Systems and Models to Redefine Organizations The aims of this research are: 1 - Highlight the importance of developing capacity for self-adaptation to deal with the radical changes we are facing from the current socio-economic complexity. 2 - Identify which cultural and environmental conditions can accelerate (or delay) the spread of self-adaptive organisms. 3 - Designing and testing solutions that enable the ability to self-adaptation of individuals and organizations.

1. Self-­‐Adap*ve
Organisms:
Utopia
or
Social
Percep*on?
Systems
and
Models
to
Redefine
Organiza*ons
Department
of
Economics,
Management
and
Quan6ta6ve
Methods
Milan
University
December
2014

2. Table
of
Contents
• Self-­‐Adap6ve
Organisms
and
Social
Percep6on
• Objec6ves
and
Scope
of
this
Research
• Experiments
and
Results
• Evolu6on
of
Organiza6onal
Models
• Conclusions

3. The
Self-­‐Adap6ve
Organisms
• A
Self-­‐Adap6ve
Organism
is
a
System
able
to
re-­‐configure
its
own
structure
and
change
its
own
behaviour
during
the
execu6on
of
its
adapta6on
to
environmental
changes.

4. • The
self-­‐adapta*on
is
an
observable
phenomenon:
we
draw
biology,
physics,
chemistry
to
create
reference
systems
and
metrics
that
allow
us
to
upgrade
our
solu6ons.
• We
design
and
develop
products
and
services
that
imitate
the
behaviour
of
self-­‐adap6ve
organisms
(robo6cs,
biotechnologies,
etc.)
• Replica*on
of
self-­‐adap6ve
models
and
systems
are
also
occurring
in
organiza6ons’
renewal
(business
networking,
crowd
funding,
etc.)
The
Self-­‐Adap6ve
Organisms

5. The
Self-­‐Adap6ve
Organisms
• If
we
consider
how
we
learn,
we
are
self-­‐adap*ve
organisms.
• We
reconfigure
our
structure
(mentality,
method,
approach,
style)
and
we
change
our
behaviour
(rela6onships,
ac6ons,
reac6ons)
through
con*nuous
exchanges
with
the
environment.

6. The
Social
Percep6on
• The
Social
percep-on
is
the
ability
to
understand
the
func-oning
of
social
systems
that
are
around
us,
to
feel
their
strengths
and
weaknesses,
to
pick
up
the
currents
of
“possible”
and
to
detect
its
traps.
And
we
are
developing
this
skill.
People
socio-­‐perceptual
become
more
sensi-ve
to
suffering
and
more
socially
adept
at
encouraging
the
emerging
of
solu*ons
in
line
with
their
inten-ons.
People
today
are
more
aware
of
life
sensory,
emo-onal
and
mental
health
of
themselves
and
others.
(Alain
De
Vulpian,
2010)

7. Objec6ves
of
this
Research
• Highlight
the
importance
of
developing
capacity
for
self-­‐
adapta*on
to
deal
with
the
radical
changes
we
are
facing
from
the
current
socio-­‐economic
complexity.
• Iden*fy
which
cultural
and
environmental
condi*ons
can
accelerate
(or
delay)
the
spread
of
self-­‐adap6ve
organisms.
• Designing
and
tes*ng
solu*ons
that
enable
the
ability
to
self-­‐
adapta6on
of
individuals
and
organiza6ons.

8. Scope
of
this
Research
• We
observed
for
several
years
the
dynamics
of
self-­‐adapta6on
in
three
different
contexts:
a
group
of
volunteers,
a
public
school
and
a
medium
enterprise.
• In
these
environments
we
implemented
our
Cultural
Integra*on
Projects,
involving
interested
people.
• We
analyzed
the
evolu6on
of
the
group
structure
and
the
behaviour
of
people
involved,
highligh6ng
the
most
favourable
condi6ons
for
development
of
social
percep6on.

