Hi Rick,
>The letter to the editor said, "You misunderstand the structure of the
>Police. From one layer to the next, there is a built-in barrier... A
>precinct captain is perfectly willing to consider whether to obey the
>orders of a superior or the Chief. Why? Consider the alternative... If the
>whole force were responsive to direction from any point, think about the
>opportunities this would create for improper influence!" [This is a very
>rough quote... I don't have the article at hand.]
>
>This made me think about the possibility that some governmental
>organizations (police, IRS, schools) are not and should not be responsive
>to a single point of control. Others, like the military, achieve their
>ability to mobilize resources from their responsiveness to control from a
>single point.
This is a provocative position that I find facinating from an LO point of
view. I find a measure of reasonability to the idea at the same time I
rather quickly conclude (mental model at work) that it suggests that there
is no connectedness between the parts of a whole. Following this out to
some future point, how is it possible for shared vision, based on some set
of noble values and principles (more mental models at work - I'm assuming
that which is described above is not), to emerge? What is described in
Rick's quote is a structure that at best perpetuates and at worst
encourages reductionistic thinking and self protection.
This is a (perhaps all too) quick response to Rick's post. I'm interested
in other thoughts.
Bill Braun
--Bill Braun <medprac@hlthsys.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>