Aaron U. Bolin, Ph.D.

One of my tasks at work recently was to measure organizational learning. "How would I know if my organization is a learning organization," I wondered? Training activity seemed to be the most common answer. The logic is easy to refute when simply stated: If we offer a lot of training opportunities and a lot of people attend, then we must be a learning organization. The evidence of individual learning is a change in behavior, or at least a change in the behavioral options available. But how does that translate to the organizational level? With just a little bit of background reading (thank you Peter Senge), I came up with a tentative checklist. It still needs some refinement, but here it is: 1. Does the organization have a shared vision; does everyone know what it is and how their actions support it? 2. Is personal mastery expected; are learning and growth required of individuals in the organization? 3. Does the organization utilized team-based approaches to learn...

My chicken journey started in 2013. I was experimenting with gardening, and learned from a library book that chicken manure is prized as a fertilizer. As I investigated further, I learned more about the conditions in which chickens are raised on industrial farms and was very surprised. Partly in protest, partly for the fertilizer, partly in the spirit of experimentation, I decided to try raising a small flock. The reasons people raise chickens at home are varied, and the trend is growing. No one tracks chicken ownership statistics, but my own experience suggests that the trend is exponential. When I bought my first set of chicks, no one I knew in my suburban community was raising backyard chickens. Twelve months later, five families in our immediate area have started small flocks. Before joining the trend, prospective chicken owners should consider the following points: .. Check Local Ordinances and Rules Read the whole article: http://voices.yahoo.com/keeping-backyard-chick...