I'm responding to Andy Rowe's observations which he sent to Rol. At the
end of his comments, Andy typed these two questions:
"Do you, or anyone else out there, agree, or have I missed some really
important empirical work?, or is there some PHD thesis in the making to
rectify this apparent gap?"
Andy's words make me wonder again at my own perceptions about the
disconnect between academe and the work place. This lack of visibility
from one to the other site may be a significant contributor to the speed
at which productive change occurs now. But that's another story.
There is a tremendous amount of world class team work now throughout the
business world. Part of the work of many teams is a final step,
reflection on the process. In this step, a team considers what they can
do to turn the wheel of improvement another revolution, and what they can
do to forego mistakes and weaknesses uncovered in the just completed
process.
In a few companies, such team work is reported regularly to employees.
The successes are communicated, and improvement work continues on an
individual as well as team basis.
I can't help but shake my head at Andy's request (surely tongue-in-cheek)
for doctoral writings to fill an "apparent gap". There is not gap in some
companies. And for others the goals and methods for achievement are
explicit.
Let me wonder out loud for a moment. I am quite naive about the role of
consultants who may be business/organization professors at universities
and college. Do they share with the world only a small portion of their
positive results or influences? Are successes in process improvement,
brought about by education of people about people, not shared in the
Academy for some ulterior motives?
Where explicitly described are the positive recommendations which members
of groups crave as useful tools in identifying credible content and
necessary process? Should more of us emulate such journals as the Harvard
Business Review and provide case studies?
The weave of theory and practice is a strangely delicate one. By it's
current nature, this list is prone toward theory, although there are
refreshing instances of the practical in its design.
Question: If this list is an engine, what is it driving, and how?
Best regards,
-- Barry Mallis bmallis@markem.com