from father to son; [it]
is buried in the structures and processes that remain in place. Walk into
the foyers and "feel" the culture in the expensive wooden panelled
walls;...do you feel intimidated by your surroundings ...now tell me
organisations are not living things, or tell me they don't learn...good or
bad, doesn't matter.
Jeff Blumberg
jeffb@illovo.co.za
--"Jeff Blumberg" <jeffb@illovo.co.za>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>