Have you considered some alternative types of organiztions as learning
organizations. here I mean altneratives to the currently popular
viewpoint of how organizations should operate.
For example, Gen george Patton commanded the Third Army in WII. The Third
Army was, in many ways, a learning organization. Its primary customer was
Gen Patton. When he changed the demands on the organization, it adapted
and continued to perform at a high level. The shift in direction from
attacking east to attacking to the north (and ultimately all points of the
compass simultaneously) that took place during the Battle of the Bulge
requires a very open point of view on the part of the planning staff.
The field commanders were operating often out of a sense of fear of Gen
Patton. But this is not that different from what takes place in many
successful (learning?) organiztions in modern business. They still
managed to learn and adapt to the changing situations.
Any thoughts?
--Clyde Howell orgpsych@augusta.net
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>