4 Logics of change
a year ago 22
TheFourLogicsofChangeChapter8.docx
Sample2_ReactionPaperSAMPOOLE.pdf
OGL550_Module5_FluxTransformationLens.pdf
BarrettPeterson2000_AppreciativeInquiryCompetencies.pdf
TheFourLogicsofChangeChapter8.docx
The Four Logics of Change Chapter 8. Chapter 8 in the TEXTBOOK: Morgan, G. (2006): Unfolding logics of change: Organizations as flux and transformation (pp. 241-287).
1. Autopoiesis and Self-Production
· Definition: From biology, autopoiesis refers to systems capable of reproducing and maintaining themselves.
· Organizational Application: Organizations are self-producing. They adapt and evolve by continuously reproducing their structure through internal communication and decision-making.
· Key Idea: Change comes from within — not just from external pressures.
2. Dialectical Change
· Definition: Rooted in Hegelian and Marxist thought, dialectics involves contradiction and conflict as drivers of change.
· Organizational Application: Change arises when opposing forces (e.g., management vs. labor) clash, leading to new synthesis.
· Key Idea: Conflict isn’t always bad — it can be a creative force.
3. Evolutionary Change
· Definition: Borrowed from Darwinian theory — change happens through variation, selection, and retention.
· Organizational Application: Organizations evolve as new ideas emerge, are tested, and either adopted or discarded.
· Key Idea: The environment “selects” which organizational forms survive, favoring adaptability.
4. Chaos and Complexity Theory
· Definition: Organizations behave like complex adaptive systems — unpredictable, non-linear, and sensitive to small changes (the "butterfly effect").
· Organizational Application: Leaders can’t fully control change; instead, they create conditions for emergent order.
· Key Idea: Organizations don’t always follow clear paths — they self-organize and adapt.
Implications for Practice
· Leaders must let go of control and understand that uncertainty and instability are normal.
· Organizational change is not always planned or linear; often, it emerges from interactions among people, ideas, and structures.
· Encouraging learning, adaptability, and openness is more effective than enforcing rigid rules.
Visual Metaphors
Morgan uses metaphors like:
· “Organization as a river” — always flowing and changing.
· “Organization as living system” — growing, learning, adapting.
Conclusion
Understanding organizations as systems in flux encourages more responsive, dynamic, and participatory approaches to leadership and change. It challenges traditional command-and-control views, replacing them with more organic, evolutionary, and interactive models of organizing.
Sample2_ReactionPaperSAMPOOLE.pdf
PROF’S NEW EXAMPLE OF A REACTION PAPER, Summer 2025 ** Note: ALL the details here are MADE UP and/or filled with Latin “Ipsum…” nonsense words.** Module 2 Reaction Paper: Chapter 4 of Sam Poole’s WAKE UP, F$$L: Stop Sleepwalking! Chapter Intro ● We lead organizations lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. n Pellentesque luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies
odio vel pellentesque facilisis. n Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae
neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. “Aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam.” (Poole 2025, page 107).
n Nunc porttitor elementum nisi, sit amet euismod ligula. n Sed vel urna quis arcu molestie tristique. Pellentesque at suscipit elit, ac fringilla lectus.
Donec in viverra nisl. Duis eget sem id erat laoreet accumsan et in justo. o Sed dignissim volutpat sapien. Example: Humor and art can be IRREVERENT. o Eget fermentum. Example: “Instead of saying I F-D UP MY LIFE, or I WAS SO STUPID,
you need to tell yourself I HAVE LEARNED A LOT SINCE THEN.” (Poole 2025, page 109).
The First Case Study o Sed sed commodo risus, eu pellentesque nunc. Cras imperdiet finibus varius. o Aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit
venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam o Lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc
lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum.
n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam
n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum.
n luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies o odio vel pellentesque facilisis. o Vestibulum ante ipsum (REMINDS ME of bullies in 7th grade! Punched them.)
Great Leaders are DEVELOPED not simply BORN
o While it’s okay – and AWESOME -- if you were “BORN THIS WAY, baby!” o When it comes to LEADERS we all start learning early, though some learn and practice
leadership earlier and more adeptly (yet even THEY are not “BORN LEADERS”) n Experience lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam.
Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum. n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus n Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus
scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. o dignissim quis nec tortor. o Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida.
n Et luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies n While being stabbed he exclaimed “ET TU, BRUTE!” Et odio vel pellentesque facilisis. n Vestibulum ante ipsum
Of Rascals and Rabble-Rousers
n Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum. n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus
o Example: Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum.
n purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. o dignissim quis nec tortor. o Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. o Proin ipseum.
n Successful leaders Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum.
n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus n Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus
scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. How Mermaids Can Riot and “Dispatch” the Unwary Seaman Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae
How Is a Professor Never Late, but Arrives PRECISELY when they need to arrive? ● The neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc dignissim quis nec tortor et tutor. “Radicals must vel fermentum enim. Vivamus quis velit a velit volutpat volutpat. Morbi mollis a est nec molestie. Nunc in facilisis nibh. Duis eleifend purus et molestie egestas. Duis ac nibh sed purus sodales dapibus.” (Poole 2025, page 98). My Reaction / Reflections At first ante ipsum prima fascia. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia. Much like Bugs Bunny “took a wrong turn at Albuquerque” we find ourselves thinking we are “all right” until we are quite wrong, though it may give us a chance to become friends with the Tasmanian Devil. Then vestibulum ante ipsum prima fascia. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel -- et tu Brute. When I volunteer et pellente sque iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc tortor. Duis ut --- just like my mother used to say when confronting racists. When I helped organize and lead aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies eget massa eget diam lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum accumsan, dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum. This gives us some powerful practical examples AND inspiration, making me appreciate this course all the more.
OGL550_Module5_FluxTransformationLens.pdf
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
OGL 550
Organizations as Flux & Change Morgan Ch. 8
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Organizations as Flux & Transformation • Sees organizations not as a “thing” (object), but rather as an ongoing process
(e.g., organizing, communicating, relating)
• They cannot be understood in isolation, must be understood as part of the ebb and flow of the whole environment
• They have a capacity to self- organize, change, and self-renew, guided by their institutional identity (e.g., purpose, culture, relationships)
• Similar to ideas of Heraclitus, who saw the universe as a constant stage of flux, and embodying elements of both permanence and change.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Key Aspects of Flux & Transformation Lens • Order can naturally emerge out of chaos
• Organizations have a natural capacity to self-renew
• Organizational life is not governed by linear, reductionist rules of cause and effect
• Tensions are a source for emergence, e.g., innovation & new ways of doing things
• Formal organizational structures (teams, hierarchies) represent just one of many dimensions of organizational life
• Four logics of organizational change: • Autopoiesis • Chaos & complexity • Mutual causality • Dialectical change
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Autopoiesis • Logic: Organization is a self producing system
• Sees change originating in the environment
• Autopiesis systems are closed loops—energy recirculates
• Morgan refers an organization as a self referential system that strives to shape itself in its own image
• Maturana and Varela believe living systems to be characterized by: • Autonomy • circularity • Self-reference.
• These three features allow the system to self-create or self-renew.
• The aim of autopoietic systems is to produce themselves. Thus, their own organization and identity is paramount.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Autopoiesis • As organizations assert their identities, leaders can initiate transformation in the social
ecology to which they belong, e.g., creating conditions that will allow them to evolve along with their operating environment
• Organizations are always attempting to achieve ‘self-referential closure… enacting their environments as extensions of their own identity.’
• Many problems that organizations encounter are a result of their attempt to maintain a particular identity that’s not adaptive with their operating environment
• Explanations of organizational evolution, change, and development must include internal and external factors that create patterns over time
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Chaos & Complexity • View that complex, non-linear systems (e.g., organizations, the human body) are
characterized by multiple systems of interaction that are both ordered and chaotic.
• Chaos and complexity are parts of the same interconnected (evolving) pattern • Random disturbances can produce unpredictable events and relationships.
• Eventually, however, coherent order always emerges out of the randomness and surface chaos.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Chaos & Complexity
Complexity theory suggests that organizational change should be guided by:
1. Rethinking what we mean by ‘organization’ – especially in terms of hierarchy and control. Order does not have to be imposed, it can emerge organically if organizational structures and identity are adaptive.
2. Organizational learning, and how to lead and manage changing contexts
3. Learning how to use small changes to create large effects
4. Living with continuous transformation and emergent order as a natural state of affairs
5. Being open to new metaphors and mental models that can facilitate processes of self- organization.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Mutual Causality Individuals are able to influence system dynamics through examining the interaction of
positive and negative feedback loops, and shaping these as necessary.
Change and causation is not one way. A can influence B at the same time B influences A.
Change does not unfold in a linear fashion but via circular patterns (loops, not lines).
