> iii) leading to decision-making
> and board level strategies which are not moral and ethical...
Do you define the participants in an organization as simply those who
use the inputs to produce the outputs, or do you include management.
Is it just management, or can you include the Board of Directors? Do
you stop there or do you include the stock holders? Should we always
define a consultant as a non-participant? If an organization is
closely tied to its suppliers would you include them as well? If you
include the suppliers, should they have a role in making moral
decisions?
The question must be asked, "From whose perspective?" In most cases,
a board level strategy is not inherently immoral or unethical. I
think what you are getting at is that the board level strategy (from
my perspective, I would include board members as participating in the
system) should dovetail with the personal interests of the employees.
This, I think, gets to the foundations of a learning organization;
one which the participants are aligned in its goals and behaviors.
Additionally, Doug seems to be stating that an outsider's (someone
who does not participate in the system) viewpoint inherently
leads to both abstract and immoral decisions. The field of
anthropology has, I think, proved the utility of an outsider's
perspective. Most would not characterize the field of anthropology
as immoral or unethical (although there have certainly been instances
where this applies). In fact, I think one of the great benefits an
outside consultant brings to the table is that they are an outsider.
> If this is so, then how can We ensure that individual participation is
> acknowledged in all systems levels in an organization??
One concept floating around in systems thinking that when making
decisions, those who are affected by the decision should have a role
in making it. This should probably be looked at as an ideal which
should be sought after. For the reasons stated above, it may be
difficult to include all affected participants.
-- Noel Dickover NDICKOVER@ver.lld.com