Fred Nickols asked for other reference points in the story about the
boiler tender, the jeweler, time, and syncronicity that Marion Brady told
us very recently. I see the point made by Marion as a very clear one.
His educational example was a good one. I would say that when a situation
falls in a pattern such as the one Marion described, then one may not need
an additional point of reference or may just want to ignore it. ANy other
poimt of reference may create a disturbance (ex., the recognition that we
may not be doing the right things or things right, or both), which
sometimes we may not appreciate.
As business professors in the U.S. we believe that what we are teaching is
what our students "really" need.
Publishing companies check with us to see what we are using so that the can
supply us with what we "need." The same textbook.
We adopt "new" textbooks (which are not really new), which tells publishing
companies that they are doing what is "right."
The worst part of this is that most "creative" curricula are based on the
same textbooks.
So, we really don't check other points of reference, which doesn't mean
that we don't know they exist. For instance, if the concepts related to
the learning organization make our business textbooks, they will be a
section in a chapter, or a full chapter, if lucky. But the rest of the
book will be the same as it has always been.
No wonder why textbooks in business don't change a great deal thought
time.
-- Ivan Blanco@bu4090.Barry.edu