Re: Stages in Chaos Theory LO2869

Colin Sharp (SHARP@AFM1.LAW.FLINDERS.EDU.AU)
Tue, 19 Sep 1995 10:25:44 GMT-0930

Replying to LO2859 --

Dear Learning-org-ers
> Subject: Stages in Chaos Theory LO2859 & LO2831
by Jim Saveland & Ginny Belden

In a message dated 95-09-16 05:20:31 EDT, Jim wrote:
>
> >I also talk about it some in a paper I wrote called, "Fire in
> >the Forest" which I can e-mail to anyone interested. The gist of the
> >paper
> >is that at a fundamental level, disturbance in ecosystems and
> >learning in
> >organizations are closely linked by the concepts of death, rebirth,
> >and
> >transformation.

AND Ginny Belden wrote:

> I am glad you introduced yourself and I am interested in your paper "Fire
> in the Forest". I would appreciate it if you could e-mail it to me. I
> would also like learn more about the connection of learning to the cycle
> of death, rebirth and transformation. I have been working with several
> other OD consultants and members of Minnesota DNR who have a model of
> environmental transformation that has four stages: Exploitation,
> Conservation, Creative Destruction and Renewal or reorganization. We
> mapped these stages to stages in chaos theory in one of our planning
> sessions. The biggest "aha" for me that day was our conversation around
> death and destruction and its relationship to environmental as well as
> organizational transformation. It seems that we want to ignore death in
> our organizations and in our culture.
>
> It is always about growth. Yet continuous, rapid growth is cancer in the
> cells. So I'm wondering what others think about the process of
> transformation. Does our difficulty acknowledging/accepting death impede
> our ability to transform?.

I agree with you - Thanks, Jim, and Ginny for triggering the interest.
I would also appreciate a copy of Jim's paper.

While on the subject:

If anyone is interested, I have written a Conference paper (1993) with
Prof. Tom Kiresuk (Uni of Minnesota) on Arationality in planning and
evaluation, and the perceptions of Chaos in those aspects of
organisational change. It has been submitted in modified form to the new
international Evaluation journal (out of Tavistock Institute). Also Tom
Kiresuk (1990) has written on these aspects of technology transfer (refs
in my paper).
-----
Host's Note: Please followup *directly* to Colin, not to the list
address, re: his paper.
-----

--
Regards,
Col
Dr Colin A. Sharp
Assoc. Prof. of Management
Flinders Institute of Public Policy & Management
Faculty of Social Sciences
Flinders University, GPO Box 2100 Adelaide
South Australia, 5001
Phone: -61-8-201-2629
Fax:      -61-8-201-2273
Home:  -61-8-387-0369
Mobile (Aust) 015-790-030
email:   sharp@afm1.law.flinders.edu.au