Re: Higher Ed: Learning Orgs? Q#1 LO706

C. B. Willis (cbwillis@netcom.com)
Thu, 6 Apr 1995 21:42:19 -0700 (PDT)

Replying to LO699 --

> There is a real tension
> whether business education should prepare the graduates to be more
> competent in business practices or they should be stronger in academic
> orientation or research abilities in business.

My sense is that if schools and companies alike practiced (what I call)
"essential thinking," then students could very well come out with a
foundation in BOTH academics and research (and sales and psychology and
philosophy).

>From my experience with schools, many teachers today don't themselves
think "essentially," so have no way to pass this to their students.
Teachers present a curriculum and students follow it, seldom with
perspective on how it relates to other disciples, or how it could possibly
apply to real world problems or the future. I see very little
conversation anywhere that zeros in on essentials as such, both data and
ways of thinking, and extrapolates consciously from there. Of course, it
is the classical education that would have this working foundation of
essentials, now mistakenly touted as overly intellectual and out-of-touch.
Not necessarily, depends on how it's done.

We have to get past the either/or thinking that says academic OR
research, theory OR practice, management OR labor, etc etc.

C.B. Willis
EXECUTIVE INQUIRY
1250 Oakmead Parkway, Ste 210
Sunnyvale CA 94088
408-734-9110 PH, 408-734-9620 FX

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