Complexity, Innovation, Knowledge and Learning: A quantum interpretation of management

Increasing scientific interest in the Mind-Brain-Behavior relationship

As already mentioned earlier, I am a firm believer that if we would like to progress the understanding of purposefull human activity (like management, innovation, etc) we have to investigate much further (or should I say start investigating) the consciousness issue.  I share this idea with many others, just to mention the noetic society. For those interested in this issue (and I hope it are many), I would like to suggest three interesting websites (of which I have added two to my internet site links on the reading page of this blog).

The Columbia University "Mind Brain Behavior" initiative is a multidisciplinary project investigating gene function, brain wiring and behavior. The Mind and Reality blog sheds light on what is going on in Indo-Tibetan mind science today. And the third interesting site is the one of the Mind and Life Institute.  Amongst others, this site informs about the clinical use of meditation. 

I would welcome to see more of this in management research and management school curricula.  Eventually, we might get a better understanding of human behavior, what management is all about.

Edutainers would merit a failing grade

According to Michael Schrage in the Financial Times of March 22, 2006, the edutainers (as he calls them) would merit a failing grade.  According to him ruthless scepticism should be given to "edutopia".  "Edutainment" is an ideology, according to the author, and technologists offer the false promise that learning should be fun and assert there is someting wrong if it is not. All this comes from a recognised "innovation researcher" at the MIT.  A pitty of the investment made in this research over the last 25 years I suppose, no?

One good question is raised: according to him educational software has nothing to do with cultivating character, and this in fact redefines education. I miss a clear point of view on what the role of education is, what teaching could do and how learning functions.  But in the mean time, there is no alternative offered.

And still we have no affordable solution to support the learning of many that are unable to take part in the elite educational excercises that our schools offer. Out of my experience and research it appears that virtual learning solutions (and yes that is different from educational software) could be a worthwhile alternative for those that have more difficulties with learning and those that anyway cannot attend an expensive classroom based alternative.

A missed opportunity and a needless attack.  But I would be very interested to learn about any alternative.

Students visions on more holistic management

I am currently teaching a course on our Euro-Mediterranean Management model, a more holistic view on and approach to management.  The third year students (first year ESC program) are working in Wiki's on their understanding of all this.  I really invite you to take a look at their work, in the discussion section of this blog.  In the drop down window (upper right of this page) you choose "discussion". Once on that page you will see again in the upper right of the screen a link to the Wiki's.  Then you have a choice of them. 

The slides of the course can be found in the "reading" page.

The questions the students are asking, are of course precisely the questions that every manager should ask. Maybe it gives ideas for some self-reflection.

"Le defi Indien"

I had the opportunity to visit India during the last two weeks, and it made me think back about a famous book of the 70s, published in Europe, written by Jean-Jacques Servan Schreiber, and titled "Le defi americain" (the American challenge). Ever since there have even been updates on this book, titled "Le nouveau defi americain", written by different authors, and dealing with different themes. The original book argued that Europe had to undertaken action in order to be able to counterbalance the American challenge.

Visiting a number of Business Schools in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, with which we have cooperations, and meeting with their faculty and managers, I am impressed by the combination of conceptual thinking, possibility of application, and above all motivation. Add to that the fact that the people I was able to talk to, all show a set of values that are deeply rooted in their daily behavior, manifesting the inner connectedness that is so manifest amongst humans, but that we seem to have lost in Europe. The vast numbers of "good" students in that country (or should I say continent) is a real potential for development.  Europe should be interested in this continent that value wise is probably closer to Europe than to the US, where historically their interest goes to.

I was invited to give a presentation in the series "Bang on IT" in Bangalore, aiming to bring cutting edge scientific thinking for a wider public.  My talk was entitled: "Complexity and Knowledge Management: A-causality and a quantum interpretation of management".

To be followed.