9. Experiments
and
Results
ProgeWo
eXtra
ITALY
-­‐
A
Group
of
Volunteers
start-­‐up
an
informal
ini6a6ve
in
their
liWle
town
(6.200
residents,
14%
are
foreigners).
The
Idea
is
to
enhance
the
mee*ng
and
merging
of
different
cultures.
First course of Italian
Language for foreigners
begins: 6 volunteers and 40
students.
2007
2006
2008
2010
2012
2009
2011
2013
2014
Two new groups are born
and are developing new
solutions by adapting this
model of Progetto eXtra
to their environment.
Birth of the FB group page:
connecting friends and relatives
of foreigners residing in this little
town.
This initiative becomes
a Project of a Cultural
Association.
Involvement of foreign communities in cultural
events to share traditions, history, food, music, etc.
Support foreigners in understanding Italian laws and services.
Support local institutions in promoting the integration of foreigners in
local environment.
In
these
nine
years
this
organiza*on
has
involved
more
than
400
people
from
40
different
countries.
Tavazzano
(LO)
Salerano
(LO)
Mulazzano
(LO)
We
adapt
our
culture
to
environment
and
to
other
cultures

10. The
Structure
of
this
Organism
 It
is
a
community
of
people
who
know
each
other
and
know
the
economic
and
social
fabric
of
the
territory
in
which
they
live.
 Clear
and
explicit
are
the
common
interests;
there
are
no
hierarchies
or
preconceived
roles
in
this
group.
 The
group
is
recognized
by
local
government
(municipality,
province,
region)
and
the
collabora6on
between
this
autonomous
group
and
local
ins6tu6ons
has
been
always
effec6ve.
The
Behaviours
of
this
Organism
• The
rela6onships
between
the
members
of
this
group
and
with
the
external
environment
are
based
on
sharing
and
collabora6on.
• The
contribu6on
of
each
person
is
spontaneous,
6ed
to
personal
skills
and
experiences.
• Every
year,
20-­‐30
new
people
arrive
and
quickly
the
group
self-­‐organizes
the
service
providing.
• Some
Volunteers
par6cipate
in
ac6vi6es
for
short
periods
and
then
"replicate"
the
model
in
their
towns,
spreading
collabora6ve
behaviours.
Experiments
and
Results
ProgeWo
eXtra

11. 2012
2011
2013
2014
Experiments
and
Results
Generazione
APP
ITALY
-­‐
Ini6a6ve
in
a
public
secondary
school
with
the
following
aims:
• Introduce
digital
technologies
in
educa6onal
processes
and
evalua6on.
• Design
and
implement
new
teaching
tools
(Augmented
Didac6cs).
• Reduce
the
gap
between
communica6on
style
of
adults
and
pre-­‐adolescents
(K12)
2015
Workshop on “How Social
Networka sre changing the
Way we Communicate”
We made three Editions on Social Media, involving ±300 students, 10 parents
and 15 teachers.
Social
Network
1
Didaca
Aumentata
Art&Tech
Noi
Fuoriclasse
Didaca
Aumentata
Social
Network
2
Social
Network
3
Art&Tech:
a
lesson
on
“what
Fantasy
is?”
with
13yrs
old
students
Google-­‐suite
Gramsci.it
New
Ini6a6ves
are
born
spontaneously
from
teachers
We
are
chains
of
cultural
codes.
And
we
are
able
to
change
these
chains.

12.  Clear
and
explicit
are
the
common
interests:
Educa6on.
 Sharing
and
collabora6on
are
the
basis
of
rela6ons
with
teachers.
 To
perform
these
tasks
there
are
hierarchies,
roles,
procedures
and
standards
to
be
respected.
 Our
organism
inherits
an
organiza6onal
code
from
the
environment
in
which
it
is
inserted
(The
Public
School).
• The
idea
of
this
project
stems
from
an
informal
mee6ng.
• Results
are
excellent
and
the
school
decides
to
organize
new
edi6ons.
• The
rapid
development
of
ministerial
projects
aimed
to
school
innova6on
and
the
arrival
of
a
new
principal,
are
favouring
the
start-­‐up
of
this
project.
• Teachers
ac6vated
digital
projects,
"replica6ng"
the
model
into
their
sphere
of
interests
and
objec6ves.
The
Structure
of
this
Organism
The
Behaviours
of
this
Organism
Experiments
and
Results
Generazione
APP

13. 2007
2008
Experiments
and
Results
Back
to
School
ITALY
-­‐
Programme
and
Change
Management
ac6vi6es
for
the
Merger
of
two
small
companies
:
• accelerate
the
development
of
a
unique
corporate
culture,
through
the
mutual
exchange
of
humanis6c
and
technical
knowledge
and
skills.
• Increase
profits
by
crea6ng
opera6onal
processes
streamlined
and
effec6ve.
2009
Team
Building
Talents
Assessment
Project
Management
Project
Management
Training.
New
cross-­‐fuc*onal
approach
to
Customer
Service.
Project
Management
as
an
a
work
approach
for
all
people
involved
(customers,
employees,
suppliers).
We
adapt
and
transmit
cultures
Change
Agent
(a
new
piece
of
cultural
code)
PR
Agency
ISP
Provider
Mul6
Media
Agency
Mul6
Media
Agency

