[Dialogue] Social Process Imbalance and Pressure Points
Lawrence Philbrook
larry at icatw.com
Wed Jan 19 16:51:15 CST 2011
Dear Marilyn
I would like to know what you did to. I have used Senge's work
extensively over the years including the feedback loops and team
learning as an approach to dialogue and facilitative process. Currently
I am looking at Otto Scharmer's Theory U work in the context of
transformational planning and change process.
With respect, Larry
On 1/20/2011 6:38 AM, Lawrence Philbrook wrote:
>
> On 1/20/2011 6:10 AM, R Williams wrote:
>> Marilyn,
>> I too used Senge and /Fifth Discipline/ and systems thinking, working
>> at that time with a local chamber of commerce on the ways business
>> could be a significant contributor in building and sustaining local
>> community.
>> I do not remember that Senge talked about the feedback loops so
>> much in terms of positive and negative, but rather as
>> "reinforcing", i.e. amplifying, and "balancing" i.e. stabilizing. I
>> think of the reinforcing/amplifying process as "whistle points" as in
>> "starts the avalanche"; and the balancing/stabilizing as "pressure
>> points" as in "stops the bleeding."
>> I would be interested to know, at least briefly, how you related that
>> to the social process. By the way, did you see that Senge published
>> an updated version of the book in 2006?
>> Randy
>>
>> --- On *Wed, 1/19/11, marilyncrocker at juno.com
>> /<marilyncrocker at juno.com>/* wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: marilyncrocker at juno.com <marilyncrocker at juno.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Dialogue] Social Process Imbalance and Pressure Points
>> To: dialogue at wedgeblade.net
>> Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 2:51 PM
>>
>> Steve,
>> This is similar to what struck me as I thought about the
>> relationship of the "systems thinking" work Peter Senge
>> introduced back in the early 90s in his book /The Fifth
>> Discipline/. I used both Senge's conceptual "archetypes"
>> (negative & positive feedback loops etc.) and the conceptual
>> framework of our social process triangles in a doctoral paper on
>> the topic of teacher burnout.
>> Marilyn
>>
>> Marilyn R. Crocker, Ed.D
>> Crocker & Associates, Inc.
>> 123 Sanborn Road
>> West Newfield, ME 04095
>> (207) 793-3711
>> On Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:34:46 -0600 steve har
>> <stevehar11201 at gmail.com
>> <http://us.mc593.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=stevehar11201@gmail.com>>
>> writes:
>>
>> I believe the imbalance idea likely came from
>> General Systems Theory & Kenneth Boulding
>> The balancing is a notion in feedback/feed forward loop logic
>>
>> For example
>> one side of the teter-totter goes down the other goes up; or
>>
>> if you add gas to your car the gas level in the car goes up
>> and the gas level in the gas station goes down.
>>
>> The idea is to represent change in a system not a static
>> model. There are moving parts in systems and "flows"
>>
>> At a gas station...there is a pressure point -the valve at
>> the pump - if you change the pressure point change happens
>> and gas flows
>>
>> When you do this the car's gas tank is balanced to a new
>> level when a valve in the gas pump notices the change in
>> pressure.
>>
>> Often systems have three [or more] parts for example the hot
>> water heater, the bathtub, the kitchen sink [with related valves]
>>
>> So imbalance triangles and pressure points were attempts to
>> visualize ways to make change in a system... to rebalance an
>> imbalance- in a 3 part system.
>>
>> Without pressure points, flows, imbalances you are left with
>> a static model in which there is no place for change. It
>> seems to me we wanted to represent opportunities to make
>> social change not stasis.
>>
>> The *establishment process * lives with or is the economic
>> tyrant [to use the rather quaint terms of the time];
>>
>> The *disestablishment* is the political ally [like a "loyal"
>> political opposition],
>>
>> The *transestablishment* or the cultural process is the
>> meaning making dynamic that tells a new story and "re
>> balances" the social order by changing the system.
>>
>> The model is genius design and profound thinking for the
>> 1970s; time marches on. There are tools and simulations that
>> really are dynamic now not artful representations. It is a
>> bit like comparing an old static photo to a new video.
>>
>> It would be very interesting to update some of the social
>> process triangle work with some of these new software tools
>> like Stella & iThink.
>>
>> It would be splendid piece of creative work to upgrade the
>> social process triangles to current times; something like
>> this video clip where Twyla Tharp takes a dance step from
>> long ago and makes a splendid ballet called "Bakers Dozen".
>> See: http://poss.posterous.com/34574499.
>>
>> I think we could make a splendid "ballet" out of the social
>> process triangles.
>> Taking brilliant models from the past and dusting them off
>> for current times seems exactly what a new ICA era should do.
>>
>> For a picture of how people seem to be making models like the
>> social process triangles now
>> see:http://www.systems-thinking.org/intst/int.htm
>>
>> Thoughts? Steve Harrington
>>
>>
>>
>>
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