I've looked at Simon Buckingham's "trans," and believe he is making an
important theoretical contribution to our thinking--to our stock of useful
"mental models"--in his notions of "unorganizations."
I hope he can consider the possibility by that his important contributions
are vitiated by a vision of why we organize and how we organize that
ignores that there is no way for civilization to survive without them.
For one thing, there can be no "learning organizations" for us to talk
about if there are no organizations!
Second, there can only be "unorganizations" within the organizing
framework or a society of organizations: that is, for us to communicate
with each other as unorganized individuals requires that we be housed and
contained and sheltered and fed and paid by a society of organizations
designed to supply us with all those things.
For us to communicate electronically requires organization: despite all
the talk of Internet as "anarchy," that of course is not true: a network
of organized industries creates and supports it.
Some comments on other aspect of Simon's view of organization:
> collapsible
>corporations are okay, hierarchies are not.
The notion that teams can prosper with quarterbacks and coaches,
businesses without managers, orchestras without orchestra leaders--that we
can have nonhierarchical organizations may be a myth, and a harmful myth.
>Static structure, structure as an end, is evil. Dynamic structure,
>structure as a means, is inevitable and tolerable. Dynamic structure-
>often shaped around electronic forces- is positive. Static, often
>physical, geographical structures like offices are negative.
Is the "structure" of chess dynamic or static? Every game begins with
exactly the same pieces, and exactly the same preordained moves that are
permissible: and yet no two chess games are alike.
Form and structure are the very foundation of organization. What makes
some organizations "static" is that they make the same chess moves over
and over again when they no longer serve. Or: they refuse to abandon one
form and structure and create a new one when altered conditions require
change.
We live, most of us, in physical structures. Some of us have a need for
place, a need for roots, a need for a settled community.
But: the idea of "unorganization" is intriguing, nevertheless.
Steve Eskow
Dr. Steve Eskow
President, The Electronic University Network
288 Stone Island Road
Enterprise, Florida 32725
Phone: 407-321-8770 Fax: 407-321-4681
email: dreskow@aol.com
--"Dr. Steve Eskow" <dreskow@magicnet.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>