| In Chapter Six, Kidder mentions Gardner’s eight features of successful organizations. Pick one and discuss, ideally giving examples from your own experience. Perhaps you have experienced organizations that did or did not exemplify one of the features: “Wholeness Incorporating Diversity,” allowing groups to “face and resolve differences” without fragmenting; “A Shared Culture,” in which “norms and values are explicit” and there are “many opportunities to express values in relevant action” “Good Internal Communication,” through which people “believe that they can have their say” in the presence of “neutral convenors” such as churches and universities; “Caring, Trust, and Teamwork,” by which members are nurtured and protected, leading to “a feeling that when the team wins everybody wins” “Group Maintenance and Government,” including formal governing mechanisms and nongovernmental leadership opportunities; “Participation and the Sharing of Leadership Tasks,” encouraging “individual involvement in the pursuit of shared purposes” “Development of Young People,” through which successor generations “learn to take some responsibility for the well-being of any group they are in” and “Links with the Outside World,” lest the community be tempted to “draw boundaries to protect its integrity” and ignore relations with “the larger communities of which it is a part.” |
