Clustering and Swarming as Self-Organizing Techniques

Author Merali Snowden

Businesses rely on employees to use intellectual capital and capiture it from outside. 'Knowledge Space' is a store of possible information that may be generated within some cognitve system, constrained by language or culture of that system. Orgs have captive k which may be explicit or tacit. Merali looks to biological examples in explaining the dynamic nature of communication.

• There is no single identifiable network in orgs - there are multiple networks. Individuals have a sense of identity but so does the org itself. The info that is passed may be codified in many doifferent ways with various levels of Abstraction
• Some networks are structured more than others. People are autonomous but contrained by org rules
• why would one software get preferred over another. It may not be rational but feedback may lead to swarming.
• there may be certain attractors that lead to convergence - like silicon valley
• "Information involves the notion of meaning and meaning makes the whole legitimization of what constitutes K becomes subjectives"

!!What counts as K? Its not about managing knowledge but making sense of why somethiong happened and try influence the future Boisot K creation involves scanning, codification, Diffusion and absorption. I info transfer there is context dependency. Abstraction can make the information too generalized. Alternatively too much emphasis on a aprticualr situation may obscure generalized findings We need the flexcibility of flocking and swarming of new K groups rather than the normative Communities of Practice that die out once technology changes Learning in Orgs is about bottom up and top down, about ouliers and communicating with the outside.

!!The 7 sins of KM

• 'K can be managed'. There is always a loss of contect when info is shared. Its imposing a mechanical structure on something that is organic
• The org can be designed. They are too complex. we should start 'journeys' rather than aims
• The myth of a rational agent. Culture, past experience can prevent people from acting rationally - its merel rational from their lens
• Utilitarianism. Do people do something for a return or is status and deference a powerful source also
• A belief in Utopia. Nothing is perfect so accept for now that things are working
• Belief in Best practice. Looking back is a poor guide to the future
• An org is merely a colleciton of individuals. Its more than that there are relationships and impacts from outside the org as well

!!Action-based research Introduce a new model which disrupts the status quo and look to see how well the process can be restructured in terms of community, culture, k, exchange

• There are four realms of spaces by which a business can be classified
  • K flow is OK to maintain the business
  • K flow allows the process to be optimized
  • K creation is chaotic
  • K is created in a complex way

!!Cynefin - Habitat - anything we do has some connection with our past, culture relationships. Learning is about continuity not green field thinking