Emerging 21 st Century Organizational Models and Methods Victoria G. Axelrod Milano – New School 21 September 2006

Flow Context Collaboration Complexity Social Networks Open Systems Experience Q & A

Context

Collaboration

Complexity

Social Networks

Open Systems

Experience

Q & A

Concepts Most Relevant to HR/OD Complexity, CAS Collaborative Technologies Organizations as Open Networks – Systems Emerging Organizational Models/Methods for Networked Information Age Tipping Point Or Tipped?

Complexity, CAS

Collaborative Technologies

Organizations as Open Networks – Systems

Emerging Organizational Models/Methods for Networked Information Age

Key Terms Collaboration Collaborative Leadership Complexity - metaphor - science Intangible Capitals - intellectual/knowledge - social/relationship Social/Value Networks Open Systems

Collaboration

Collaborative Leadership

Complexity

- metaphor

- science

Intangible Capitals

- intellectual/knowledge

- social/relationship

Social/Value Networks

Open Systems

Cover Stories Science, Technology and Human Behavior Both/And Outside – in - World

Tapping the Collective Intelligence Research P&G 35% of new products from scientific networks. Hiring LinkedIn 2.7 mm people connect to jobs and employers thru friends. Production LindenLab’s Second Life built by 6000+player hours a day = 1000 person team. Marketing LEGO used 250 train fans to promote 10,000 unit sales by “word of mouse.” Sales Eli Lilly taps “wisdom of crowds” thru employee virtual stock market to predict outcome of drug trials before release. “ corporations will have to craft new roles for themselves and learn new ways to operate in order to stay relevant.” Robert Hoff, BW 6/20/05

Research

P&G 35% of new products from scientific networks.

Hiring

LinkedIn 2.7 mm people connect to jobs and employers thru friends.

Production

LindenLab’s Second Life built by 6000+player hours a day = 1000 person team.

Marketing

LEGO used 250 train fans to promote 10,000 unit sales by “word of mouse.”

Sales

Eli Lilly taps “wisdom of crowds” thru employee virtual stock market to predict outcome of drug trials before release.

What is an Organization ? An organization is a legal fiction created to solve an ill defined problem with an ill defined solution. An organization neither has a conscience or soul, only the people in the organization have them. An organization is a series of conversations or dialogues, external and internal in pursuit of the solution.

An organization is a legal fiction created to solve an ill defined problem with an ill defined solution.

An organization neither has a conscience or soul, only the people in the organization have them.

An organization is a series of conversations or dialogues, external and internal in pursuit of the solution.

Start with the Big Picture STRATEG Y Shared Values Structure Systems CULTURE Organization is a Series of Conversations in Context Context = Environment (Scan)

Context The conversations need a context, sometimes referred to as the environment in which the business operates. How well do we know the environment? What are the events and trends in the marketplace at large? Where are we in the marketplace? How well is the market defined?

The conversations need a context, sometimes referred to as the environment in which the business operates.

How well do we know the environment?

What are the events and trends in the marketplace at large?

Where are we in the marketplace?

How well is the market defined?

“ Stakeholder- centric” organizations Socio-techno

Us on the Net – We are the Web Complexity

Social Networks – Organizational Networks If the topography of our organizations now looks like this map, we need to understand our “intangible”capital. From Human Capital to Peer Production and Social Capital Relationship Capital “ Intangibles”

Networks Matter The complexity of work in today’s world is such that no one can understand – let alone complete – a task alone Individual-individual Team-team Company-company Strong networks are correlated with health: People with stronger personal networks are healthier, happier, and better performers Companies who know how to manage alliances are more flexible, adaptive and resilient Patti Anklem – Value Networks 2005

The complexity of work in today’s world is such that no one can understand – let alone complete – a task alone

Individual-individual Team-team

Company-company

Strong networks are correlated with health:

People with stronger personal networks are healthier, happier, and better performers

Companies who know how to manage alliances are more flexible, adaptive and resilient

Patti Anklem – Value Networks 2005

Complexity Complex Adaptive System (CAS) learning and adaptability spontaneous self-organization phenomena that emerge from interactions among the agents but are not features of the independent agents working alone together these characteristics allow the system to evolve and improve its performance in changing environments

learning and adaptability

spontaneous self-organization

phenomena that emerge from interactions among the agents but are not features of the independent agents working alone

together these characteristics allow the system to evolve and improve its performance in changing environments

Complexity as Metaphor

Natural and Human Simple Rules Self-Organizing Emergent Behavior

What is Emergence? “ Emergence is the production of global patterns of behaviour by agents in a complex system interacting according to their own local rules of behaviour, without intending the global patterns of behaviour that come about. In emergence, global patterns cannot be predicted from the local rules of behaviour that produce them. To put it another way, global patterns cannot be reduced to individual behaviour.” (Stacey 1996:287)

“ Emergence is the production of global patterns of behaviour by agents in a complex system interacting according to their own local rules of behaviour, without intending the global patterns of behaviour that come about.

In emergence, global patterns cannot be predicted from the local rules of behaviour that produce them.

The Firm, The Market, Peer Production “ The economic role of social behavior is increasing” Yochai Benkler – Yale Law School Think: Amazon eBay Craig’s List Cyberrentals

“ The economic role of social behavior is increasing”

Yochai Benkler – Yale Law School

Think:

Amazon

eBay

Craig’s List

Cyberrentals

Social Software – Just Because it’s there? www.backpackit.com Personal info organizer www.dodgeball.com Friend finder www.Eurekster.com Social search engine www.linkedin.com Business network http://del.icio.us/ Shared bookmarks, blogs, tags http://www.rojo.com Hybrid, news aggregator, social network and social bookmarking www.wikicities.com Content editing http://www.technorati.com/ Blog aggregator Social Networks RSS Blogs WIKIs

www.backpackit.com

Personal info organizer

www.dodgeball.com

Friend finder

www.Eurekster.com

Social search engine

www.linkedin.com

Business network

http://del.icio.us/

Shared bookmarks, blogs, tags

http://www.rojo.com

Hybrid, news aggregator, social network and social bookmarking

www.wikicities.com

Content editing

http://www.technorati.com/

Blog aggregator

More than the sum of the parts:

Leadership Models Reflect the stage of Science and Technology or Not 50’s-60s Behavior Theories 60’s-70’s Contingency Theories Followership or Power-Influence 80’s Charismatic and Transformational Theories 90’s Collaborative Integrative Theories Heroic 00’s

Points of Connection Act Think Speak

Think Movie Put the conversation together with action and the shared experience becomes a “movie” running forward in time.

Put the conversation together with action and the shared experience becomes a “movie” running forward in time.

Where are we in the Movie? Who are we? Where do we want to be? Where are we?

Who are we?

Where do we want to be?

Where are we?

Future Forward – What’s Next?