Why do we create organisations? LO16003

Rol Fessenden (76234.3636@compuserve.com)
Tue, 25 Nov 1997 21:42:46 -0500

Replying to LO15957 --

John,

You stimulated many supporting thoughts in this posting on organizations.
You said,

> We come together because "we" are only one "I". We, as individuals, come
>to others in order to reflect what we feel, or know, or have learned, or
>been taught in the subtle times of our private lives. We seek to reflect
>whether or not what we (I) pretend to know is actually "real"; is it
>confirmed or rejected, re-inforced or shattered by "them". It is a search
>for a semblance of truth in an atmosphere of uncertainty, and we can
>nourish or destroy our "selves" only by reflecting off the mirror of
>others. I believe that it will be shown that THIS is the reason why we:
>1. come together, and 2. come together in groups we refer to as
>organizations.

As a confirmed intorvert operating as an extroverted person in an
extroverted profession (management) I have many moments when I long to
spend the winter in Maine's northern wilderness. The reality, though, is
that I reject the opportunities to do so whenever the practical
possibility arises.

And I find that I am not alone. Thoreau, well-known for his sojourns in
the wilderness in both Massachussetts and Maine, actually spent less time
than I -- far less -- in remote parts, far from other people. He is
better known for his moments of seclusion than I will ever be, not because
seclusion was his life, but because he wrote more effectively, and he
romanticized aloneness more than I can do. So my hypothesis is that
aloneness is a romantic ideal that, in reality, we fear.

I also spent several years living in Africa where I was secluded
culturally far more effectively than is practical in the US. I was
surrounded by people, but alone culturally. I found, ultimately, that to
be a difficult burden, and was relieved to re-enter the US. It took
perhaps a year or two, depending on who you ask, for me to acclimate to
life in the US, and I felt alone during that time as well.

My hypothesis from all this is that organizations are our normal mode of
life. Aloneness is some kind of romantic ideal that we pine for, but do
not really wish to achieve. If we pine for organization, then it is easy
to understand why we can identify the faults -- the ways reality differs
from the ideal.

I would be interested in others' perspectives.

-- 

Rol Fessenden LL Bean, Inc 76234,3636@compuserve.com

1. Challenge the process. 2. Inspire a shared vision. 3. Enable others to act. 4. Model the way. 5. Encourage the heart.

(Compliments of Kouzes & Posner, "The Leadership challenge")

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>