Steve Swan quite sensibly asks,
>are we saying that the only way to understand the principles and
>characteristics of learning organizations is to learn the "techno-speak?
To which I say, not necessarily -- only if it helps (or makes it at all
possible) to advance the field. Yes, I'll admit that I have found several
instances of (usually academic) disciplines foundering in their
self-indulgent, self-invented and re-invented "techno-speak."
On the other hand, it is a sign of a discipline that is beginning to
actually contribute something of value that its practitioners need to be
more precise than in ordinary language when they discuss concepts. They
must agree to use ordinary words in ways different than in ordinary
discourse, and perhaps invent extra-ordinary words, in order to
communicate effectively with each other.
In such a case it does become necessary for someone wanting to learn from
the discipline to invest the time to learn the language spoken there.
Just to make the point, let me give you an example from public school
physics. If you are trying to understand Newton's laws, you must (within
that context) give up your everyday notions about "force." That is, you
won't "get it" if you persist in thinking about "the force of an argument"
or "force me to do something against my will" or "the forces of evil" or a
"military force" or a "labor force." Those are not what Newton is trying
to explain; many are analogous usages derived from the more elementary
physical concept of force. So you would be in error, and not contributing
helpfully to the physics dialogue, if you complained (for example) that
the idea of "acceleration" simply does not apply to a "force of evil" so,
therefore, Newton must be wrong.
Yet I see arguments like that on this very list almost every day. It
comes from not being precise -- and from not having an agreement with each
other -- about how we are using words.
I, for one, hope for the day when there is a real "discipline" of learning
organizations -- because it will mean we are making some real progress
toward understanding and fostering them.
--"John Gunkler" <jgunkler@sprintmail.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>