Systems, Organizations and Large Groups

Module Twowith

Lisa Kimball & June Delano

Understanding Organization Developmentsponsored and developed by the OD Network

Program Overview

1 • Introduction, Overview, History and Learning

2 • Systems, Organizations and Large Groups

3 • Individuals and Small Groups

4 • Theory and Practice of Change

5 • OD Tools: Use of Self, Contracting and Inquiry

6 • Leadership, Diversity and Globalization

• Systems• Organizations• Large Groups

Systems and organizations are made up of many components.

All the components are connected in some way.

The challenge is to see the whole and understand the relationships.

Systems Perspective

SYSTEM

ENVIRONMENT

BOUNDARY

Make the WHOLE Visible to Everyone

People in organizations are more engaged when they can see the whole of which they are a part.

Solutions are better when more people are involved in creating them.

ORGANIZATIONS

The Metaphor is the Message

• Machine• Organism• Culture• Politics• Family• Network• Energy• Or what?

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The Machine Metaphor

• In science . . .– The search for basic building blocks

• In society . . . – The whole is no more or no less than the sum of its

parts, so focus on the parts (e.g. functions, detailed plans, disciplines)

– Organizations and people are implicitly viewed as machines or machine parts: interchangeable, separable, replaceable, etc.

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From Physics To Biology

Simple Complex

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Complex Systems

– Patterns of interactions within them

– Outcomes that emerge from them

– How systems actually behave, not how we think or expect them to behave

Peter Senge argues that one of the key problems with much that is written about and done in the name of management, is that rather simplistic frameworks are being applied to complex systems.

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What is a Complex Adaptive System?

System• Multiple agents• Agents are inter

dependent and connected

Complex• Diverse• Many elements• Many

connections

Adaptive• Capacity to alter

or change

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Properties of Complex Systems

Distributed Control: In a CAS control is shared by many elements, rather than centralized in a single command center.Coexistence of Order & Disorder: In a healthy adaptive system, order and disorder coexist.Embeddedness: Each CAS made up of other CAS and is part of (embedded in) a larger CAS. Each is unique. Diversity: A CAS has many different elements. This enables a CAS to change.Because CAS are Nonlinear, a small change may produce a large effect, or a large change may produce a small or no effect. Inability to Predict: Outcomes are unpredictable.Emergence: In a CAS outcomes emerge through a process ofSelf-Organization rather than through centrally planned or directed processes.

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Interdependent Attributes

EmbeddedSystems

AdaptableElements

Self-Organization& Emergence

Order & Disorder

Non-Linearity

DiversityDistributed

Control

Organizations as Structures

Organizations as Networks

The Dynamic Organization

Financial Results

Morale

PublicImageCulture

Rituals, Symbolic Acts, Key Messages, Heroes Icons and Metaphors

Marketing

Sales

ProductionFinance

HR

BrandProduct

Adapted from Linda Ackerman

IT

R&D

Six Lenses of the Chaordic™ Design Process

Start here, proceed clockwise

Illuminated through rapid, iterative cycles of conversation

© 2004, Keith McCandless

McKinsey’s “Seven S” Model

Weisbord’s Six-Box Model

Large Group Processes

The Importance of Large Group Work

• Widens the circle of involvement• Involves the whole system• Increases commitment and energy• Connects people to each other and to ideas• Generates better solutions• Creates communities for action• Turns meetings into working sessions• Speeds up implementation

Relationships and CONVERSATIONS

Decentralized, Small Talk

• Fully autonomous• Unconnected• Unstable

relationships• Diverse or Uniform• Random growth

Polite Conversation

Centralized, Ordered Discussion

• Largely dependent• Connected by

power/permission• Fixed relationships• Uniform• Growth from center

out

Facilitated, Bureaucratic Talk

Distributed, Generative Talk

• Largely autonomous contributions

• Connected by simple rules that guide local relationships

• Diverse and uniform participation

• Growth from any point in any direction

• Order arises out of local interaction & conversation

Messy, Loose, Complex & Creative

World Cafe

An innovative yet simple methodology for hosting conversations about questions that matter. These conversations link and build on each other as people move between groups, cross-pollinate ideas, and discover new insights into the questions or issues that are most important in their life, work, or community.

Law of Two Feet• Go to where you are learning or

contributingPrinciples of Open Space• Whoever comes is the right

group of people.• Whatever happens is the only

thing that could have happened.• Whenever it starts is the right

time to start.• When it is over, it is over

Open Space

Open Space is a self-organizing process for large groups to engage in conversation and explore issues. It is widely used all around the world.

Future Search

Future search brings people from all walks of life into the same conversation - those with resources, expertise, formal authority and need. It brings together 60 to 80 people in one room or hundreds in parallel rooms. People tell stories about their past, present and desired future. Through dialogue, they discover their common ground. Only then do they make concrete action plans.

The meeting design comes from theories and principles tested in many cultures and many kinds of organizations for the past 50 years.

Program Overview

1 • Introduction, Overview, History and Learning

2 • Systems, Organizations and Large Groups

3 • Individuals and Small Groups

4 • Theory and Practice of Change

5 • OD Tools: Use of Self, Contracting and Inquiry

6 • Leadership, Diversity and Globalization

Looking Forward to Module Three

• Individuals• Small Groups