Emergent Organization

A tenet of the Knowledge Management and Social Networking disciplines is that the true structure of an organization is not defined by the formal arrangement of staff into ckassic divisions and branches. There exists an unwritten informal shadow organization beneath the formal organization where most of the truly innovative and productive things happen. We all know the important secretary that everyone goes to when there is a problem or the craftsman that can fix anything even if 's not in his "division". This emergent social network within an organization self forms through information sharing and having good people who feel secure and positive in their roles within the organization.

These "movers and shakers" within a firm make up important nodes of business process and communications networks. The organization can be aligned and congruent with this informal network and result in a highly-functioning firm. However, there exists within todays business and society a pace of change that is unprecedented. The formal organization can never keep pace with the emergent network. Therefore a highly functioning firm should attempt to provide a fertile growth environment of living dynamic networks which track and even lead the tides of change.

7 Attributes of Highly Functioning Organizations:

1. People Search
2. Positive Organizational Attitude
3. Information Sharing
4. Knowledge Tools
5. Staff Embracing Strategic Vision
6. Time Available and Encouraged for Pet Projects
7. Dynamic Informal Communities of Interest/Practice

What I find interesting in the above material are the parallels with distributed functions and information within a globally connected network. There will be dynamically formed informal networks of high performing services linked with high value consumers. Kids can be found through Myspace and business contacts through LinkedIn. These are important nodes in an emergent network underneath the formally defined network of many organizations. Parallels between social networks and service networks within a Service-Oriented Architecture can be developed.