I understand your concern Rol, symphonies and other performing arts group
are generally a poor example for private sector comparisons. At the very
least they are a hard sell for the leaders of private sector
organizations. Practice in these organizations may indeed appear
different on the surface. I would suggest, however, that whether in a
symphony or a manufacturing concern the goal is not to know precisely how
another member of the team will perform but rather the boundaries within
which the performance may occur. Taken in this context practice allows an
individual to become familiar with the patterns of behavior that might be
expected. Reflection can then assist the individual in understanding how
they might expectedly and unexpectedly respond to another team member's
performance.
I believe your point regarding the lack of organizational expertise is a
valid one. One of Deming's admonitions was against the frequent turnover
among organizational leaders. This certainly lessens the expertise of the
participants in dealing with their teams, but it also insures that
managers are more committed to their own advancement rather than that of
the team. This can, depending on how you look at it, either cause a lack
of reflection or result in it.
As for Japan, it will be interesting to see if Japan behaves in a similar
fashion to their American counterparts by advocating quality and the
learning organization so long as it does not interfere with profits.
Dave Moon
Rol Fessenden wrote:
> Most of the activities that have been listed result in _individual_
> learning, but I think they are pretty marginal as organizational learning
> tools. Does everyone really draw the same lessons, even if they
> participate in the activity together (rare occurrence)? Reflection, for
> example, does not result in me knowing exactly what Bill will do in a
> given circumstance the next time it occurs. This is, therefore, not the
> same as 'practice' as it occurs in symphonies and sports teams. practice
> in those environments gives very high levels of certainty about what
> people will do in given circumstances.
>
> In thinking about this subject, I realize another problem is the lack of
> true expertise in many organizations. This is in part because people move
> around so often within the organization and among organizations that the
> relative levels of expertise about a given area never approximate the
> levels of expertise that a small forward has on a basketball team, or the
> first violin has on a symphony. Insufficient expertise among participants
> is a pretty big impediment to learning organizations.
>
> Finally, it is true that shop floor learning -- as opposed to office or
> information worker learning -- is being curtailed by severe pricing
> pressure from off-shore companies. American workers are paid more than in
> many other countries, and the competitive pressure obliges managers to
> squeeze as much productivity as possible out of the workforce. One of the
> key areas that gets cut off is training and learning. As Japan opens its
> economy and becomes more exposed to low-cost competition, it will be
> interesting to see how they respond to that, and if they can successfully
> resist the pressures.
>
> Rol Fessenden
-- Dave. Moon David L. Moon Consulting E-Mail: dlmoon@ix.netcom.com Business Phone: 330/655-2547 Business FAX: 330/528-0135Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>