The business is learning

[Artur F. Silva]

A quotation I needed for other purposes and decided to share
with you

Artur

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From
Russel Ackoff
The Democratic Corporation
1994

"Growth is an increase in size or number. Development is an
ability and desire to satisfy one's own needs and legitimate
desires and those of others. A legitimate desire is one the
satisfaction of which does not inhibit the developmente of
someone else. Therefore, a desire to incapacitate another or
to deprive him or her of a needed resource is not legitimate."(...)

"Development is an increase in an entity's potential, not
necessarily in its actual attainments. It has less to do with
how much one has than with how much one can do with
whatever one has. It is more a metter of learning than
earning"(...)

"Because development involves increases of desire and ability,
one person or organization cannot give or impose in on another.
Contrary to popular belief, a government cannot develop the
governed, and a corporation cannot develop its employees.
Because development is a learning process, one person cannot
learn for another. TO BE TAUGHT AND TO LEARN ARE VERY
DIFFERENT THINGS. Md. Anisur Rahman (1991) described the
evolution of his thinking from the belief that development can be
GIVEN to a people to the belief that it can only be TAKEN by
them:

    «Knowledge cannot be tranfered - it can only be memorized
      for mechanical application, but LEARNING IS ALWAYS
      AN ACT OF SELF-SEARCH AND DISCOVERY. IN THIS
      SEARCH AND DISCOVERY ONE MAY BE STIMULATED
      AND ASSISTED  BUT CANNOT BE "TAUGHT". Nor can
      one be "trained" to perform tasks which are not mechanical
      but creative. INSTITUTIONS OF TEACHING AND TRAINING
      WHICH SEEK TO TRANFER KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
      SERVE MOSTLY TO DESORIENT THE CAPACITY THAT
      IS IN EVERY HEALTHY INDIVIDUAL TO CREATIVELY
      SEARCH AND DISCOVER KNOWLEDGE. »

The only kind of development that is possible is
SELF-DEVELOPMENT. Nevertheless, one person or organization
can ENCOURAGE and FACILITATE the development of others.
For example, although teachers cannot learn subjects for their
students they can encourage and facilitate their learning" (ps. 45-46)



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