Fikret Berkes & others in the Resilience Alliance have talked about the need to bring together transformation & memory (I don't remember if they use those terms exactly). Transformation of course is essential for adaptation, but, as Janita asks, how do we incorporate memory; how do we make learning sustainable? Those of us who long ago learned to distrust institutions find ourselves trying to invent new ones (which is why Jmes Kay & I started nes - www.nesh.ca), in order that the learning is retained. I feel ambivalent about doing that, however, since the sustainable institutionalization of learning can put such a drag on transformation - but I guess that's the point. When I described to a theologian friend of mine the debates between ecologists wanting to "preserve" ecological integrity in some historical sense, and those who saw change and transformation as essential to evolution, hereplied: oh that sounds like the German theological debates in the 1930s. The Nazis favoured ecological integrity and stability. A sobering reminder of the need to embrace contradiction, I suppose.
Janita Vos wrote: > > Hello everyone, reentering the conference after a few days. A few notes > on the issue of organizational learning, or perhaps better collective > learning. > Chris Argyrys wrote his foundational books on organizational learning > many years ago. I am afraid though that the relationship between > individual learning and collective learning is still an unresolved > matter. Individuals learn (or are able to learn) and only under the > right circumstances a collective (being a group, an organization or a > community) is able to learn. This depends on the individuals within the > collective (their learning capacity) as well as the various structural > circumstances (as enablers of learning) of the collective. This note is > not meant to be negative, I just believe it is important to acknowledge > the crucial role of individuals for making collective learning possible, > that makes that "Human systems are different" (see Vickers, ..). We all > might have experienced situations in which a leaving individual results > into the collapse of a functioning group (or even an organization) and > the other way around: an entering individual into the revival of a > collective. > Having said all this, I see the at least two issues/dilemma's for > collective learning: > - First, the dilemma of making a collective 'individual-proof': the > learning capacity of a collective depends on both the indepence of > individual capacities _and_ the susceptibility/responsiveness to > individual capacities. > - Second, (in relation to the first) the endurability of collective > learning. Perhaps sustainability is a better word in this context: how > to make collective learning sustainable. I was really impressed by all > the tools and methods that are offered here, but even if a method works > great in contributing to collective learning: what should be done to > make it (more) sustainable? Does this perhaps mean that > instruments/tools have a 'best-before date' in a collective? > regards, Janita > > -- > Dr. Janita F.J. Vos > Faculty of Management and Organization > University of Groningen > The Netherlands > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Tel. +31 50 363 7161 > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.learningforsustainability.net/pipermail/intsci_learningforsustainability.net/attachments/20060307/a97bfea2/attachment.html > _______________________________________________ > IntSci mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.learningforsustainability.net/mailman/listinfo/intsci_learningforsustainability.net -- David Waltner-Toews Professor Department of Population Medicine University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 Tel 519-824-4120 ext 54745 Fax 519-763-3117 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web sites: www.ovcnet.uoguelph.ca/popmed/ecosys/index.html (personal/professional/courses) www.nesh.ca (Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health) www.eccho.ca (Ecosystems, Climate Change and Health Omnibus Project) _______________________________________________ IntSci mailing list [email protected] http://mail.learningforsustainability.net/mailman/listinfo/intsci_learningforsustainability.net
