Linda, I look forward to reading Pinker's book. This book has been
recommended to me before in other circles. Your comment regarding view
distortion reminds me of what those in the psychodynamic school of
psychology who posit the effect of defenses mechanism on one's
perceptions. Namely, defense mechanisms distort one's perceptions. For
example, one can consider the labels for responses to anxiety:
intellectualization, denial, projection, rationalization, etc. All of
these defense mechanisms relate to perceptions (or misperceptions).
Similar to defense mechanisms in individuals, "organizational defensive
routines" limit the ability of the organization to respond with a wide
array of possible actions.
In my reading of Arygris' term "organizational defensive routines", I
have yet to come across the discussion of this dynamic of distorted
perception. Notwithstanding the idea of mental models, would someone
tell me if and where this aspect of organizational defensiveness is
discussed further in Arygris' or others' writings?
Warm Regards,
Tony
Tony Barrett
University of Idaho
tonyb@uidaho.edu http://www.uidaho.edu/~tonyb
--"Tony Barrett" <tonyb@uidaho.edu>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>