motivational analysis of organizations

working with. If they work with machines, they will get greasy; if they work with
people, they will become involved.
Abstract Life Experiencing
People who prefer this style have no special desire to touch, but they want to keep active
by thinking about the situation and relating it to similar situations. Their preferred
interaction style is internal—inside their own heads.
The Four Learning Domains
A person is unlikely to be on the extreme end of either axis, and no one type of learning
is “best.” Any mixture of preferences simply represents a person’s uniqueness. The
model is useful in helping people differentiate themselves, and it offers a method for
looking at the way different styles fit together. This section describes the four domains
that are represented in the model.
The descriptions of these domains could be of special interest to managers, because
they will help the manager understand the relationship between managerial action and
learning style. A manager should be capable of learning and functioning well in all four
domains, especially if he or she expects to face a variety of situations and challenges.
The successful manager is likely to be the one who can operate in both a task and a
people environment with the ability to see and become involved with the concrete and
also use thought processes to understand what is needed. The normative assumption of
the model is that a manager should learn how to learn in each of the four domains. In
doing this, the manager may well build on his or her primary strengths; but the
versatility and flexibility demanded in a managerial career make clear the importance of
all four domains.
Domain I, the Thinking Planner. A combination of cognitive and abstract
preferences constitutes domain I, where the “thinking planner” is located. This domain
might well be termed the place for the planner whose job is task oriented and whose
environment contains primarily things, numbers, or printouts. The bias in formal
education is often toward this learning domain, and Mintzberg (1976) was critical of this
bias. In this domain things are treated abstractly, and often their socioemotional
elements are denied.
The domain-I learner should do well in school, should have a talent for planning,
and is likely to be successful as a staff person or manager in a department that deals with
large quantities of untouchable things. This domain represents an important area for
management learning. Of the four domains, it seems to receive the heaviest emphasis in
traditional university programs and in management-development seminars, particularly
those in financial management.
Domain II, the Feeling Planner: A combination of affective and abstract
preferences constitutes domain II, where the “feeling planner” is located. The
managerial style associated with this domain is that of the thinker who can learn and
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 19, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 63