Guiding principles

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The following principles of a design for a management system based on holographic principles (the organisation as a brain) are borrowed from Gareth Morgan’s book, ‘Images of Organisation’.  Morgan explains that they define a mindset and approach rather than a blueprint or recipe:

1. BUILD THE WHOLE INTO THE PARTS

Awareness of the strategic importance of buildings and facilities to business performance and service delivery needs to be distributed throughout the organisation – ‘from board room to boiler room.’  The VSM is an example of an organisational design which follows this principle.  A specification for managing property assets based on the VSM framework would permit the ‘joined-up’ approach advocated in recent reports to HM Treasury by Sir Michael Lyons and Sir David Varney.

2. FUNCTIONAL REDUNDANCY

The idea of redundancy follows from the previous heading – it contrasts with working in separate functional departments and other silos.  Asset managers need a cross-disciplinary approach and the ability to manage and work within cross-functional teams.  Systems for managing property should be aligned or integrated with other management systems.

3. REQUISITE VARIETY

The optimum amount of redundancy can be calculated by observing the principle of requisite variety – refer page 7.  This principle suggests that when variety and redundancy are built at a local level – at the point of interaction with the environment rather than several stages removed, as happens under hierarchical design – the ability of the organisation to survive and evolve is enhanced.  Individuals, teams and other units are empowered to find solutions around local issues and problems.

4. MINIMUM SPECIFICATION

The principles listed above allow the organisation to adapt to its environment and evolve, but asset managers and employees need the freedom to put these principles into practice.  Some degree of autonomy is needed to find local solutions, so that managers should define no more than is necessary – refer to text on opposite page.

5. LEARNING TO LEARN

A management system can operate to trap an organisation in a process of ‘single loop learning’ that reinforce the status quo and hold the organisation at a static level.  The idea of a learning organisation and ‘double-loop learning’ allows for the operating norms and rules of a system to be questioned and changed in line with changes in the wider environment.  This process of learning requires a degree of freedom and openness that is not compatible with command-and-control methods.

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