|
Strategy Versus Tactics
Strategic issues relate to the
long-term,
difficult-to-change
elements of a business that create competitive advantage. They are
elements that competitors cannot quickly duplicate. Action Learning
is a strategic tool because it changes corporate culture.
It encourages people to examine the mental
models of the current culture as well as
their own assumptions, prejudices, beliefs
and mental models. As this re-examination migrates
through the organization, it allows for the possibility of creating
new models and beliefs that are more consistent with the current
environment, more productive and more conducive to company survival.
Corporate Culture
Corporate culture is usually the most strategic of these elements.
It is notoriously resistant to change, particularly in larger
organizations. Attitudes, policies, practices and behaviors are
unconsciously interwoven into the daily patterns of employees. Many
companies find success with approaches to business that suits a
particular time and technology. Then, when external conditions
change they cannot cope because the culture perpetuates the original
formula.
When changes are made in some areas, the
mental models in surrounding functions and areas find reasons to
resist. Such changes are often temporary as the pervasive
influence of culture restores things to fit the original mental models.
|
Ford
Motor Company during the 1930s and 1940s is the most well-know
example of this. The problems at Ford during this period were
generally blamed on the founder and his peculiar personality.
Ford Assembly Line,
circa 1913 Battle of Overpass, River
Rouge, 1937
The
author worked at Ford in the late 1960's, nearly two decades after Henry Ford's
death and there were still many counter-productive attitudes and policies
still in place. The corporate culture
originated by Henry Ford I outlived him by at least several decades.
The same phenomena affects the other Detroit
automotive companies and is largely responsible for their present
troubles.
When it
comes to cultural change, the only certain things are uncertainty,
inertia
and difficulty. This is the least understood and most troublesome
aspect of a Lean implementation. |
|
Action Learning Topics
0-Introduction
1-Fundamentals of Action Learning (I)
2-Fundamentals of Action Learning (II)
3-Conducting The Project
4-Learning, Strategy and Corporate Culture
5-AL, Kaizen & Lean Operations
6-AL Case Study- Telecom Service Installation
7-AL Example-Computers
Download AL Articles
|
References
Dilworth, Robert L., Performance
Improvement Quarterly, 1998, Volume 11, Number 1, pp. 28-43.
Lee, Quarterman, Strategos Website,
2001, Is The Kaizen Blitz Right For You,
http://www.strategosinc.com/kaizen_blitz.htm
Pedler, M. (1991). Action learning in
practice. Vermont: Gower Publishing Company.
Revans, R. (1983). ABC of action
learning. Kent, England: Chartwell-Bratt Ltd.
Revans, R. (1971). Developing effective
managers. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Wikipedia, 2008, Action Learning,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_learning.
Weinstein, K. (1995). Action learning: A
journey in discovery and development. London: Harper Collins
Publishers.
|
