Mnr AM de Lange (amdelange@gold.up.ac.za) replies in part
>...
>The reason why I smiled, is that
>your "knowledge flow" and "trust flow" may easily qualify as entropic
>fluxes. (I would rather think of them as fluxes of "good reason" and "good
>will".)
>
>In other words, what you are saying for me, is that you will look for
>the factors causing intellectual+spiritual dissipation. The first,
>chaotic phase will be mind storming (see Osborne's brain storming)
>+ heart storming .
><replying to Michael Bayers <mbayers@mmm.com>
>> And somehow, it seems like both need to be present and the flow of
>> one influences the flow of the other.
>
>This sentence caused my smile to become a big smile. See if you can follow
>the following.
>
>Prigogine got the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on irreversible
>thermodynamics (dissipative systems). Irreverisble thermodynamics is a
>difficult subject. Thus it is not surprising that few scientists have a
>deep knowledge of it. Those who do have, know that the Onsager reciprocal
>relationships (for which Onsager was also awarded a Nobel prize) play a
>key role in irreversible thermo-dynamics.
>...
This very deep conversation caused me to think. In doing that it was good.
More important, perhaps, is that it stimulated me to contribute again:
Years at IBM taught me that the organization has a heuristic approach to
dissipation. They would purposely reorganize regularly to enforce a degree
of dissipation of both types. The physical change in alignment caused an
altered knowledge flow by which the organization gained rich
cross-fertilzatiion of their existing knowledge. A major example was the
realignment by Industry segment to serve growth through application
targets (demand creation), then a reversion to geographic alignment to
address profitability measures. By switching back and forth, they
maintained a balanced dissipation between the two.
The heart aspect came from moving people from one side of the "fence" to
the other. So if you were bent on building your empire at the expense of
another, you might find yourself with that other's job as a reward. There
is no doubt that significant organizational learning takes place at IBM.
If there is a major flaw, it is in the inability of the more senior
executive levels to be informed of the fast-breaking facts.
Their return to growth in recent years is the result of a simple change.
They will hire and deploy their human resources where the customer is
willing to spend money directly. This tactic will assure that they stay
aligned with the market. What it does not do is ensure that the future is
being looked after. I am no longer close enough to them to know whether
they have fixed that gap. While I personally know two of their six SVPs, I
am not sure if they have retained their "grass-roots" connections.
Perhaps someone else can comment on practical applications of these forms
of dissipation and any current examples at IBM or other major
organizations. Thanks. FWIW...
Keith
Keith Cowan
kcowan@orion.GlobalDEN.com (CIS:72212,51)
--"Cowan, Keith" <kcowan@ORION.GLOBALDEN.com>
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