Replying to my earlier posting (LO#3872), Andy Rowe
(adrowe@essex.ac.uk) expressed his interest, in LO #3943, in a
discussion of the
>differences between the U.S. and U.K. 'schools' of learning-org. thought.
This seems to me an intriguing notion, but it rests on several
assumptions to which I invite fellow-practitioners to respond before
we proceed further. To wit,
a) that on either side of the Atlantic, the work that we discuss,
think about, and practice is sufficiently discrete to be placed into
national "schools."
b) that if (a) is so, P. Senge et al. represent the U.S. school of
thought; and possibly "the Learning company" project at Lancaster and
Sheffield represents the U.K. school. If these assumptions are not
true, than what should replace them?
Wishing to honor Andy's request, the query also leads me to wonder
how our Canadian participants (on this side), and all non-British
participants across the water, would feel about this. Are we being
horribly Anglo-chauvinists to even begin the conversation?
Finally (for the moment), if we grant that there are at least
differences in emphasis between the approaches to learning
organizations in the US and UK, are such differences of real
significance? are they tied to more essential differences between
the organizational/business cultures of the nations, or is all this
irrelevant in an increasingly global age?
I will invite a colleague in Britain, Chris Blantern at the Learning
Company project, to join us, rather than trying to relay thoughts I
know he has on the subject.
-- malcolm burson<mooney@maine.maine.edu