Outcomes cannot be predicted in complex, nonlinear systems. For example, when you pour creamer into your coffee, it will never travel exactly the same path in the cup. However, we can understand underlying patterns and principles, e.g., fluid dynamics to describe likely trajectories. This enable us to develop plans based on understanding of these underlying principles.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Dialectical Change • We cannot fully understand something without knowing its opposite, e.g., you cannot
truly know the meaning of ‘hot’ unless you understand what ‘cold’ means
Dialectical Principle #1 – • Whenever one person attempts to control another, a process of resistance undermines
that attempt
• The act of control itself sets up consequences that work against its effectiveness.
• It accounts for processes of self generated change, whereby phenomena change themselves as a result of tension with the opposite to create balance
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Dialectical Change Principle #2 • Negations of negations retain something from that form, leading to an evolution in
patterns of control • Explains how change may become developmental, in the sense that each negation
rejects a previous form, yet also retains something from that form
Principle #3 • Changes in quantity lead to changes in quality. • Accounts for processes of revolutionary change, whereby one form of social
organization gives way to another
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Strengths & Limitations of Flux /Change Metaphor Strengths
• Offers new insights into the nature and source of change
• This expanded understanding gives us more options for management and leadership (e.g., how to structure organizations for self-organizing teams)
• Offers to leaders and managers a powerful new perspective on their role in facilitating emergent change.
Limitations • Individuals that find comfort in controlling, organizing, and predicting system change
may struggle with the concept of "powerless power”
• The orderliness of change only becomes apparent with hindsight
- OGL 550��Organizations as Flux & Change��Morgan Ch. 8
- Organizations as Flux & Transformation
- Key Aspects of Flux & Transformation Lens
- Autopoiesis
- Autopoiesis
- Chaos & Complexity
- Chaos & Complexity
- Mutual Causality
- Dialectical Change
- Dialectical Change
- Strengths & Limitations of Flux /Change Metaphor
BarrettPeterson2000_AppreciativeInquiryCompetencies.pdf
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Appreciative learning cultures: Developing competencies for global organizing Barrett, Frank J;Peterson, Rick Organization Development Journal; Summer 2000; 18, 2; ABI/INFORM Collection pg. 10
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
TheFourLogicsofChangeChapter8.docx
The Four Logics of Change Chapter 8. Chapter 8 in the TEXTBOOK: Morgan, G. (2006): Unfolding logics of change: Organizations as flux and transformation (pp. 241-287).
1. Autopoiesis and Self-Production
· Definition: From biology, autopoiesis refers to systems capable of reproducing and maintaining themselves.
· Organizational Application: Organizations are self-producing. They adapt and evolve by continuously reproducing their structure through internal communication and decision-making.
· Key Idea: Change comes from within — not just from external pressures.
2. Dialectical Change
· Definition: Rooted in Hegelian and Marxist thought, dialectics involves contradiction and conflict as drivers of change.
· Organizational Application: Change arises when opposing forces (e.g., management vs. labor) clash, leading to new synthesis.
· Key Idea: Conflict isn’t always bad — it can be a creative force.
3. Evolutionary Change
· Definition: Borrowed from Darwinian theory — change happens through variation, selection, and retention.
· Organizational Application: Organizations evolve as new ideas emerge, are tested, and either adopted or discarded.
· Key Idea: The environment “selects” which organizational forms survive, favoring adaptability.
4. Chaos and Complexity Theory
· Definition: Organizations behave like complex adaptive systems — unpredictable, non-linear, and sensitive to small changes (the "butterfly effect").
· Organizational Application: Leaders can’t fully control change; instead, they create conditions for emergent order.
· Key Idea: Organizations don’t always follow clear paths — they self-organize and adapt.
Implications for Practice
· Leaders must let go of control and understand that uncertainty and instability are normal.
· Organizational change is not always planned or linear; often, it emerges from interactions among people, ideas, and structures.
· Encouraging learning, adaptability, and openness is more effective than enforcing rigid rules.
Visual Metaphors
Morgan uses metaphors like:
· “Organization as a river” — always flowing and changing.
· “Organization as living system” — growing, learning, adapting.
Conclusion
Understanding organizations as systems in flux encourages more responsive, dynamic, and participatory approaches to leadership and change. It challenges traditional command-and-control views, replacing them with more organic, evolutionary, and interactive models of organizing.
