Distributed, self-organising systems

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The third metaphor which Morgan investigates is ‘organisms as brains’.  He asks: ‘is it possible to design “learning organisations” that have the capacity to be as flexible, resilient, and inventive as the functioning of the brain? Is it possible to distribute capacities for intelligence and control throughout an enterprise so that the system as a whole can self-organise and evolve along with emerging challenges?’  Morgan explores three aspects of this metaphor, which are summarised below.

Organisations, like brains, exist in order to process and communicate information and to support decision-making.  Information technology and communication systems are vital to all organisations, and in many instances they are changing the very way organisations do business, so that the management of data is central to the design of a business management system.  However, investments in new technology are often made to reinforce bureaucratic principles and command-and-control methods instead of fulfilling their far greater potential of creating a ‘networked intelligence’ that involves everyone in the organisation.  Another parallel is that the human brain combines rational, analytical reasoning (left-brain thinking) with creative, intuitive processing (right-brain thinking) which leads to the idea that linear type of thinking inherent in a formal management system cannot substitute for the creative process of strategy formation – this idea is explored further in the next section.

The concept of the ‘learning organisation’ goes beyond the ideas in the previous section of organisation that can adapt to match environmental challenges, and challenges the separation of thinking and doing exemplified by the machine organisation and its spokesman Taylor, who once said: ‘You are not supposed to think.  There are other people paid for thinking around here.’  As organisations shift from capital-asset-intensive to human-asset-intensive activities there will be increasing emphasis on ‘knowledge workers’ and the need to assemble intelligence across the organisation.

Morgan explains that the brain, which is ‘the most highly coordinated and intelligent system of which we are aware’, operates on holographic principles - the surprising characteristic of a hologram is that the information for the whole is enfolded in the parts, so that any part represents the whole.  The brain does not have a centre but different parts of the brain are highly specialised, and experiments have shown that when specific parts of the brain are damaged or removed that it is able to self-organise and regenerate on a continual basis.  Complexity theory has shown how sophisticated patterns and order can emerge in bottom-up fashion in many living systems based on holographic principles, including brains, by following a minimal set of simple rules rather than any explicit plan. 

Organisations and other networks designed according to holographic principles (see page 16) offer many advantages: they would be extremely resilient and capable of regenerating quickly after experiencing severe shocks; they could exploit the full potential of the networked intelligence of the organisation; they would allow high levels of innovation, growing large while staying small; they would offer a humane and satisfying environment for employees, attracting high quality staff.  Examples of distributed, self-organising systems have been around for many years - refer page 15 - so that an interesting question is why this model isn’t better established.

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