On 9 Oct 98, at 2:06, DrEskow@aol.com wrote
> What really would disappoint the critics if they thought about it is that
> the colleges have the kind of decentralist organizational model that the
> learning org theorists propose--and the model has resulted in conservatism
> and traditionalism rather than the "transformations" the org theorists
> thought would occur.
Steve --
I don't disagree with your characterization of the university as
organization, but would ask us to explore the reasons for the
"conservatism and traditionalism" prevalent in this particular
decentralized system.
It seems to me you've neglected one of the critical components for
organizational transformation in a decentralised system: not only that
power and authority be devolved, but that all members of the resulting
sub-systems, and most especially those in leadership, value and practise
approaches to learning and quality. These would include, for openers,
things like collaborative decision- making, involvement of people at all
levels in both decision making and thinking about improvement, willingness
to suspend assumptions, etc.
In my more than 25 years' experience in higher education, this is
precisely what _doesn't_ happen in the core decentralized unit -- the
academic department, where "leadership" happens by default, and where the
intellectual egos fostered by our Western individualistic notion of
competitive research make it almost impossible for the disciplines of the
LO to be practised.
Regards,
Malcolm
--Malcolm C. Burson Management Solutions (207) 866-0019 mooney@maine.maine.edu
"Knowledge must be gained by ourselves. [Hu]mankind may supply us with the facts; but the results, even if they agree with previous ones, must be the work of our mind. --Benjamin Disraeli
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