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"Ehin, Charles"
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Can people really be managed?
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a general framework for the comprehension and advancement of sociocultural homeostasis (not to be confused with a steady state, but a dynamic constantly evolving process) in order to increase worker engagement, productivity and innovation within the enterprises. Design/methodology/approach - The latest research findings in neuroscience, social neuroscience and social network analyses are used to determine what types of organizational dynamics best support voluntary worker engagement. Findings - The paper offers convincing evidence why certain organizations prosper while others falter depending on their knowledge and advancement of sociocultural homeostasis principles. Practical implications - The paper provides practical suggestions in how to move an organization from an environment of structure and compliance to one reliant on emergence and individual commitment. Social implications - The general framework/models presented in the paper can be applied to any social institution (for profit or non-profit) interested in boosting member voluntary engagement. Originality/value - It is a unique work suggesting how to apply the latest research findings in the rapidly advancing fields of neuroscience and social neuroscience to business management in order to increase productivity and innovation. It also shows how to identify and expand the organizational sweet spots (emergent innovative/productive organizational domains defined by the author) and their vital importance to the success of every venture.
Journal Article
Un-managing knowledge workers
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual and flexible framework for the management of knowledge workers in the current information economy.Design methodology approach - Research from such diverse fields as anthropology, evolutionary biology psychology, paleontology, molecular biology, neurophysiology, and social network analysis are used in an attempt to find commonalities in these disciplines that will help determine the effects of various organizational contexts on human nature and the innovative capabilities of knowledge workers.Findings - Provides definitive explanations reasons why knowledge workers should not be managed using Industrial Age management concepts and organizational structures. Also includes four clearly defined descriptive principles for the development of Knowledge Age organizations and social networks.Practical implications - An especially useful multidisciplinary source for the development of innovative enterprises capable of motivating and expanding the creative potential of knowledge workers.Originality value - The paper identifies critical needs and methodologies for managing knowledge workers in addition to providing fundamental principles for the advancement of flexible and innovation rich organizations.
Journal Article
Muddling Through Engaging Our Innate Heuristics
This article discusses the dynamics of the day-to-day operations that allow organizations to get through what, at times, appears to be total chaos and actually produce a product or provide a service. The process is probably best described as \"muddling through.\" If they are mindful that people's mind-sets and relationships are emergent, and thus can't be managed, they can begin to grasp the positive impact that adhering to self-organizing principles can have on the success of an enterprise. It's quite appropriate that they place the process of muddling through on a much higher pedestal in their pursuit of organizational effectiveness and innovation. In the final analysis, muddling through is not only inherently more human friendly but also worth the extra effort.
Journal Article
Catalytic Leadership and Sociocultural Homeostasis
The purpose of this article is twofold. First, to share how the newly appointed CEO of Studsvik in Sweden relied on catalytic leadership not only to prevent the company from closing but also to make it instrumental in developing a strong cultural and technological foundation that eventually led to it becoming an international leader in its field. The new CEO Toive Kivikas not only developed a novel vision for Studsvik, but he also persuaded its members buy into the vision. He accomplished this not through increased top-down controls but by building mutual trust with others in the company. Second, the article presents a theoretical framework, which is presented in the online segment. This framework is based on the latest research in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, which will provide the basis for an analysis of the processes and evolving success factors that lead to the successful turnaround of Studsvik.
Journal Article
Why it's so critical that we level the top-down organization
The mindless slaughter at Columbine High School and other recent shootings have understandably resulted in widespread security mania. However, such reflexive action only addresses the symptoms rather than the fundamental problem itself. It is a reaction largely attributable to the hierarchical leadership mind-set that has evolved in the past 15,000 years with the advent of larger social institutions. Control of people's behavior is the ultimate goal of such organizations. There is now ample evidence that our changing social structures have long been on a collision course with our unchanging human nature. We need to look back, therefore to truly comprehend who we are and what types of social contexts are most suitable for human existence - and which are less likely to produce outbursts of so-called senseless violence. And so today, business' first and most critical step toward gaining voluntary collaboration is to accommodate the vital role of human nature in organizational life.
Journal Article
The Quest for Empowering Organizations: Some Lessons from Our Foraging Past
Empowerment has been promoted as a process and a form that takes more account of human nature in organized settings. One of the major problems with understanding empowerment is that it does not fit the control-based, autocratic and hierarchical management paradigm. In general, empowerment is a frame of reference that incorporates very deep, powerful, and intimate values about others, such as trust, caring, love, dignity, and the need for constant growth. By looking to the past and present experiences of the hunter-gatherers and to their organizational arrangements, one can discover suitable empowering solutions for modern organizations. By defining the general principles of the mutual dependence systems of the foragers and suggesting their applicability to post-industrial organizations, a paper illuminates social principles that are more congruent with human nature.
Journal Article
Are You Promoting Innovation?
Nonetheless, there are a few exceptions such as W.L. Gore Associates, best known as the manufacturer of Gore-Tex fabrics. The firm's founders, Wilbert Gore and his wife, Genevieve, organized the firm around self-managing teams and insisted that associates make their own commitments and stick to them. Thus, from day one, the Gores had no use for managers. The emphasis was put on shared leadership grounded in talent, expertise and drive rather than on position power.
Magazine Article
The ultimate advantage of self-organizing systems
Senior executives must be aware that the future belongs to companies filled with committed partners or associates, not employees, workers, or hands and feet following instructions. Only firms operating as living, constantly evolving, self-organizing systems are capable of providing the required context to foster individual and team commitment and generative learning. The future belongs to companies filled with committed partners and with leaders who know how to unmanage and develop a space where natural interaction or cooperation can take place without control and where there is a self-reference, or form without structure. Through their own self-expression, interest, and satisfaction, committed partners make their contributions in organizations. They also need to be dynamically interconnected through a constantly evolving self-organizing criteria. All of this helps organizations move out of the old autocratic/hierarchical mode.
Journal Article