Date post: | 12-Jul-2015 |
Category: |
Leadership & Management |
Upload: | paola-de-vecchi-galbiati |
View: | 626 times |
Download: | 0 times |
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
Table of Contents
• Self-‐Adap6ve Organisms and Social Percep6on
• Objec6ves and Scope of this Research • Experiments and Results
• Evolu6on of Organiza6onal Models
• Conclusions
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.
• 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
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.
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)
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.
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.
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
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
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
Dida\ca Aumentata
Art&Tech
Noi Fuoriclasse Dida\ca
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
• 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
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.
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.