Pay for Learning LO1394

David E. Birren, MB/5, 608.267.2442 (BIRRED@dnr.state.wi.us)
Sat, 27 May 1995 11:23 CST

[...probably replying to Proper Rate of Learning LO1376... your host]

Mike McMaster commented that the cost of learning is included in the price
of the products that the learner produces. Roger Breisch says that for
the most part we learn on our own time. Perhaps paradoxically, both of
these are true. I'd like to add another twist to this.

In grad school, one of my organizational behavior profs (Kim Cameron -
great guy - does anyone know where he is?) said that "home is where
managers think about work." This supports Roger's thought, and in my
experience in the world of educational administration, industrial sales
and government, that's the way things are. We get paid to go to the
occasional seminar, but during "work" hours we're expected to be
"productive." It's one of the most deeply-ingrained cultural values we
have.

The impact of this is artists and performers who wait tables, managers who
read in bed, and (tongue in cheek) consultants who charge outrageous fees.
I look forward to the day when Roger's wish to "make the link between
learning and improvement more visible, or better yet, impossible to
ignore" becomes a reality. Then people like me who now "work at home" (a
euphemism for taking off to read about new management methods) can instead
"learn at work."

--
David E. Birren						Phone: (608)267-2442
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources			Fax:   (608)267-3579
Bureau of Management & Budget		    Internet: birred@dnr.state.wi.us
  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   
"To know, and not to act, is to not know."
--Wang Yang Ming, 9th-century Chinese general