Should education serve business? LO6403

Andrew Moreno (amoreno@broken.ranch.org)
Thu, 4 Apr 1996 01:29:38 -0800 (PST)

Replying to LO6381 --

On Tue, 2 Apr 1996 GaltJohn22@aol.com wrote:
> >Let's distinguish between the advanced training represented by MBAs, JDs
> >and the like, and general education at the K-12 and college levels. The
> >former serves the interests of the users of the training (businesses, law
> >firms, etc.), while the latter serves a much more general societal
> >purpose. I hope we haven't become so narrowly business oriented that we
> >have lost sight of the fact that business is only one element in the
> >complex system in which we live.
>
> What is this implicit assumption that "businesses, law firms, etc." are
> not "...societal..."? Who does not gain their livlihood from a business?
> If I substitute the word organization for business I can say "none of us"
> and actually I can say none without that thin substitution since without
> businesses no other organization would exist. Even the individual or
> family is in the BUSINESS of at least surviving (breaking even) but I
> don't know of a single individual or family which oesn't actually want to
> make a profit (surivival + making things better) so we are all in business
> I's say.
>
> It is PRECISELY the ill-founded belief that business and societal are
> different things that is the entire problem we have with the worst
> performing educational system on earth (results/$) and causes inumerable
> other problems - IMHO.

I think it depends on the scope? of the values that an
business/organization has and fulfills.

I may be wrong but I think the original poster wanted to make the
distinction between an organization that pursues and fulfill's *it's
own* values and an organization that pursues and fulfill's *the entire
system's* values.

[I think a liberal arts degree helps people to fulfill *the entire
system's* values. In fact, this is one of the reason's I want to learn
all the stuff that's required for 16 GRE - Graduate Record Examinations -
the equivalent of 16x30 semester units - 4 bachelor's degrees - 480
semester units. I want to challenge them and pass all of them. I figure,
if I'm going to have an interdisciplinary doctorate, might as well get
the bachelor's degrees for each field first, right? :)]

[Double loop learning can be applied _within_ a single organization, but
I think the best that will happen is that the results will be used as a
competitive weapon to destroy other organizations.

I think the vast potential for double loop learning, learning level 2,
poly-loop systems is in applying it to fulfill *the entire system's*
values.

It's very tricky because usually values conflict at some level. I think
it takes a lot of brains, or a lot of practice of the 5 and other
disciplines to make things win/win.]

Andrew Moreno
amoreno@broken.ranch.org

[Host's Note: on the LO list, I put my insertions in square brackets, but
the items in square brackets above are Andrew's. ... Rick]

-- 

Andrew Moreno <amoreno@broken.ranch.org>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>