Post by flimp (INTJ) on Sept 14, 2018 2:13:54 GMT
Summary: This post is one attempt at gleaning the common characteristics of man-made organizational structures.
All organizational structures have in common:
• Hierarchy
• Communication
• fluctuation of membership
• goals
If we were all individuals fighting for ourselves, then we would be like bacteria in a petri dish. Everyone fighting everyone for resources. So, hierarchy is a necessary component of all organizational structures because hierarchy “allows for orderly resource access, so that every consummatory attempt does not end in competitive violence” (citation1).
Looking at troops of chimps. There is a tendency for cooperation within the troop. This way, the members of that troop have more peaceful access to resources. However, violence is a fact of life in the chimpanzee world and sometimes troops have despotic dictators who bully their underlings. Fortunately, these troops are unstable and the dictators eventually get killed or driven away by other gangs of chimps (usually from within the troop).
On the other hand, you can also have strong stable leadership within a troop of chimps. The issue that chimpanzees face is that they are not very good at selecting the best chimp for the leadership role. Expanding upon that idea, good hierarchies have systems that put the best people in the best positions. So, then the question is, how do we put the best people in the best positions? We have to communicate with each other. Communication is a necessary component of all organizational structures.
Looking at how groups of monkeys operate (citation 2) a common characteristic is that the number of monkeys belonging to a group changes over time. There seems to be four causes of changing membership. Either members are born into, leave, die or join the group. In essence, all organizational structures experience changes in membership.
[insert ill-fitting but necessary paragraph]
Restating JBPs definition of hierarchy “hierarchies allow for orderly resource access, so that every consummatory attempt does not end in competitive violence.” If you look close there is an implicit acceptance of the idea that all hierarchies have goals. All money troops have goals. All companies have goals. All organizations have goals. Goals are a necessary component of all organizational structures.
If anyone can find more common characteristics of all man/monkey/animal made organizational structures, please mention them below with a proof of why they are a common characteristic of all organizational structures. If you see a mistake of how I got to my list of common characteristics of OS, please mention why. When the list of common characteristics of all organizational structures are complied; Then I will devote time to studying each one, but I cannot do that by myself. As an example, my conception of what a goal is will be colored by my worldview. So, I need to be educated in philosophy… but I’m not, so I don’t have the tools to answer this question of what the goal should be.
Citations
1) www.jordanbpeterson.com/docs/434/Assigned_Papers/Peterson%20JB%20Three%20Kinds%20of%20Meaning%20Final%203.pdf
2) www2.palomar.edu/anthro/behavior/behave_2.htm
due to feedback, I have changed my ideas for the commonalities between all organizational structures.
They have in common:
All organizational structures have in common:
• Hierarchy
• Communication
• fluctuation of membership
• goals
If we were all individuals fighting for ourselves, then we would be like bacteria in a petri dish. Everyone fighting everyone for resources. So, hierarchy is a necessary component of all organizational structures because hierarchy “allows for orderly resource access, so that every consummatory attempt does not end in competitive violence” (citation1).
Looking at troops of chimps. There is a tendency for cooperation within the troop. This way, the members of that troop have more peaceful access to resources. However, violence is a fact of life in the chimpanzee world and sometimes troops have despotic dictators who bully their underlings. Fortunately, these troops are unstable and the dictators eventually get killed or driven away by other gangs of chimps (usually from within the troop).
On the other hand, you can also have strong stable leadership within a troop of chimps. The issue that chimpanzees face is that they are not very good at selecting the best chimp for the leadership role. Expanding upon that idea, good hierarchies have systems that put the best people in the best positions. So, then the question is, how do we put the best people in the best positions? We have to communicate with each other. Communication is a necessary component of all organizational structures.
Looking at how groups of monkeys operate (citation 2) a common characteristic is that the number of monkeys belonging to a group changes over time. There seems to be four causes of changing membership. Either members are born into, leave, die or join the group. In essence, all organizational structures experience changes in membership.
[insert ill-fitting but necessary paragraph]
Restating JBPs definition of hierarchy “hierarchies allow for orderly resource access, so that every consummatory attempt does not end in competitive violence.” If you look close there is an implicit acceptance of the idea that all hierarchies have goals. All money troops have goals. All companies have goals. All organizations have goals. Goals are a necessary component of all organizational structures.
If anyone can find more common characteristics of all man/monkey/animal made organizational structures, please mention them below with a proof of why they are a common characteristic of all organizational structures. If you see a mistake of how I got to my list of common characteristics of OS, please mention why. When the list of common characteristics of all organizational structures are complied; Then I will devote time to studying each one, but I cannot do that by myself. As an example, my conception of what a goal is will be colored by my worldview. So, I need to be educated in philosophy… but I’m not, so I don’t have the tools to answer this question of what the goal should be.
Citations
1) www.jordanbpeterson.com/docs/434/Assigned_Papers/Peterson%20JB%20Three%20Kinds%20of%20Meaning%20Final%203.pdf
2) www2.palomar.edu/anthro/behavior/behave_2.htm
due to feedback, I have changed my ideas for the commonalities between all organizational structures.
They have in common:
- hiearchy
- communication
- minimum of two people
- incentive strucutres
- location
