Volume 6, Number 8-10

In this final issue of Volume 6 of Reflections, we consider the consequences of culture for learning in practice, and benefit from a diverse set of illustrations in three feature articles and two contributions to our Emerging Knowledge Forum. Because we recognize that you are more than “readers,” and that learning is supported by a variety of resources, we are also introducing audio downloads as part of this issue. We look forward to your feedback about this new feature.

Click here to discover more.

At SoL’s Research Greenhouse in 2004, Ed Schein, professor emeritus at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a founding father of the field of organizational development, and one of SoL’s first trustees shared his own cross-cultural journey, and how it has shaped his own practice. His story is told as a drama in five acts: “From Brainwashing to Organizational Therapy: A Conceptual and Empirical Journey in Search of Systemic Health and a General Model of Change Dynamics.” We are delighted to share an article based on his talk, as well as the original talk itself as an audio download.

In various public statements, the leadership of China has stated its aspiration to be a learning country. Darl G. Kolb and Tianjian Jiang share their observations and research in “Organizational Learning in China: Inroads and Implications for the Awakening Dragon.” SoL China Project Coordinator C. Will Zhang poses the possibility that organizational learning may be both the first and last imported “antidote” that will help China reconnect with its rich history of harmony between action and reflection. In further comments, Zhaoliang Qui (with Stephen Meng and Glenn Lauder) shares his experience of learning organization work in China, and a framework for encouraging a learning culture.

The language of systems thinking has often served a means to span organizational and cultural boundaries. “Hindustan Petroleum’s Structural Analysis of Current Reality,” by Ashis Sen, one of the company’s team of internal coaches, documents how a locally dispersed regional sales team used this analysis to build a shared understanding of how they could effectively achieve the results they care about most.

Service projects in Sri Lanka following the tsunami provide the context for learning for managers from Unilever’s Asian food business. “Sri Lanka: A Story of Hope” by Karen Ayas continues to document the leadership development approach of cultural immersion originally reported in the book To the Desert and Back, and in prior issues of Reflections.

Kufunda Village in Zimbabwe is the setting for “Stories from an African Learning Village” as told by village co-founder Marianne Knuth. One of the local community members supported by the village reports this benefit: “I was helped to see myself as a person first. Not as a poor person.” This shift in mindset from poverty and helplessness to dignity and possibility is the heart of the Kufunda culture. Those who question the practicality of appreciative inquiry should find its use in this setting illuminating.

Publisher's Note: Volume 6, Number 8-10
By Sherry Immediato

Reflections is available to all Gulf SoL members. If you are affiliated with a Gulf SoL member organization, but not currently subscribed to the journal, contact membership@gulfsol.org.

If you are not a SoL member, but are interested in subscribing, visit http://reflections.solonline.org.