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Experience of the OrganisationExpectationLearningLearning and InsightLearning and IdentityAdaptingPrevention of LearningExpectationsGuiding Process Handling the PastSystem DynamicsSystems and FreedomBasic Concepts of System Theory IBasic Concepts of System Theory IIBasic Concepts of System Theory IIIFoundations of System TheorySystem Theory

Experience of the Organisation

In ancient Greek philosophy, experience was understood as the knowledge of the particular (as opposed to general knowledge). Experience has a system when it has a past, i.e. when it can store and remember. Thus, habits are created and presumably, usual practice (“This is how the world is!” = Shopping works like this, or this is the way to trade, or this is how one interacts with employees etc.). Experience always creates a partial blindness in favour of usual practice!

Like all systems, organisations have, therefore, expectations about situations and are irritated when these don’t occur. In this way, the necessity to decide arises, which we here call the guiding process handling the past: the organisation must decide whether the existing experience is maintained or whether new things are learned, i.e. if one should train for a new experience, or new expectations. The ability of an organisation to stay conscious about the knowledge that it could also be ‘completely different’ than assumed, determines how skilfully they handle the guiding process handling the past. This is because change always goes hand in hand with a change of experience!