RE: Smallest book in the world?

["Aidan Ward" <aidan_ward@antelopes.com>]

Dirk, Denizens,

> > "And on that matter we can only trust Deming's judgement that the guy
had
> > flunked."
>
> Based on my observation, this type of treatment towards a student that
> "flunked" seems to go against most of the postings regarding the
> application of the SoPK in education. Walking away from a struggling
student
> might create fear, thoughts of failure, create a barrier, reduce the level
of pride,
> and create concentration on a grade/teacher's judgement as opposed to
learning.
>

This is precisely the point. Deming is not in teaching mode here but in
consultancy mode. He can either help the company, i.e. repair the system, or
not. He reports that everything that has been done is for his own benefit,
i.e. the key part of the system will not change.

> > "I hear Paul Hollingworth regretting an absence of courage and
> integrity in
> > consultants flunking the
> > challenge to tell it how it is when the moment arrives."
>
> How can a consultant
> tell it like it is if there is no such thing as a fact concerning
> an empirical
> observation?
>
We are not talking about observations of the system, we are talking about a
relationship between two people. Whether commitments between the two are
kept is a matter for them to say, it is intersubjective. If one says he
can't work on the system because the other has flunked, and we have no
reason to suspect an ulterior motive for the statement, why wouldn't we
accept it?

This is the meaning of people making up the system. They (we!) are not
machines, we work via a network of human relationships. This is part of the
key 98% of the system you can't measure.

Regards,

Aidan

Antelope Projects Ltd
19, Fawkham Road, Longfield, Kent, DA3 7QP, UK
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