Prof. Ilya Prigogine

[Harrison Owen]

At 07:12 PM 1/31/01 +0000, you wrote:
>I have not the time to read it now. Has anyone red it an can make a
>summary?

The book is a good one -- and a classic in the field. And no I don't have
time to make a summary -- even if I could.


>I suspect this can be very important to other questions
>we have discussed here, namely, that "normal organizations" are
>"constrained systems", that are in a sort of "equilibrium". So they
>DO NOT evidence the caracterhistics of self organization that are
>common in "non equilibrium Systems". Only about "non equilibrium
>systems" do the laws of "chaos" apply. The role of OST can very
>weel be one of "dissolving" the old order by way of "imposing"
>some new rules and principles during the duration of the meeting.

But on the question above... I know that every organization would like to
think that it is a "constrained system" -- therefore a "closed system --
and I AM IN CHARGE. Whoever "I" is. But I think the truth is rather that
there is no such thing as a closed system, particularly in the world of
organizations -- and so they are all self-organizing systems. Even if they
don't want to be. Even if the B-School folks talk endlessly about control.
I think -- doubtless with total irreverence and heresy -- they are all
open, they are all self-organizing. It is just that there are some folks
who delude themselves into the belief that they are actually IN CHARGE. So
There!

Harrison


Harrison Owen
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Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.mindspring.com/~owenhh

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