self organizing systems

[Michael Herman]

hello again,

sheila isakson's quotes remind me that
emery and trist studied and documented 4
org/social 'environments' that
progressed like this:

1. random -- no planning possible, same
as harrisons "reactive"

2. clustered -- planning, learning
possible

3. disturbed, reactive -- competitve,
systems bumping into systems

4. turbulent -- adaptive, permanent
whitewater, and i think the equivalent
to OS and the OS org

in the stuff i got from merrelyn emery
in her workshop, she had pencilled in a
fifth:  "vortical"  but said it wasn't
sustainable, but definitly showed up at
times.  academic language kept her/them
from saying "spirit" but this seems
exactly what their talking about, to
me.  i map these five onto
matter-body-mind-soul-spirit...  and the
neatest thing for me is that the
academics' use of vortical fits
perfectly with what we've all
heard/said:  "i was going to use the law
of two feet, but i just got 'sucked'
into this conversation over there..."

m

p.s. -- sorry to be catching up on all
of this at once, but how to ignore all
this stuff?????? :-)


--

Michael Herman
...inviting results in evolving
organizations

Michael Herman Associates
300 West North Avenue #1105
Chicago IL 60610
312-280-7838 voice
312-280-7837 fax
mherman at globalchicago.net

The Global Chicago Network
http://www.globalchicago.net

Michael Herman Associates
http://www.globalchicago.net/mha