[Dialogue] Social Process Imbalance and Pressure Points
Lawrence Philbrook
icalarry at gmail.com
Wed Jan 19 16:38:14 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 6:10 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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