Dear list participants: I have been in this list for more than one year, only reading the posts from time to time. As I would like to participate in some of the threats now in discussion (in discussion some days ago, I mean), I think it is time to present myself.
I am Portuguese, 50 years old. English is not my first language, nor even the second. In these last years I rarely write or speak in English; please forgive any "language problems". I have worked for IBM during 18 years, first as a Systems Engineer; In the last years with IBM I was responsible for "Information Systems Planning" (ISP, for short) and for planning and running Executive Customer Seminars in Portugal. I left IBM in 1989 (my decision!) to create a small consulting firm Working in ISP and ISM, with a lot more independence than before... Even when I was a SE, I concluded that developing IS applications was not my real job; my real job was to do "organisational change" through IS, hopefully changing for the better... As an ISP consultant my job is "to help customers develop better organisations through IS planning and management". That is the reason why I became interested, some 20 years ago, in general management questions, and especially in organisation development and learning. Learning Organisations, Information and Knowledge Management, and the relations between Management, Ethics, and Social Evolution are some of my current interests. In this last 3 years I have also worked as Invited Professor, at the "Department of Informatics Engineering" of the University of Coimbra, where, apart from ISP, I have been teaching subjects like "Management processes", "Business management" and "Society, Profession and Ethics". A report on the way I have taught Management, treating the class as a LO, has been explained in a mail to the lo-list. I am also interested in OS and similar techniques but until now I had not the opportunity to practice them (I have used metaplan some years ago). So my Knowledge from them is mainly from books and the Web, combined with my experience with other types of planning activities. But I am very interested in beginning using them; and if it can be in Africa or Latin America, even better... I hope to have the time to participate more regularly at least about topics (like KM) that I have already used. And to continue learning about OS and, hopefully, have the possibility to practice Regards Artur
