Re[2]: Intro: Gezinus J. Hidding + question

mdarling@warren.med.harvard.edu
Fri, 11 Nov 94 16:34:49 EST

I must concur with Charles Barclay ("It would be a mistake to assume or
recommend that a new structure is required because an organization adopts a
learning culture"). I'm not certain I'd be able to tell a learning
organization by reading an org. chart. Gregory Bateson points out that
information lies in the relationship between elements, not in the elements
themselves. In this context, then, I hypothesize that what changes as an
organization learns to learn is not where someone sits on the chart, but the
ability of the individuals to make those relationships more robust, pliable and
data-rich. If those relationships are "informed," the actual reporting
structure, I suspect, falls into the background.

Marilyn Darling
mdarling@warren.med.harvard.edu