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Donald Schons Example
y In school classroom learning there is always a drive forinstant action and no time to reflect due to theorganizational system.
y There is only absorbing information dished out from byan expert.
y In an organization manager is the EXPERT.
y Manager must develop the capacity to work incontinuous cycles of pausing to develop hypotheses,acting, and pausing to reflect on the results.
y Schon call it REFLECTION-IN-ACTION
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What do American Managers do?
y They adopt a strategy
yWhen it runs into problems, they switch to anotherstrategy
y Then to another and another
y Possibly to 4 or 6 different strategies, without onceexamining why a strategy seems to be failing
ySenge calls this the READY, FIRE, AIM atmosphereofAmerican Corporations
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Learning Takes TimeyWhen managing mental models, it takes
considerable time to surface assumptions,
examine their consistency, their accuracy,and see how different models can be knittogether into more systemic perspectives
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The Example of Hanovers OBrien
yDoesnt schedule short meetings
yOnly considers complex, dilemma-likedivergent issues. These are the issues that
require the thought and experience of the mostsenior people, in addition to the input of lessexperienced people.
y If top managers are handling 20 problems in aworkday then its a sign that management work
is handled poorly.
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The Example of Hanovers OBrien
y IfI make twelve decisions. I may pick someone toreport directly to me.
y I may set a direction.
y But my job is not consumed with making manydecisions.
y It is consumed with identifying important issues the
organization must address in the future, helpingothers sort through decisions they must make, andthe overarching tasks of organizational design.
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How Organizations operate
y People at the top continually make decisions onissues such as how to run a promotion as opposedto why they need to run promotions at all.
y How to make a sale to a particular customer instead
of inquiring about how their products serve thecustomers' expressed and latent needs in general.
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In the future, Senge suggests
y As the basic learning disciplines start to becomeassimilated into an organization
y Action will still be critical, but incisive action will not be
confused with incessant activityy High-level managers will spend more time reflecting,
modeling and designing learner processes
y Because reflection and inquiry are integral to the
development of valid mental models
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In the future, Senge suggests
y The new learning organization leader as stewardandteacher...
y Asteward of the vision, one who continually tells
andre-tells the organizations purpose story. Thisleader ensures that the environment remains value-based, vision-driven.
y Ateacher whose responsibility is definingreality andfostering learning, while continuallycommitted to unvarnished truth he/she too remainsa learner.
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THANK YOU
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