"The organic, emergent character of the formal organization considered as a COOPERATIVE system must be recognized... the nature of authority in formal organizations is reinterpreted to emphasize the factors of cohesion and persuasion as against legal or coercive sources." - Phillip Selznick, in SRCO (emphasis added)
COMMENT:
We include this thought to highlight what we consider to be the liberating and necessary movement of an org from a position of coercive, top-down, authoritative structuring toward one which includes a more holistic approach to being togethe...r and to achieving common goals.
Every member of an org contributes a unique frame of reference (and a unique understanding based on that frame) to the collective experience of the group. Failing to take these perspectives into account - both to enrich the organizational vision as well as to correct any misperceptions - is the beginning and end of toxicity.
Ideally, anyone who takes a Leadership role in an org should be willing to recognize the need for COOPERATION within the group - at every level, between all members - if they are to inspire and encourage the kind of collective spirit that brings The Many into a commitment to and a realization of The One goal.
"Cooperative systems are constituted of individuals interacting as wholes in relation to a formal system of coordination. The concrete structure is therefore a resultant of the reciprocal influences of the formal and informal aspects of organization... a totality, an adaptive 'organism' reacting to influences upon it from an external environment." - Phillip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
Two different organizations, friends of The Institute, recently received some very good news regarding their success in achieving goals and advancing their collective missions. Both groups had undergone various organizational changes and re...structurings in response to what they considered the 'bad' news of a year or so ago.
In a debrief, we were enheartened by the revealing comment of one constituent, who stated that it was only when she was able to gather with all of her Others in the org in a manner that felt truly *unitive* that she began to feel as if there might be some light at the end of what she'd considered to be a very dark tunnel for her community.
She didn't know it, but she was voicing a sentiment very clearly in keeping with our own understanding (and the aim of all of our consulting work) of what it means to "be together" with others, and also echoing what Phillip Selznick refers to above when he calls the organization an "organism."
Indeed, until a group begins to function as a whole - as a sum greater than its parts - then any organizational forward motion will be akin to that of a toddler teetering between the couch and the kitchen table. Progress may or may not be made, and if we arrive at our goal, it will be with more surprise than conviction.
However, once the group learns to walk together - once the toddler learns to bring all of its capabilities (balance, will, sight, motor function, decision making, etc.) to bear on her goal - then there will never again be another doubt that they can succeed. To be sure, the only question left to answer at that point will be "How do we do it better, quicker, and with more joy?"
"Structural-functional analysis relates contemporary, variable behavior to a presumptively stable system of needs/mechanisms... a given system is deemed to have basic needs, essentially related to self-maintenance; the system develops repetitive means of self-defense; and day-to-day activity is interpreted in terms of ...the function served... for maintenance and defense of the system." - Philip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
What is clear in examining Selznick's work is the idea that a well-functioning organization has to proceed *in unison* - as a whole unit rather than as individual parts attempting to meet individual goals.
We find the human body to be a per...fect example of this harnessing of numerous members of an organization in order to achieve its ultimate goals. A physically healthy and well-functioning human draws from a multitude of constituents and sub-systems in order to meet the needs defined by it's conscious will, its "mission-statement."
When any of these elements within the structure begin to fail, this has a deleterious effect on the entire body. Indeed, we've all experienced the chagrin of not being able to fulfill our goals and obligations due to fatigue or an illness. Organizations are exactly the same, relying on the accurate and earnest attempts by all involved to meet the overarching goals of the group.
Open lines of communication are the first line of defense in avoiding this. If our body is experiencing a conflict of some sort, it tells us by our experiencing pain or discomfort. The healthy organization is one in which avenues and processes for the sharing and distribution of information are wide open, so that small snags within the "dynamic system" don't turn into toxicity and system failure.
System Maintenance Imperative 1: "The security of the organization as a whole in relation to social forces in its environment." - Philip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
In order to maintain equilibrium, as a self or as a group, awareness of those factors within the social environment that may negatively impact health and goals is crucial. However, this is most easily accomplished by recognizing the power ...of the Self to determine the nature of Other.
For instance, every major religious tradition eschews gossip. Another manner in which to interpret this is to say that any information flowing into the org that is neither true nor positive (read: information that is not real or actionable) is a threat.
However, maintaining a positive frame of reference, and so a clear understanding of the manner in which to interpret stimuli that is all too often labeled as "negative" or "harmful" is crucial.
One needn't label impinging social forces as bad. Knowing that one must live with and respond to "what is" as opposed to "what is wanted" is the first step in being healthy as a Self, individually or organizationally, and is the primary manner in which to avoid any "clear or present danger."
Selznick's 2nd Maintenance Imperative will build upon this approach.
System Maintenance Imperative 2: "The Stability of the Lines of Authority & Communication." - Philip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
Fear and Doubt are great threats to a system.
In order for a Self to avoid these, to manage their perception in a positive way (and so within a frame that allows for the greatest possibility of meeting goals), stability of the lines of com...munication is crucial. Knowing at every step which directions and options are available allows constituents in any org to maintain system integrity, progress, and balance.
Where a system finds itself in conflict - where constituents cannot freely obtain or process the information flowing through them - entropy and degradation begin to creep in. Clearly outlining expectations and options, and providing an Ombuds to help manage static in communication, frees the system from the worst of (and the majority of) these contaminations.
System Maintenance Imperative 3: "The Stability of Informal Relations within the Organization." - Philip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
This Imperative brings to mind an idea that has been a driving force for The Institute: we exist as communities (be they functional or dysfunctional), wherever we gather. We derive meaning from those around us, and from the relationships w...e develop with these Others, especially when we commune with them on a daily basis.