14.  The
interests
of
two
companies
are
clear
and
explicit:
merge
into
a
single
company
to
increase
profits.
 A
Change
Agent
was
included
in
the
group
to
transmit
new
skills
and
methods
for
opera6on
management.
 Organiza6ons
ware
streamlined
and
there
was
no
overlap
of
roles
and
responsibili6es.
 A
new
"corporate
lexicon"
(new
roles,
new
hierarchies)
were
born
from
the
merger
and
the
adapta6on
of
exis6ng
ones.
• The
involvement
of
staff
in
research
and
development
of
organiza6onal
solu6ons
has
changed
the
behaviuor
of
each
person
involved.
• The
concrete
results
in
reducing
6me
to
market
and
project
costs
have
encouraged
the
spread
of
"new
prac6ces"
of
accoun6ng
and
project
management
in
the
whole
new
company.
• The
project
management
as
an
approach
to
co-­‐work
has
encouraged
the
spread
of
co-­‐crea6ve
solu6ons.
The
Structure
of
this
Organism
The
Behaviours
of
this
Organism
Experiments
and
Results
Back
to
School

15. Summary of Results
• The
different
groups
analyzed
have
three
structural
variables
in
common:
the
Group
Size,
the
Components
Heterogeneity
and
the
Rules
Simplicity.
• The
rela6onship
between
the
elements
of
the
groups
is
based
on
three
“connec6ve”
elements:
Trustworthiness,
Reputa6on,
Reciprocity.
• Evolu6on
didn’t
come
from
a
”blue
print",
but
emerged
from
con6nuous
exchange
between
the
elements
of
the
group
and
the
environment.

16. Summary of Results
• The
hierarchies
(do
–
manage
–
control
–
decide)
are
less
reac6ve
than
self-­‐organiza6ons
that
arise
spontaneously
when
people
want
to
find
a
solu6on
to
a
problem.
• Small
changes
in
the
'ini6al
condi6ons'
have
brought
great
benefits
to
the
evolu6on
of
solu6ons.
• People
co-­‐created
solu6ons
sharing
their
own
piece
of
cultural
code
during
the
group
transforma6on.

17. Evolution of Systems and Organizational Models
• The
business
model
as
set
of
stages
and
gates
evolves
into
a
business
model
as
ecosystem
of
interac*ng
elements.
• The
sequen6al
models
for
processes’
descrip*on
evolve
into
recursive
models.

18. Evolution of Systems and Organizational Models
• Organiza6on
charts
and
matrices
role
/
func6on
are
transformed
into
graphs
and
neural
networks.
• The
work
breakdown
structure
of
the
project
evolves
into
mind
maps.

19. • Considering
organiza6ons
as
living
beings
is
no
longer
a
simple
metaphor,
but
it
becomes
a
framework
to
accelerate
and
spread
our
ability
to
adapt
as
individuals
and
as
organiza6ons.
• The
adapta6on
process
is
a
sequence
of
"everyday
prac6ces".
We
refine
SOLUTIONS
while
we
are
experiencing
them.
• Gradually
we
improve
our
ability
to
learn
by
experiencing
our
ability
to
adapt
to
environmental
changes.
Conclusions

20. Conclusions
• To
be
able
to
adapt
ourselves
to
external
changes
in
a
short
6me
and
without
permanent
damage
to
the
structures
and
func6ons,
we
have
to
work
on
our
skills
in
understanding
and
communica6ng
with
individuals
and
environment.
• Expanding
our
channels
of
communica6on
simultaneously,
we
expand
our
opportuni6es
for
data
acquisi6on,
processing,
learning
and
adapta6on.

21. Conclusions
• These
our
progressive
projects
and
communi6es
are
ac6ng
in
two
opera6ng
direc6ons
for
public
and
private
organiza6ons:
– To
develop
the
Culture
of
Knowledge
as
a
Commons
(Ostrom,
2010).
– To
“co-­‐build”
businesses
and
organiza6ons
based
on
Sharing,
Collabora6on
and
Co-­‐Crea6on.

22. e-­‐mail:
pdevecchig@gmail.com
skype:
paoladvg
www.solotablet.it/blog/disrup6ve-­‐projects