My question is about the key role 'Authority' plays in a learning
organization. I just finished Capra's "The Web of Life" and was thinking
about his use of a web in explaining a systems thinking paradigm. As I
began to look at webs I realized the importance of achors or in my
translation, authority points, and the importance of them for the web to
function effectively. Here is my question that I have been trying to
wrestle with.
What part does authority play in a learning organization?
It seems vital for any learning and yet I am having trouble seeing
the difference of authority in a 'mechanistic' structure vs a 'living'
structure. Here are my thoughts for the moment.
There seems to be an authority anchor for:
Individuals - each person has an authority in their experiences,
skills, giftings, preferences, ect.
Culture - Each culture has unique God given characteristics and it
is important that they understand their strengths and weaknesses and the
part they play.
Leadership - Those in designated roles who have influence over
large groups of people.
I add here an anchor from my Christian perspective of God and his
revealed truth.
As I re-read this is sounds a little muddled. Anyone interested in
helping clarify this? A last thought is that I think Authority is
important for defining morality.
I would love to hear some new thoughts.
Thanks,
Matt Rawlins
--Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>