Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A review of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization by Peter M. Senge
Published 1990 by Currency Doubleday (a Division of Random House)
1
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Presentation Map
2
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Learning Organizations
3
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Learning Organizations
I. Personal Mastery
II. Mental Models
III. Shared Vision
IV. Team Learning
V. Systems Thinking
5
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Thinking
Nature’s Templates
• Balancing process with delay
• Limits to growth
• Shifting the burden
• Eroding goals
• Fixes that fail
• Success to the successful
vio l
r
ha ua
beAct
Delay Desired
behavior
Corrective
action time
Delay Desired
warm
cold cold cold
Shower tap
setting time
Moral: In a sluggish system, aggressiveness produces instability. Either
be patient or make the system more responsive.
I. II. III. IV. V.
10
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
...
Balancing Process with Delay
Example 2: The Real Estate Market
Current
demand for Glut: lots Glut: lots
new houses of houses, of houses,
no demand no demand
time to
build a Sustained
demand and
house
High High High
demand,
production
demand, demand,
no houses no houses no houses
Build more
or less time
Notice the more drastic the response, the longer it takes to reach stability--
exactly the opposite of what was intended.
I. II. III. IV. V.
11
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
...
Limits to Growth
Limiting
Condition
Growing Slowing
Action Condition
Action
time time
Promotion
opportunities
De
lay
Moral: Don’t push on the reinforcing (growth) process. Remove or
weaken the source of limitation..
I. II. III. IV. V.
13
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
...
Shifting the Burden
Symptomatic
“solution”
Problem Side
symptom effect
lay
De
Fundamental
solution
The shifting the burden structure explains a wide range of behaviors
where well-intentioned “solutions” actually make matters worse over
the long term.
I. II. III. IV. V.
14
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
... Example 1:
Shifting the Burden Personnel problems
Bring in HR
Staff expert
costs Managers skills
$ and respect
$
Personnel Expectation
Dependency! that
$
performance HR experts will
problem
lay
time solve problems
time
De
Develop manager’s
abilities
Moral: Leverage lies in a combination of strengthening the fundamental
response and weakening the symptomatic response. This usually requires
a long-term orientation.
I. II. III. IV. V.
15
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
... Example 2:
Shifting the Burden Alcohol addiction
Alcohol
Stress
Alcohol
consumption
Stress Health
Ability to
lay control workload
De
time
Reduce workload
Moral: Notice how insidious the reinforcing cycle is, fostering dependence
on the symptomatic solution. Meanwhile the underlying problem grows
worse and the capability for fundamental solutions atrophies.
I. II. III. IV. V.
16
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
...
Eroding Goals
Goal
Pressure to
adjust goals
Gap
Actions to
Condition Improve
Conditions
y
Dela
Eroding Goals is a shifting the burden type structure in which the short-
term solution involves letting a long-term, fundamental goal decline.
Quality standards and hence quality quietly erode. Meanwhile, the customer
base becomes dissatisfied, driving down revenues and undermining the
enterprise’s ability to invest in the fundamental solution.
I. II. III. IV. V.
18
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
...
Fixes that Fail
Problem Fix
Del
ay
Unintended
Consequences
Fixes that Fail describes a system where a fix is effective in the short term,
but has unforseen consequences which may require even more use of the
original fix, thus perpetuating the problem.
I. II. III. IV. V.
19
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Systems Archetypes
...
Fixes that Fail Example: Maintenance
Maintenance
High Cutting back Costs
maintenance maintenance Break-
downs
costs schedules
Maintenance
schedule
Del time
ay
More breakdowns
and higher costs
Moral: Maintain focus on the long term. Disregard short term “fix,” if
feasible, or use it only to “buy time” while working on a long term remedy.
Success Resources
of B to B
I. Personal Mastery
II. Mental Models
III. Shared Vision
IV. Team Learning
V. Systems Thinking
Personal Vision
• Identify ultimate intrinsic desires, not only secondary goals
• Coupled with Purpose (‘why’) (abstract)
• Vision is a specific destination (‘what’) (concrete)
• True vision is not composed of negatives of the now
• Multifaceted (material+personal+service+…)
• Takes courage to hold and pursue
Personal Mastery is a process of continually focussing and
refocusing on what one truly wants, on one’s visions.
I. II. III. IV. V.
27
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Personal Mastery:
Creative Tension
Vision We are acutely aware of the gap between our
vision and reality
• This gap can be discouraging, or...
• The gap can be a source of energy, in fact...
Current • This gap is the source of creative energy!
reality
“There are only two possible ways for the tension to resolve
itself: pull reality toward the vision or pull the vision toward
reality. Which occurs will depend on whether we hold steady
to the vision.”
I. II. III. IV. V.
28
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Personal Mastery:
Structural Conflict
“Practically all of us
have a dominant
belief that we are not
able to to fulfill our
Belief in Your Your
powerlessness current Vision desires.”
or unworthiness reality
• Our unawareness of this belief contributes to its power
• We “cope” by letting vision erode, focussing on erasing
negatives, or through shear will-power
• But the only real leverage lies in gradually changing the
underlying beliefs and by Commitment to the Truth...
I. II. III. IV. V.
29
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Personal Mastery:
I. Personal Mastery
II. Mental Models
III. Shared Vision
IV. Team Learning
V. Systems Thinking
I. Personal Mastery
II. Mental Models
III. Shared Vision
IV. Team Learning
V. Systems Thinking
I. Personal Mastery
II. Mental Models
III. Shared Vision
IV. Team Learning
V. Systems Thinking
defensiveness
47
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Applications
fundamental
Improve solution.
writing skills
48
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Applications
Good
economy Increase
Lack of foreign
enrollment students
Del
ay
Xenophobia
“Fixes that fail”
49
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Applications
Xenophobia,
Good Lack of students returning
economy enrollment overseas, & ???
lay
De
Make graduate
school more
economically “Shifting the burden”
valuable
50
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Applications
valuable
Dela
“Eroding Goals”
51
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Applications
Success of
economy Industry get
students faster
Students go to
industry rather
than grad. school
Grad. School Grad school
struggles gets less
students
52
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization
V
Applications
My solution:
Foreign students return
Eroding Goals overas +/- mediocre
Success to the
successful students get grad.
degrees
Success Goal: great Pressure to lower
of Industry get graduate admissions
economy students students standards
faster
Students go to
industry rather
than grad. school Gap
Fix that fails
Increase foreign
Grad. and/or mediocre
School Lack of students
struggles enrollment
y
Shifting the burden:
Dela
symptomatic solution
De
lay
Make graduate Dela
school more Unintended y
economically consequence
valuable Xenophobia, (+possible less
commitment to university /
Shifting the burden: state / national vision)
fundamental solution
54
Clemson Research in Engineering Design and Optimization