Reinforcing Competence: L3 Choices

Experts determine Outputs

Cooperation is about getting different individuals (persons or organizations) to work together because they have complementary expertise, responsibility and authority. Cause-centred approach principles lead to choices that ensure the appropriate specialization and professionalism needed to underpin competence.
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Specialization is intrinsically cause-centred, being built around a distinctive occupation, discipline or business activity with associated orthodox knowledge, theories, paradigms and ideals. Cause-centredness, by its nature, differentiatesindividualist choices in accord with distinct areas of expertise. Professionals identify strongly with their own expertise, just as successful firms view their distinctive competencies as intrinsic to their mission.

Review Cause-centred Principles from a purely personal perspective.

Tension in Cooperation

Does L3-Expertise imply a Participant focus or a Shared-Endeavour focus or both? In this case, choices related to specialization appear in two distinct forms.

• The participant focus is on the expertise and up-to-date knowledge available to the endeavour through the professionalism provided by each participant in accord with their own particular competence (L3P ).
  
• The shared endeavour focus is on establishing suitable minimum standards for any aspect of the project, which can be upheld and championed by all (L3_S).

Influences on Cooperation

Choices flowing from expertise and standards can influence and will be affected by choices sustaining prosperity (at L1) and choices ensuring strength and power (at L2).

Explain the Picture

Obligation & Justification: L3 ↔ L2

Possession of strength and the capacity to influence situations (if not control them entirely) places an obligation on individuals to use that power wisely. Such use is dependent on the convictions of the individuals wielding the power. Convictions similarly place an obligation on an individual to put whatever power he can mobilize into their service.
We therefore label the Channel L3_P ↔ L2_B: Obligation.

The exercise of power in a joint endeavour requires justification by an effort to maintain or improve standards. Conversely, championing standards (always a disruption to accepted mediocre custom and practice) must be justified by a sufficient source of power in the system, or it is ridiculed and the standards are ignored.
We therefore label the Channel L3_S ↔ L2_B: Justification.

Focus & Improvement: L3 ↔ L1

Professionalism can be harnessed to focus work, just as the need to earn or profit focuses professional input. Focus may be difficult because it usually entails sacrifice and risk (both cause-centred qualities).
We label the Channel L3_P ↔ L1_B: Focus.

Championing of standards within an endeavour is intrinsic to improvement, while prospering by participants tends to support improvements via higher standards. Weaknesses in the fundamentals and cost-cutting generally cause a fall in quality.
We therefore label the Channel L3_S ↔ L1_B: Improvement.

Limitation

The problem that now arises in any joint effort is how to coordinate the inputs and activities of the varied experts &/or pressures and desires of diverse participants to achieve a common goal outside the realm or outside the control of any particular one.

Joint work by independent individuals to produce a practical result for the group is the pre-occupation of community-centred thinking, and this is where we find the emphasis on consensus to ensure cooperation.

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• Go to Level-4: Getting consensus.

Originally posted: July 2009