Bravo! Well put. Sociologist tell us that we form and are formed by the
structures in our lives. We interact with our environment and shape it as
it shapes us. Structures are not amorphous things over which we have no
control.Sometimes this is hard to see unless we step back and ask what is
the purpose of the structure/organization and can the purpose be met in
other ways.
But this and your comments below about "identity" leave me with with what
I think is an interesting question. Not too long ago I saw a cartoon in
the New Yorker: A dog was sitting at the computer and interacting with the
world over the internet. The caption was.."No one knows I'm a dog."
With more and more of our work being done on the internet and in virtual
offices, what might be the impact of this on office politics? Our
identities (maybe we will see an end to racial and gender stratification)?
Our need for human interaction? And, the other items mentioned in your
post?
Ed Brenegar wrote:
> You wrote
> >My question is, of course, can an individual ever reach their _real_ true
> >potential as an isolated individual outside of any organization?
> Or, to> >go one step further, what exactly _is_ an individual who is a
>part of> >absolutely no organization? Is that a hermit?
>
> I think that it is one of the myths of Western individualism that we are
> self-contained individuals who have the power to be hermetically
>sealed> from our natural and human environments. I contend that we are
>far more> complex because we have power over our environments, yet our
>environment,> i.e.: organizations, communities, etc. also have a power
>over us which we> do not see or can easily articulate. I think that our
>identity is formed> through this interplay of forces. How do we
>describe ourselves? Family,> history, place, racial/ethnic background,
>values, beliefs, and more enter> into how we understand and articulate
>our identity.
>
> I don't believe that I can absolutely choose in a purist sense my
> identity. It is always in a state of flux because I exist in and move
> through a variety of environments which are in conversation with my sense
> of self. If I'm going to spend over half of my waking hours in a
> work> environment, then it is going to have a tremendous impact upon my
> sense of> identity. I think this is where complexity theory has some
> benefit.
Carol Sager, Sager Educational Enterprises
http://www.dowtech.com/CLIIN/
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