On 7 Aug 96 at 18:36, Cherry Vanderbeke wrote:
> I have never been totally happy with the quote I quoted either.
> What makes me uncomfortable about it is the premise that people go
> ahead and do "the wrong thing" just because they are "asked" to do
> it!
I am not sure it means ONLY that, but it could mean that!
> When I read this, it seemed to be saying that a system is something
> that's designed by "them" for "us" to follow, that it's divorced
> from people.
> That it is a separate entity. I guess when we think
> that way, we can stand back and "blame" it. I don't think people
> with that view have a good understanding of system thinking or
> system dynamics.
I think that the interpretation you have chosen would be typical of
more traditional organizations...I think I agree, though that is not
what I was saying. But as an aside. I view systems as encompassing
org. culture, which seems to me to have a life of it's own, primarily
due to intertia. In my consulting, I have found "systems" that exist
long after the people who set them up, or understood them have left
the organization. It isn't that they are a seperate entity, but they
appear to be.
> "...different people in the same structure tend to produce
> qualitatively similar results...The causes of the behavior must lie
> beyond individuals."
I would modify this. ONE cause must lie beyond the individuals...not
necessarily THE cause. Systems imply inter-relationships, so it would
be unlikely to find ONE cause for almost anything, methinks.
Robert Bacal, CEO, Institute For Cooperative Communication
dbt359@freenet.mb.ca, Located in Winnipeg,Canada.
*For articles on management, change, training,communication, etc,
visit our home page at: http://www.winnipeg.freenet.mb.ca/~dbt359
--"Robert Bacal" <dbt359@freenet.mb.ca>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>