Nancy wondered, in her Thought #1 for Discussion,
>People who are struggling to make ends meet, who may have other, more
>pressing problems will most likely not be too concerned about learning,
>about how effective or adaptive their organization is, about how
>connected they feel to their collegues, etc...
I agree. The physiological values must be attended to before others will
get much attention. However, I don't see the ultimate goal of LO
practices being to get everyone on some bandwagon, nor to help everyone
achieve ( a la Maslow) self-actualization or self-transcendence. The
beauty of LO practices are that they allow for personal as well as
collective development--from whatever point we are in our development--and
do a great deal to cultivate an environment that meets our needs (in
whatever form that takes) and to nurture human growth.
Within this environment, I don't think it's necessary to compel everyone
to worry about how effective/adaptive their organization is, or to attempt
to impose meaning or community on others. Over time, and once those most
basic of human needs are met, then people will inevitably learn and grow.
I've also not seen too many places that really make use of LO practices
that don't also provide for the physical needs of the people within.
Likewise, I haven't seen too many places that pay their people substandard
earnings being very interested in applying LO practices.
Thought #2 for Discussion:
>...After all, we are seeing organizations from a lofty, theoretical
>perspective vs a day-to-day,
>gotta-get-things-done-and-I'm-2-months-late-on-my-rent perspective.
One of the things I enjoy so much on this list is that there is such a mix
of people engaged in this dialogue, from the academics to those deeply
embroiled in the day-to-day struggles. And many of us are a nice mix of
the 'two worlds,' I think. Theory and practice can, and often do, work in
harmony.
--Terri A. Deems tadeems@aol.com
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>