Kevin - replying to your LO19811:
Your project sounds interesting, useful -- certainly needed. You have a
key opportunity to do, for the future and TIftF, things different and
better. Please consider:
1) Recognizing the sea change, the paradigm shift, to individual
responsibility, accountability, participation, performance improvement,
empowerment -- the whole impact of 50+ years of "participative management"
research, implementation, practice, and positive results. Included is the
sure, if slow, death of Frederick W. Taylors "one best way," his
"scientific management" (which wasn't and isn't), "top down" (KITA - "my
way or the highway" values and practices); and their replacement with
truth-seeking, hypothesis-testing, management by fact -- the legacy of
Deming, Juran, Shewhart and other quality improvement gurus.
2) Accomodating the meaning of these changes for each member or every
company: front-line workers, work group leaders, all "managers, leaders,
supervisors" -- all "employees" at every level. That meaning is "each
individuals responsibility and opportunity for 'learning'." "Teaching -
training - development - education: all are activities undertaken - guided
- controlled by an organization, e.g. company, school, college.
Organizations do not learn, individuals do. So, for example and for
starters: (a) title the program "The Future of Corporate and Executive
Education: Learning (or "Members' Learning") in the 21st Century." (b)
Examine carefully the differences between learning values and practices
(e.g. Senge's five disciplines) and the practices of "training,
development, and education" programs.
We have given a good deal of attention to these matters over the past ten
years or so and would be pleased to discuss them further if of interest to
you or colleagues.
Dick Webster
Richard S. Webster, Ph.D. - President
Personal Resources Management Institute
709 Wesley Court - Worthington OH 43085-3558
e-mail <webster.1@osu.edu>, fax 614-433-71-88, tel 614-433-7144
***
PRMI is a 501(c)3 non-profit research, development and consulting company
founded in 1978. The Institute's R&D projects address the paradigm shift
from "training, instruction, and teaching" to "learning" -- a key change
for creating outstanding organizations with improved leadership, ideas,
processes and quality; improved capabilities, performance and productivity
of company members and teams; and improvements in the bottom-line and other
desired results.
***
Thought: "Things are getting better and better and worse and worse faster
and faster" says Tom Atlee. Challenges: (1) Finding and building on the
"betters," in time. (2) Learning--each person's responsibility and
opportunity.
--"Richard S. Webster" <webster.1@osu.edu>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>