Arrested development costs a fortune

Answer #6 to the question: Why are college costs soaring?

Some enterprises are called "learning organizations". Learning is not what they sell to students, it's what they do to succeed in their markets. Learning organizations realize their context is changing too fast not to continually learn more. Learning organizations realize it's unknown to them what problems their customers are solving or what their fans care about most. They also discover they have lots to learn about their own employees, as well as their suppliers, rivals, and surrounding communities.

Learning organizations discover ways to save money and keep costs from soaring out of sight. They learn enough about their customers to find ways to cut corners without compromising satisfaction. They learn how to give employees the feeling of being understood, respected and valued which leads to phenomenal suggestions, initiatives and follow through to contain costs admirable. They may realize ways to partner with suppliers, rivals or their community to find mutually beneficial solutions that save everyone some time, energy or expense. Learning organizations also figure out how to develop better quality and deliver lasting results without spending exorbitant sums like their clumsy rivals. They learn that they can function more economically and profitably by doing a better job of being a learning organization.

Most colleges and universities are not "learning organizations". They appear to have bad cases of "arrested development". They act as if they "know it all already" and nobody can tell them anything they don't already know. They do tons of academic research, but little of the anthropological, field or folklore kinds of research that learning organizations do. They do not ask the kinds of questions that lead them to valuable discoveries, insights and alternatives. They simply continue to do what they do and know what they know while their costs soar out of sight.