Sample2_ReactionPaperSAMPOOLE.pdf
PROF’S NEW EXAMPLE OF A REACTION PAPER, Summer 2025 ** Note: ALL the details here are MADE UP and/or filled with Latin “Ipsum…” nonsense words.** Module 2 Reaction Paper: Chapter 4 of Sam Poole’s WAKE UP, F$$L: Stop Sleepwalking! Chapter Intro ● We lead organizations lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. n Pellentesque luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies
odio vel pellentesque facilisis. n Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae
neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. “Aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam.” (Poole 2025, page 107).
n Nunc porttitor elementum nisi, sit amet euismod ligula. n Sed vel urna quis arcu molestie tristique. Pellentesque at suscipit elit, ac fringilla lectus.
Donec in viverra nisl. Duis eget sem id erat laoreet accumsan et in justo. o Sed dignissim volutpat sapien. Example: Humor and art can be IRREVERENT. o Eget fermentum. Example: “Instead of saying I F-D UP MY LIFE, or I WAS SO STUPID,
you need to tell yourself I HAVE LEARNED A LOT SINCE THEN.” (Poole 2025, page 109).
The First Case Study o Sed sed commodo risus, eu pellentesque nunc. Cras imperdiet finibus varius. o Aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit
venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam o Lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc
lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum.
n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam
n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum.
n luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies o odio vel pellentesque facilisis. o Vestibulum ante ipsum (REMINDS ME of bullies in 7th grade! Punched them.)
Great Leaders are DEVELOPED not simply BORN
o While it’s okay – and AWESOME -- if you were “BORN THIS WAY, baby!” o When it comes to LEADERS we all start learning early, though some learn and practice
leadership earlier and more adeptly (yet even THEY are not “BORN LEADERS”) n Experience lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam.
Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum. n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus n Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus
scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. o dignissim quis nec tortor. o Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida.
n Et luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies n While being stabbed he exclaimed “ET TU, BRUTE!” Et odio vel pellentesque facilisis. n Vestibulum ante ipsum
Of Rascals and Rabble-Rousers
n Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum. n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus
o Example: Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum.
n purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. o dignissim quis nec tortor. o Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. o Proin ipseum.
n Successful leaders Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum.
n Pellentesque aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus n Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus
scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc. How Mermaids Can Riot and “Dispatch” the Unwary Seaman Vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam n Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae
How Is a Professor Never Late, but Arrives PRECISELY when they need to arrive? ● The neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc dignissim quis nec tortor et tutor. “Radicals must vel fermentum enim. Vivamus quis velit a velit volutpat volutpat. Morbi mollis a est nec molestie. Nunc in facilisis nibh. Duis eleifend purus et molestie egestas. Duis ac nibh sed purus sodales dapibus.” (Poole 2025, page 98). My Reaction / Reflections At first ante ipsum prima fascia. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia. Much like Bugs Bunny “took a wrong turn at Albuquerque” we find ourselves thinking we are “all right” until we are quite wrong, though it may give us a chance to become friends with the Tasmanian Devil. Then vestibulum ante ipsum prima fascia. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel -- et tu Brute. When I volunteer et pellente sque iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Morbi eget massa eget diam. Lacinia primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae neque dictum purus scelerisque efficitur sed vel nunc tortor. Duis ut --- just like my mother used to say when confronting racists. When I helped organize and lead aenean id fringilla lectus. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet purus vehicula, at ullamcorper velit venenatis. Luctus, felis quis sagittis accumsan, lorem enim vestibulum lorem, in ultricies eget massa eget diam lacinia dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum accumsan, dignissim quis nec tortor. Duis ut vehicula nibh, sit amet egestas diam. Nunc lobortis posuere gravida. Proin ipseum. This gives us some powerful practical examples AND inspiration, making me appreciate this course all the more.
OGL550_Module5_FluxTransformationLens.pdf
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
OGL 550
Organizations as Flux & Change Morgan Ch. 8
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Organizations as Flux & Transformation • Sees organizations not as a “thing” (object), but rather as an ongoing process
(e.g., organizing, communicating, relating)
• They cannot be understood in isolation, must be understood as part of the ebb and flow of the whole environment
• They have a capacity to self- organize, change, and self-renew, guided by their institutional identity (e.g., purpose, culture, relationships)
• Similar to ideas of Heraclitus, who saw the universe as a constant stage of flux, and embodying elements of both permanence and change.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Key Aspects of Flux & Transformation Lens • Order can naturally emerge out of chaos
• Organizations have a natural capacity to self-renew
• Organizational life is not governed by linear, reductionist rules of cause and effect
• Tensions are a source for emergence, e.g., innovation & new ways of doing things
• Formal organizational structures (teams, hierarchies) represent just one of many dimensions of organizational life
• Four logics of organizational change: • Autopoiesis • Chaos & complexity • Mutual causality • Dialectical change
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Autopoiesis • Logic: Organization is a self producing system
• Sees change originating in the environment
• Autopiesis systems are closed loops—energy recirculates
• Morgan refers an organization as a self referential system that strives to shape itself in its own image
• Maturana and Varela believe living systems to be characterized by: • Autonomy • circularity • Self-reference.
