The Illusion of Taking Charge - Term Paper Example

The Fifth Discipline withstands this acid test. It has turned theoreticians into practical individuals. Spiritual bent in Senge’s writings is clearly seen. He gives lots of importance to the inner world of the individual, while explaining the limitations of materialists in chasing the secular goals. Learning organization means a progressive organization, a rebel against the traditional methods and willing to learn and move forward. It visualizes the threats well in time and makes use of the new opportunities.

It knows value of the empowering approach. “In his prominent book, The Fifth Discipline, Senge identified some learning disabilities associated with the failure to think systemically. He classified them under the following headings: I am my position" "The enemy is out there" "The illusion of taking charge" "The fixation on events" "The parable of the boiled frog" "The delusion of learning from experience" (1990, pp. 17 - 26) I have been affected by the disability related to the illusion of taking charge: How I have been personally impacted by this disability.

They say, tomorrow never comes, today it may be too late, do it just now. I am working for an export organization and the issue was about getting my passport ready, as instructed by my Export Manager. The Company has short-listed the names of certain employees and he told me that I was one from the Export Division of the company being considered for a study-tour of some Import Establishments in America. He told me to keep my passport and other papers ready. I presumed that the chance may not be forthcoming soon, and went on postponing my planned visit to the Passport Office.

In fact, I had requested one of my friends staying near the Passport Office (the office is about 30 kilometers from our Organization) but did not pursue it effectively. My friend must have forgotten about my request. When, after a fortnight, my Export Manager, enquired about the passport for officially routing though the visa application, with a sorry face I had to tell him that I did not do anything about it. The issue was immediate and my two colleagues left for the foreign tour of three months.

With the self-imposed denial of this opportunity, my chances of future promotion in the office were also affected. How the organization that I work for has has been impacted by this disability I believe my failure in this passport episode is my inability to think systematically. I should have acted, the very moment, that I got the information from my Export Manager, for getting the Passport ready. Though my Organization was not affected badly, to some extent its impact was there. I was specializing in export-related issues of the company and my two friends-colleagues who went to USA were not experts in that area, but the Management had to send some representatives.

My negligence to carry out the instructions well in time came to the notice of the top management, and naturally they were not happy about it. Senge writes, “The illusion of taking charge being “proactive” is in vogue. Managers frequently proclaim the need for taking charge in facing difficult problems.”(p.20)Through this incident, I have experienced the truth of this statement. How was the disability overcome Senge writes, "Generative Learning cannot be sustained in an organization if people's thinking is dominated by short-term events.

If we focus on events, the best we can ever do is predict an event before it happens so that we can react optimally. But we