Mariann Jelinek wrote:
[SNIP LARGO]
>The conversation metaphor also evokes the biases, misunderstandings and
> difficulties that can arise - because one party "gets no respect," because
> another lacks appropriate perspective, or because "groupthink" blinds a
> group to what seems obvious to others, for example.
> mxjeli@facstaff.wm.edu (Mariann Jelinek)
>
On the notion of "groupthink" blinding a group to what seems obvious to
others:
There is a "good" groupthink and a "bad" groupthink. In process
improvement and problem solving activities, it is the "good" group
thinking eliminating the obvious that creates breakthrough. The
discipline of a group using force fields, fishbones, and facts to look at
the situation outside of the obvious ("bad" group thinking) folkways and
mores of the organization (read: we tried that before; that'll never
work; that machine's no good; that guy does it on purpose; etc.) is just
what's needed to break the conversational paradigm and put forth the
dialogue.
-- jzavacki@epix.net John Zavacki The Wolff Group 900 James Avenue Scranton, PA 18510 Phone: 717-346-1218 Fax: 717-346-1388Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>