• These three features allow the system to self-create or self-renew.
• The aim of autopoietic systems is to produce themselves. Thus, their own organization and identity is paramount.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Autopoiesis • As organizations assert their identities, leaders can initiate transformation in the social
ecology to which they belong, e.g., creating conditions that will allow them to evolve along with their operating environment
• Organizations are always attempting to achieve ‘self-referential closure… enacting their environments as extensions of their own identity.’
• Many problems that organizations encounter are a result of their attempt to maintain a particular identity that’s not adaptive with their operating environment
• Explanations of organizational evolution, change, and development must include internal and external factors that create patterns over time
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Chaos & Complexity • View that complex, non-linear systems (e.g., organizations, the human body) are
characterized by multiple systems of interaction that are both ordered and chaotic.
• Chaos and complexity are parts of the same interconnected (evolving) pattern • Random disturbances can produce unpredictable events and relationships.
• Eventually, however, coherent order always emerges out of the randomness and surface chaos.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Chaos & Complexity
Complexity theory suggests that organizational change should be guided by:
1. Rethinking what we mean by ‘organization’ – especially in terms of hierarchy and control. Order does not have to be imposed, it can emerge organically if organizational structures and identity are adaptive.
2. Organizational learning, and how to lead and manage changing contexts
3. Learning how to use small changes to create large effects
4. Living with continuous transformation and emergent order as a natural state of affairs
5. Being open to new metaphors and mental models that can facilitate processes of self- organization.
Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents.
Mutual Causality Individuals are able to influence system dynamics through examining the interaction of
positive and negative feedback loops, and shaping these as necessary.
Change and causation is not one way. A can influence B at the same time B influences A.
Change does not unfold in a linear fashion but via circular patterns (loops, not lines).
Outcomes cannot be predicted in complex, nonlinear systems. For example, when you pour creamer into your coffee, it will never travel exactly the same path in the cup. However, we can understand underlying patterns and principles, e.g., fluid dynamics to describe likely trajectories. This enable us to develop plans based on understanding of these underlying principles.
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Dialectical Change • We cannot fully understand something without knowing its opposite, e.g., you cannot
truly know the meaning of ‘hot’ unless you understand what ‘cold’ means
Dialectical Principle #1 – • Whenever one person attempts to control another, a process of resistance undermines
that attempt
• The act of control itself sets up consequences that work against its effectiveness.
• It accounts for processes of self generated change, whereby phenomena change themselves as a result of tension with the opposite to create balance
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Dialectical Change Principle #2 • Negations of negations retain something from that form, leading to an evolution in
patterns of control • Explains how change may become developmental, in the sense that each negation
rejects a previous form, yet also retains something from that form
Principle #3 • Changes in quantity lead to changes in quality. • Accounts for processes of revolutionary change, whereby one form of social
organization gives way to another
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Strengths & Limitations of Flux /Change Metaphor Strengths
• Offers new insights into the nature and source of change
• This expanded understanding gives us more options for management and leadership (e.g., how to structure organizations for self-organizing teams)
• Offers to leaders and managers a powerful new perspective on their role in facilitating emergent change.
Limitations • Individuals that find comfort in controlling, organizing, and predicting system change
may struggle with the concept of "powerless power”
• The orderliness of change only becomes apparent with hindsight
- OGL 550��Organizations as Flux & Change��Morgan Ch. 8
- Organizations as Flux & Transformation
- Key Aspects of Flux & Transformation Lens
- Autopoiesis
- Autopoiesis
- Chaos & Complexity
- Chaos & Complexity
- Mutual Causality
- Dialectical Change
- Dialectical Change
- Strengths & Limitations of Flux /Change Metaphor
BarrettPeterson2000_AppreciativeInquiryCompetencies.pdf
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Appreciative learning cultures: Developing competencies for global organizing Barrett, Frank J;Peterson, Rick Organization Development Journal; Summer 2000; 18, 2; ABI/INFORM Collection pg. 10
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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
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