Management Critique: The Fifth Discipline
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Management Critique:
The Fifth Discipline
Andrew Barrett
SPEA V602
Dr. McGregor
February 15, 2007
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Management Critique: The Fifth Discipline
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Management Critique: The Fifth Discipline
The following is a management critique of Peter Senge’s book The Fifth
Discipline (Senge, 1990). Overall Senge has provided a readable book that finds a good
balance between presenting theory and providing practical advice. The specific value of
this book is it’s presentation of it’s key argument, namely that systems thinking can be
strategically applied in organizations of all types in order to turn the organization into a
learning organization.
Senge’s argues that the most individuals and organizations have a relatively
simplistic, linear, reactionary, and reductionist approach to problem solving that is
particularly ill suited for a world where complexity and change are the norm. Systems
thinking is presented as a better approach. Systems thinking involves identifying patterns
that are associated with specific outcomes. If a change is desired then the understanding
of the system is used to select an intervention that will be effective and efficient. Senge
indicates that there is a relatively small set of patterns that appear over and over again in
both nature and in human organizations. If managers have a good understanding of this
set of patterns then they will be more likely to recognize the patterns in the new situations
that they confront and consequently be able to select interventions that have a history of
working in similar patterns.
Senge proposes various disciplines, laws, and approaches that organizations
should apply in order to enable the members of the organization to practice systems
thinking. Performance standards and envisioning scenarios are two of Senge’s ideas that I
found particularly relevant to strategy. I give a brief outline of each below to
demonstrate how Senge is able to translate the theoretical into practical advice.
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Performance standards are a concept that Senge as a critical factor in many of the
challenges that organizations face. Briefly, performance standards are specific levels of
performance that the organization has either implicitly or explicitly committed to.
Examples include delivery time, product quality, or workplace safety. Senge outlines
how when confronted with performance that is below the established standard there is
pressure to lower the standards instead of addressing the issues that are leading to the
performance problem. In many cases key performance data is either not collected or is
ignored. Senge argues that the slow, and often hidden, decay of performance standards
can have a devastating impact on systems. For example, delivery times that are longer
than those expected by the customer may not immediately result in significant loss of
customers but could result in a more gradual but more significant change in how the
organization is viewed and the loyalty that customers have to the organization.
Envisioning scenarios is a tool that Senge presents that can help challenge bad
assumptions that members of an organization have about the world and also help practice
systems thinking. When scenarios are created about possible futures in which an
organization might find itself, employees are forced to reconsider their current view of
the future. For example, I might not think that a given scenario is likely at first but when
I examine my reasoning for having this opinion I might find that it is not sound or that
there is evidence that my underlying assumptions may not be true. The act of considering
what actions should be taken under the variety of possible scenarios enables the
individual to practice skills in a low risk environment that will hopefully serve them well
when the future turns into the present and the actual scenario must be addressed. Practice
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with scenarios ties in well with current thinking on development of expertise where
deliberate practice is the key factor in becoming an expert (Ericsson & Smith, 1991).
I have two main criticisms of the book. Senge, like other systems thinking
authors (Banathy, Jenks, & Educational Resources Information Center (U.S.), 1990;
Capra, 1983; Reigeluth, 1999), associates systems theory with a specific worldview and
political outlook. I would expect that if systems thinking is truly a scientific tool then it
should not necessarily align with a specific political outlook. In many of his examples,
Senge uses systems thinking to point out the folly in policies that have typically been
associated with a conservative outlook. Personally I agree with what I perceive to be
Senge’s political outlook but I think it’s insertion into the examples may turn those who
don’t share this outlook away from systems thinking. One would not expect to have
calculus associated with a specific world view, why should systems thinking?
Second, I would have liked to see more empirical evidence that the approach that
he advocates correlates to organizational success. Supporting an argument with
description of situations where the proposed approaches worked is not as convincing as a
well designed study that tries to find a significant and positive relationship between the
approaches and variables tied to organizational success. This book is likely not the right
venue for the presentation of statistical or overly academic analysis and designing such a
study would be a challenge but empirical evidence is necessary to separate these ideas
from being labeled as the latest fad.
Despite these criticisms, I found the book particularly useful for those interested
in organizational development, education, and interplay between organizations of all
types in society.
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References
Banathy, B. H., Jenks, L., & Educational Resources Information Center (U.S.). (1990).
The transformation of education by design
a trainer's guide for educational systems designers [microform]. San Francisco, Calif.
Washington, DC: Far West Laboratory ;
U.S. Dept. of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement Educational
Resources Information Center.
Capra, F. (1983). The turning point : science, society, and the rising culture (Bantam
ed.). Toronto ; New York: Bantam Books.
Ericsson, K. A., & Smith, J. (1991). Toward a general theory of expertise : prospects and
limits. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Reigeluth, C. M. (1999). Visioning Public Education in America. Educational
Technology, 39(5), 50-55.
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline : the art and practice of the learning
organization (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday/Currency.
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