In response to my statement,
>Therefore, there must be times when society would best be served
>by government and business collaborating on important tasks while at other
>times society would best be served by constructive conflict between the
>two. How do we know when to do which, and how do we learn to collaborate?
John offered.
"Sounds like a new thread. Collaboration is something you already know.
You're doing it here to foster the growth of organizational learning
theory and practice. You also have your constructive confilicts.
Collaboration is sometimes born of the need to survive, sometimes as a
means to a perceived opportunity. Do we need a formal theory of
collaboration and a new type of graphical representation? I don't think
so."
=== End Quote ===
When I said "how do we learn to collaborate", the "we" refers to
government and business. I don't think those two entities do know how or
when to collaborate. While government necessarily needs to set limits --
this is a key function -- there are lots of examples of unhealthy, unwise,
unethical, or illegal interactions between the two, but many fewer
examples of healthy, wise, ethical, and legal ones. Lobbying and
political contributions are examples of collaboration, but they do not
meet my definition for 'good'. Other countries -- Japan and Germany among
the best known -- manage to achieve better working relations with
industries than the US does.
The key question is therefore, how do we understand when the government
should be setting limits, establishing control, enhancing a healthy
competitive and living environment for all, and how do we know when
government and industry should work together?
--Rol Fessenden LL Bean, Inc. 76234.3636@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>