The main contribution of this book is the living composition, the model of living organizations. It is a new and original interpretation of the theory of living, self-producing systems (autopoiesis theory). Living composition is defined here as strategic components and their relationships. A living organization is thereby a self-producing system that is composed of ten different non-physical strategic components that are continually produced by the organization itself. The components and their relationships are defined so that they enable and facilitate interconnected openness and closure, i.e. the 'sensing' (interactive openness) and 'memory' (self-referentiality) of an organization. These characteristics and related knowledge flows enable the capability to learn and co-evolve with the broader business ecosystem. This book also presents consistency/intentionality platforms and evolution models that help to evaluate the learning and renewal capability of an organization and to improve its enabling infrastructure. The living composition model has multiple implications for managers, consultants, and academics. It helps to identify the characteristics and development potential of the enabling structures of an organization, and to evaluate various development methods and activities in a larger framework. The sources of organizational learning and renewal are diverse and difficult to understand. This book shows how organizational learning and renewal can be explained by the theory of self-producing systems.
Author(s): Marjatta Maula
Edition: 1
Publisher: Elsevier Science
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 280
Cover......Page 1
Organizations as Learning Systems......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
About the Author......Page 10
Introduction to the Advanced Series in Management......Page 12
Series Editor’s Introduction......Page 16
Acknowledgments......Page 18
Part I Preliminaries About Underlying Structures and Dynamics......Page 20
A Structured Model of Living Composition: The Goal of this Book......Page 22
How to Improve Survival and Success? The Question of Creativity and Efficiency......Page 25
Five Dilemmas of Learning and Knowledge: The Importance of Underlying Structures......Page 27
Guide to Reading This Book......Page 30
Summary......Page 31
Learning as a Source of Strategic Advantages......Page 32
Adaptation, Incremental Learning, and Imitation......Page 34
Organization as an Interpretation System......Page 35
Organization as a System of Knowing......Page 36
Resource-, Knowledge-, and Competence-Based Views of Learning and Renewal......Page 38
Organizational Ecology......Page 39
Summary......Page 40
Earlier Approaches to Control, Self-Organization, and Emergence......Page 42
Structural Aspects of Strategy......Page 44
Consistency of Underlying Structure......Page 46
Summary......Page 47
Open System, Contingency Theory, System Dynamics, and Network Approaches......Page 50
Theories about Complexity and Chaos......Page 56
Summary......Page 61
Part II The Living Composition Model......Page 64
Organization as a Living (Self-Producing, Autopoietic) System......Page 66
Reality and Knowledge in Organizations......Page 74
Knowledge-Related Concepts in Organizational Autopoiesis......Page 81
Specific Questions about Applying Autopoiesis Theory to Organizations......Page 86
Summary......Page 90
Basic Principles......Page 94
The Definition of the Living Composition Model......Page 97
Summary......Page 99
Strategic Components of a Living Organization......Page 102
Perception of the Environment......Page 103
Knowledge and Knowledge Management......Page 104
Boundary Elements......Page 106
Internal Standards, Processes, and Communication......Page 108
Summary......Page 109
Openness and Closure......Page 112
‘Sensing’ — Interactive Openness......Page 114
‘Memory’ and Self-Referentiality......Page 115
Summary......Page 116
The Conventional Division between Tacit and Explicit Knowledge......Page 118
Four Parallel Knowledge Processes......Page 120
Implications of Four Parallel Knowledge Processes......Page 123
Summary......Page 124
Part III The Cases: How to Apply the Living Composition Model in Practice......Page 126
Management Consulting Industry......Page 128
Introduction to the Case Companies......Page 131
The Strategic Components of Arthur Andersen (Business Consulting)......Page 136
Arthur Andersen (Business Consulting) as a Living Organization......Page 145
The Strategic Components of Arthur D. Little (Europe)......Page 150
Arthur D. Little (Europe) as a Living Organization......Page 161
The Strategic Components of Ernst & Young (Management Consulting)......Page 166
Ernst & Young (Management Consulting) as a Living Organization......Page 175
The Strategic Components of the KaosPilots and KaosManagement......Page 180
The KaosPilots and KaosManagement as a Living Organization......Page 189
Strategic Components of the Case Firms......Page 194
Major Knowledge Flows of the Case Firms......Page 200
Part IV Platforms and Implications......Page 208
Proactive and Passive Approaches......Page 210
Consistency/Intentionality Platforms......Page 211
Evolution Models......Page 215
Six Steps for Improving a Living Composition......Page 217
Summary......Page 220
Summary of the Living Composition Model......Page 222
Re-Framing of Control and Creativity in Light of the Living Composition Model......Page 223
Reframing the Five Dilemmas......Page 226
Living Composition — Managerial Implications......Page 228
Living Composition — Theoretical Implications and Suggestions for Further Research......Page 231
Living Composition — Implications for Teaching......Page 234
References......Page 236
Appendices......Page 248