It cannot be denied that, for most, the workplace is a home away from home, and where we spend the majority of our waking hours five days out of the week. To treat this situation as anything other than an opportunity for enrichment and meaning-creation for all concerned is to miss a crucial chance at organizational effectiveness.
But it is a chance that is often missed, and why we advocate continuing and ongoing communication between and among all constituents. Selznick reminds us that folks grow used to each other and to our ways, and that "ties of sentiment and self-interest... represent a cementing of relationships which sustains" the organization.
It is imperative that org leaders respect the friendships, informal rituals, and expressions of Self that occur within the communal context, because these create a bond between the constituent Self and the organizational Other that cannot be fabricated or artificially emulated. These are "real" events, and can only happen organically and over time.
The best choice any org leader can make is to create and allow an environment, the fertile soil if you will, for the flowering of the intertwining vines of Community, and to cultivate these where they take root.
System Maintenance Imperative 4: "The Continuity of Policy and of the Sources of Its Determination." - Philip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
Religion is built around Ritual for numerous reasons, particularly the idea that repetitive action attached to a specific intention creates a meaning structure around which the Self can discover and maintain order.
We believe what we believe..., and so we make sense of what we make sense of, in large part because we create a system of repeated actions that serve to reinforce that belief and so make reality "real."
Imagine being in a romantic relationship that lacks the good night kisses, the knowing glances across a room, the reassuring touch in times of stress, or the pet-names, the passionate embraces, the Sunday morning routines. Not very easy, is it?
We know "Romance" because we know and have agreed upon with an Other the actions that make it so. We all know the pain of heartbreak, usually indicated by either the rapid or steady decline in those rituals that connect us to our partner: they stop believing as we believe, and so they stop believing in "us." Indeed, "we" are no longer real.
Organizations function along the same lines. Without the continuity and stability that says "We are real" and "Our goals and intentions are real," disintegration and the inability of the constituent to "make sense" of their place in the world become the order of the day. The organization is no longer an organization, but a loose group of individuals pretending at unity.
Selznick writes, "Arbitrary or unpredictable changes in policy undermine the significance of day-to-day action by injecting a note of capriciousness... the organization will seek stable roots so that a sense of the permanency and legitimacy of its acts will be achieved."
That said, we also ask you to imagine the aforementioned romantic relationship as a series of stale, solidified rituals: the "same ol' same ol'," lacking spontaneity or excitement. Such a relationship is doomed as well, no longer an experience full of possibility, but only a model, a caricature. Org Leaders must learn to ride the fine line between instability/chaos and entrenchment/entropy, a topic which we will explore again soon in our examination of "Flow."
System Maintenance Imperative 5: "A Homogeneity of Outlook with Respect to the Meaning and Role of the Organization." - Philip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
We hope that it has become clear at this point that we embrace and encourage a workplace that concerns itself with creating and sharing meaning with and among its workers: in short, an organization that strives to be a community.
Humans embr...ace meaning at one end of a continuum that French psychologist of religion Paul Ricoeur describes as interpolating between Life and Death: so, Love and Hate, Alienation and Community, etc.
Organizations are, in many ways, belief systems. Members want to connect themselves to a larger Group which describes and advances their own individual meaning structures. Taking Ricoeur's work into consideration (as well as that of Emile Durkheim), this means that orgs which offer opportunities to experience Joy, Virtue, and Community will find themselves graced by constituents that wish to remain connected to and advance the goals of their larger Self.
It is crucial to maintain and continuously relive a set of simple organizational meanings (enacted through roles and functions which also advance the more mundane aspects of the org) on a regular basis. This allows for a common outlook regarding the org to be continually celebrated, and is the key to creating a lasting structure around which constituents can commune and thrive.
Indeed, "one of the signs of a 'healthy' organization is the ability to effectively orient new members and readily slough off those who cannot be adapted to the established outlook."
Clearly, the organization that has created a communal and narrative structure which in order to define itself is significantly closer to wholeness, while that org which has *not* clearly defined nor consistently maintained a guiding outlook approaches toxicity, and lack of unity.
“We are insescapably committed to the mediation of human structures which are at once indispensable to our goals and at the same time stand between them and ourselves... we find a persistent relationship between *need* and *commitment* in which the latter not only qualifies the former but unites with it to produce a continuous state of tension." - Philip Selznick, SRCO
COMMENT:
In this our last visit with Selznick for awhile (and before we tackle the ideas of American sociologist Talcott Parsons), we felt it crucial to underscore this last idea concerning organizational commitment.
Indeed, Org Leaders would do well... to keep in mind the tension created by need and commitment. Once a community begins failing to meet the needs of its constituents, their commitment levels undergo a drastic decrease (see Rosabeth Moss Kanter, on your own or here soon).
Discovering the manner in which to meet as many org member needs as possible is the first step in creating a culture of community and cohesion. Intertwining these needs with those of the group is an easy second step, and tends to happen naturally if allowed to do so.
From a business standpoint, providing child care, health care, fitness club memberships, or catered lunches are some of the easier and more obvious approaches to gathering individual needs under the organizational umbrella.
A more subtle approach includes providing opportunities for org members to advance their own agendas, to take ownership of projects or improvement plans, and to have a voice in events or processes that will have an impact upon them. Once constituents find that their own agency is advanced by and included in the larger group, the lines between individual Self and organizational Other begin to dissolve.
A Sociological Reader on Complex Organizations, edited by Amitai Etzioni
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