NO Such Thing as non-self-organizing system

[Seamus McInerney]

Life is by it's very nature self-organising. It is about adapting to
circumstances.

Let's take this whole idea of survival of the fittest. My problem is I
don't believe it. Even the fittest of organisations will not survive if
they do not adapt to a changing environment. And how do environments
change? Well people, by and large, change them. Allowing for nature that
is. Empires don't last because people start to organise themselves around
the rules and regulations of the center. The people have to a large extent
ignored the Catholic Churches teaching on contraception. Tax payers will
ignore the tax system if it becomes too onerous and create themselves an
untaxable hidden, economy.

Really clever politicians/leaders spot these VMEME changes as they are
arising and announce new directions/policies at just the right moment. Bush
has the support of a large section of the American voters (not necessarily
the people). Blair is the same. But Blair has to deal with a media that
feels itself more able to question the status quo (based on my impression
of the US media, I know). This does not mean that there is not a whole
bunch of self-organising going on all over the states.

The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq has changed the environment. Now we
have to watch out for our "friends" as well as our enemies. We here in
Ireland have a political establishment that is scared as hell that US
companies will pull out of Ireland if they upset the White House. So they
do a bit of self-organising and start smudging their words so you have no
idea what they think. It's a bit like telling your spouse they look really
great in that T-shirt.

Just look how once high class neighbourhoods become run down. The rich move
little by little to the better hoods. The price falls a little at a time.
Until it's a low income zone. Look how quickly fashion changes. And how
hard schools that insist on uniforms find it to keep pace. Each generation
self-organises just to be different from their parents. My boys are growing
their hair long, just to be different from me! Heh, lads. I got photos.

Do the cable channels really believe that people will pay for the same
repeats on 500 channels for ever. Do coffee houses really believe that
coffee houses are anything more than a fashion. As we in Ireland are about
to get our first STARBUCKs this year, I'll bet the alternative is already
beginning to emerge in LA or San Fran, out of the never-ending collective
creative genius of humanity.

Where ever one or more are gathered...... someone will think it's cool, and
different, and new and so will their mates. They'll spread the word and
wooosh, it'll be. Energy flows. Force gets resisted, eventually. But change
is enevitable.

Shay

At 14:38 17/03/2005, you wrote:

>Artur Wrote: I think we are seeing reality from two different points of
>view (it is the same reality...).
>
>
>
>Precisely! If I may put some words in your mouth I would guess that you
>feel that the various acts of the several players establish the
>organizational context. They organize, they set procedure, they out line
>protocols they essentially create the organization. Although it may also
>be true that there are also elements of self organization.
>
>
>
>I find myself looking at precisely the same organizational reality and
>coming to a different conclusion. I feel that the organizational context
>is fundamentally established by the powers of self organization, although
>it may be true that certain individuals and groups make every effort to
>organize, establish procedures, outline protocols, and manage the result.
>
>
>
>I suppose someday you could prove which view is correct, but that day may
>be a long time in coming. In the interim I think we are left with an
>interesting situation in which proof is not possible, and so we are at
>liberty to look at things either way depending on what makes the most
>sense to us. Tradition is certainly on your side, and for sure the
>majority of people in organizations of all sorts would agree with you.
>
>
>
>Personally I have found myself becoming increasingly uncomfortable with
>the traditional view. Perhaps it is the anarchist or revolutionary in me,
>but I honestly feel it goes deeper than that.  For me the critical points
>of discomfort appear in the anomalies I perceive. Tradition says that
>organizations are created by some individual or group sitting down to
>design the mechanisms and then implementing them in time and space.
>However, whenever I have attempted to do a careful natural history of how
>things actually occurred I have found that what is said and what happened
>are at some critical variance. We say there was a nice, linear, sequential
>process. But upon closer inspection it appears (at least to me) that the
>clean linearity, to say nothing of rational process was imposed after the
>fact. In the moment it was pretty much of a mess which was cleaned up when
>the story was told.
>
>
>
>And mess of course is the word we use to describe a situation that is out
>of control, is not following the plan. Mess is also the way many people
>have used to describe the generative situation for a self-organizing
>system. Another word would be chaos.
>
>
>
>So two ways of looking at things. And the way I have chosen, almost
>reluctantly, just makes more sense to me. I say reluctantly because it did
>not happen over night, and it certainly has gotten me in a world of
>trouble, misunderstanding and marginalization with many of my colleagues
>and friends. Frankly it would be a lot easier if I could just go along
>with the traditional view.
>
>
>
>When I say it makes more sense I have a number of specifics in mind. With
>reference to this particular community and Open Space Technology, I long
>ago came to the awareness that if the Traditional view was correct, Open
>Space, as we all have experienced it, simply could not happen. Everybody
>knows that inviting a large group of antagonistic people to solve a
>complex issue without the benefit of pre-planned agenda, an army of
>facilitators managing a carefully controlled process was insanity. And yet
>this is an insanity we all have experienced on countless occasions. Worse
>yet it works. And it shouldn t, But it does. So I asked my self What view
>of reality would allow for Open Space? And the answer that came (as
>everybody here on OSLIST knows ad nauseam) was the primacy of
>self-organization. In a world viewed as a totally, all levels, all
>sectors, all scales self-organizing system what happens in Open Space is
>predictable. In a world understood as the mainline organizational
>tradition would under stand it Open Space is impossible.
>
>
>
>But one might reasonably ask is it legitimate to extrapolate from this
>funny Open Space experience to the larger world of traditional
>organizations? I think so, and that has been the adventure to date. And it
>certainly makes sense to me. But others will think differently, which
>makes for a good conversation.
>
>
>
>Harrison
>
>
>
>Harrison Owen
>
>7808 River Falls Drive
>
>Potomac, Maryland   20845
>
>Phone 301-365-2093
>
>Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
>
>Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
>
>Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
><mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>
>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit:
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>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Artur Silva
>Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 6:38 PM
>To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>Subject: Re: NO Such Thing as non-self-organizing system
>
>
>
>A very short comment in another 10 minutes, Harrison.
>
>
>
>I think we are seeing reality from two different points of view (it it is
>the same reality...). If I understand well, you are too much concerned
>with bosses that think they are in charge. I don't think that those "in
>charge" control organizations.
>
>
>
>I am thinking more of something similar to the "invisible hand" - rules,
>regulations, assumptions taken for granted, etc that condition you,
>myself, and all the other humans. We don't act like quarks and quasars,
>and the same rules don't necesseraly apply..
>
>
>
>I insist that reading Argyris (in Action Science) is very conveniente. He
>shows how, in organizations, a Model 1 of behaviour is always present, and
>that it closes the space as it closes communication.
>
>
>
>The merite of Open Space IMHO is that it reduces or supresses Model 1 and
>enhances Model 2.
>
>
>
>But that would need a very big explanation that  I have not the time now
>to give.
>
>
>
>But, don't worry - some day YOU will see the light ;-)
>
>
>
>Warm regards
>
>
>
>Artur
>
>Harrison Owen <hhowen at comcast.net> wrote:
>Artur Wrote: This allows me to say that I agree with you (except perhaps
>in your mantra, because I still think that there are some organizations -
>like the Catholic Church and most armies, some companies and even
>countries - that have a lot of success in acting as closed systems - even
>if there are also open processes happening in them.
>
>
>Do you Yahoo!?
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Crossroads Facilitation
50 Carrigdhoun, Waterpark, Carrigaline, Co. Cork
www.crossroadsfacilitation.ie
"Building bridges and getting you over them"

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