Root Cause LO8121

Michael D. Townes, Organizational Consultant (MDTownes@premier.net)
Tue, 25 Jun 1996 21:14:57 -0700

Replying to LO8092 --

Rol Fessenden wrote:
> If asks... What can we do to create systemic change when there is not
> enough time?
> ...
> Many people will say the reorganizations do not work, but I have seen
> them work very well when targeted at a specific outcome...
> ...
> The alternative to these approaches is one of educating an organization
> and 'selling' or 'getting buy-in' or whatever you want to call it.
> That can take a long time, and in reasonably complex environments, it
> may never happen.
>
> ... it would appear that creating tighter focus -- someone else offered
> creating crisis -- would appear to work faster than some alternatives.
>
> [I] wonder if these approaches are less effective than something more
> along the lines of LO. I am not sure they are... other thoughts?

I will just 'wonder out loud' along with Rol...

I wonder if we sometimes feel that systemic change takes a long time as if
it were some kind of genetic shift/mutation? On the other hand, if we
thought of systemic change in Quality terms, perhaps it would be change
that focuses more on common causes than on special causes. I have found
that the 80/20 rule seems to apply in most every thing I look into. That
being said -- and if accurate -- then focusing on the broad band of folks
in the middle and on what drives/causes them to do what they do should
lead to some 'root causes' of current organiza- tional conditons. Would
not interventions focused in those areas be, by definition, systemic?
Need that be a lengthly process? I think not. Comments?

-- 
Mike Townes
Goodwood Management
12459 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA  70815-6725
MDTownes@premier.net    504-273-4383    fax: 504-296-7621
 

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