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Communicative Strategies and the Evolution of Organisations Facing the New Turbulence: ICTs as Problems and Opportunities
Abstract
Traditional organisational structures are currently being challenged by rapid changes in their environments, primarily caused by the introduction of computer and information technology. Successful transition to new patterns of organisation which makes sense of the complex meaning of these new environments require both ‘creative’ (self organising) and stabilising (self referencing) processes. This paper justifies the theoretical importance of considering communication as a necessary response by organisations to non-linear change. The processes by which organisations might accommodate new organisational turbulence and strategies for creating desirable futures within turbulent organisational environments are considered.
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Notes and References
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As well, the kinds of work practices these changes may allow, or demand, may be different from those of the first wave of IT innovation.
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We stress that our analysis is metaphorically based. We regard the application of non-linear systems concepts to organisation as being as yet unsubstantiated.
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More accurately, both speed and meaning are now problems.
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Convention here refers to the ‘mutually constructed beliefs’ in a firm or social system, Ibid., p. 10.
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Ibid., p. 323.
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Ibid.
Laszlo, op. cit, Ref. 7.
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Laszlo, op. cit., Ref. 7; Peter M. Allen, ‘Evolutionary Theory, Policy Making and Planning’, Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 51, August-September 1992, pp. 644–657.