LEARNING DISABILITIES IN AN ORGANIZATION FROM THE BOOK THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE BY PETER SENGE Dr. R. Uma Lakshmi College of Education Gandhigram

LEARNING DISABILITIES IN AN ORGANIZATION 1. I am my Position 2.The enemy is out there 3.The Illusion of taking charge 4.The fixation on events 5.The parable of the boiled frog 6.The delusion of learning from experience 7.The myth of the management team

1. I AM MY POSITION What do you do for a living? Japanese – auto engine lower production cost but with extraordinary precision and reliability In an American car the same assembly costs more. Why?

2. THE ENEMY IS OUT THERE Boy- Football ‘No one can catch a ball in that darn field’ Blaming someone or something outside ourselves when things grow wrong. A by-product of ‘I am my position’ Non systemic ways of looking at the world that our position fosters This LD makes it impossible to detect the leverage ‘in here’

3. THE ILLUSION OF TAKING CHARGE Proactive-taking charge in facing difficult problems, stop waiting for someone else to do something and solve problems before they grow into crisis. Reactive- waiting until a situation goes out of hand before taking a step. Ex: insurance company –appointing Legal staff. If we fight with our ‘enemy out there’ –we are only reacting. Proactiveness is reactiveness in disguise True proactiveness comes from seeing how we contribute to our own problems.

4. THE FIXATION OF EVENTS Focusing on events distract us from seeing the longer-term patterns of change that lie behind the events. The primary threats for our survival come not from sudden events but from slow gradual process – the arms race, the environmental decay, the erosion of society’s public education system, decline in a product quality etc., Generative learning cannot occur if people’s thinking is dominated by short term events.

5. THE PARABLE OF THE BOILED FROG Threats to survival need not be sudden changes in the environment but may be slow and gradual. We need to slow down to see the gradual processes that often poses greatest threats. Detroit – Big three Japan –not a threat in 1962 (4% US market) 1967 Less than 10% 1974,,,, 15% % % %

THE DELUSION OF LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE We learn best from experience but we never directly experience the consequences of many of our most important decisions. Ex. Oversupply of workers in a particular field.

THE MYTH OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM Most management teams break down under pressure Work well with routine issues Complex issues – the teamness break. We learn to protect ourselves from the pain of appearing ignorant. This blocks out new understandings  skilled incompetence.

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