Cooperatives as a Learning Community Cooperatives as a Learning Community by Henry Mintzberg An unusual proposal: Join us in a learning adventure about

Cooperatives as a Learning Community


by Henry Mintzberg An unusual proposal: Join us in a learning adventure about •enhancing organizations as communities in general •developing cooperatives as a special kind of community in particular_______________________________________

A cooperative table at the IMPM


Where are the Cooperatives today?

Are they lost between the public and private sectors?

It is time, especially now, to recognize the “social sector” in between (of non-owned and member-owned organizations)

It is time, in other words, for cooperatives to take their rightful place in a balanced society


Our Efforts in Development

•Began in 1996 with the International Masters in Practicing Management (www.impm.org)•In place of the MBA, it combines management education with management development •The focus has been on community building, which may be ideally suited to the social sector

http://www.impm.org/


What’s Wrong with Management Development

much that is wrong with management education (e.g., the AMPs as miniature MBAs), and more

Do managers need boot camp?

They live boot camp every day; they need to step back and reflect thoughtfully on their own experience.

Should management development push people back into the functional silos just when they are coming out of them?

It should open managers to the mindsets of managing.

Does a program that lines people up in nice neat rows foster creativity?

The participants should own the classroom.

Do managers need to be sent out on projects?

They are inundated with projects; programs need to use work, not make work.

© H. Mintzberg.


Then


Now


•Developing managers in context

•Organized around managerial mindsets

© H. Mintzberg.


Mindsets of Managers

Managing Selfreflective ms

Managing Contextworldly ms

Managing Change action ms

Managing Organizationsanalytical ms

Managing Relationshipscollaborative ms

© H. Mintzberg.


Learning Philosophy

Reflections

Experiences

Reflections

Impacts

Concepts

© H. Mintzberg.



Morning Reflections

• 5 minutes alone in Insight Book

• 10 (+) minutes around the tables

• open to plenary (let the lecturers

wait)

© H. Mintzberg.


Stage 1

© H. Mintzberg.


Stage 2

© H. Mintzberg.


Stage 3

© H. Mintzberg.


``This is the best management book I ever read! ``

Silke Lenhardt Lufthansa

© H. Mintzberg.



Carrying the Learning Back Home

•Action Impact•Teaching Impact•Ventures•Field Studies•Managerial Exchanges•Final Paper

Program Design

Participants continue to work throughout the program.


Workshops and Friendly Consulting on Key Issues, for example:

•Capturing natural engagement in cooperatives•Expanding the role of cooperatives

(Why is there but one Mondragon?)•Leveraging this kind of learning within the cooperative movement


A Note on CoachingOurselves.Com

• Management and Organization Development carried to Self Development

• Small teams self-organize and meet, for example, over lunch for 90 minutes every two weeks

• No consultant, no facilitator, no faculty, no professional coach; just developing themselves and their organization

• They download topics (there are 50 +) and learn while addressing key issues


So Our ProposalJoin us with a table of one representative from each of

5 or 6 cooperatives at the next IMPM (April 2010) to delve into:

• the whole question of management and organization development in cooperatives, including leveraging the use of impact and self coaching

• some of the major issues facing cooperatives today, including how can they take their rightful place in a balanced society

Lets discuss….

Documents

Cooperatives as a Learning Community Cooperatives as a Learning Community by Henry Mintzberg An unusual proposal: Join us in a learning adventure about