CHALLENGING TIMES DEMAND CHALLENGING INITIATIVES

One thing is certain the way we organise ourselves will undergo massive change if we are not to repeat the kind of systemic failure in viability-functions that has brought down the world economy. Certainly we need to ensure that the individual is free to originate and innovate but we must protect also against potential failure of any function that enables and ensures the continued viability of the community: from a governmental standpoint - the nation-state. But if we are to avoid the mistakes of the past we need to know where we are going and how to get there. Bureaucracy, the system we choose to use, does neither. But we cannot move overnight from bureaucracy to systocracy (or any alternative), we need tools:

• a theory of organisation  that everyone can understand;

• a methodology to manage the transition and effect change on the way;

• and the means to enable people to explore the alternative in their own way in their own time without outside pressures.

That is the purpose of an e-systemic distance learning programme, The Value Organisation, introduced to enable organisations to arrive at conclusions on bureaucracy and its alternative and to enable and ensure the delivery of the purpose of their organisation their way by the most effective means.

Why Systemic Learning

The concept of systemic order emerged many years ago from a systemic distance learning project the writer set up to find an answer to Britain's slow rate of productivity improvement. Productivity, in its output-per-unit-of-input sense, was interpreted as a slow rate of organisation learning: the process by which an organisation as an organic entity 'learns' to deliver its purpose more effectively. The project showed that an organisation cannot respond and adapt to change as a whole; it 'learns' systemically, system by system: when intrinsic systems of interactive resource inputs, 'learning systems', combine to improve how they secure their valid functional roles within the whole. An improvement in a valid functional role improves the whole. Systemic learning is a methodology to facilitate this continuous learning process within an overall systocratic strategy.

Bureaucracy fails to reflect the primacy of the functions that enable and ensure the viability of the organisation or nation-state. Worst still it actively fragments and frustrates the systemic interaction of knowledge resources that is crucial to the effectiveness with which an organisation delivers its purpose and responds and adapts to change. Bureaucracy fosters a negative mindset, an ethos and culture that is so malign and insidious that most of us do not know what the word bureaucracy means or even of its existence. The term bureaucracy was used a hundred years ago by the sociologist Max Weber simply to describe what he saw: a hierarchy of ‘managers’ deciding who did what, when and how. Bureaucracy simply means ‘rule by office holder’. Unfortunately Weber's 'observation' became a principle; from that time man-the-manager and his opinions and interests have been at the centre of our organisation rather than the functions that enable and ensure it delivers its purpose by the most effective means.

The Alternative

The systemic approach simply recognises what is intrinsic, the law of the situation. It provides us with the first complete theory of human organisation that can be universally understood, discussed, harnessed and arrived at empirically. Systemic order is founded on five constants:

• the purpose of the organisation, including that of the nation-state;

• the functions that enable and ensure the delivery of its purpose;

• the structure of functional roles which actually effect delivery;

• the factors which impact the delivery method;

• the learning system of interactive resource inputs which combine to resolve the equation of impact factors to arrive at the most effective delivery method.

Systocracy, rule by systemic order, is based on a theory of organisation that is fundamental, that everyone can understand, discuss and agree.

The Transition

The problem is getting from where we are to where organisational truth, the law of the situation, takes us. We cannot move overnight from bureaucracy to systocracy, rule by systemic order; the ethos and culture of bureaucracy are too entrenched. But we can move overnight into systemic learning mode: the methodology and tools are already available. After all systemic order is intrinsic, the only means by which organisations can respond and adapt to change. We can use the systemic order immediately to improve organisation value incrementally: hence systemic learning methodology. Furthermore progressing incrementally towards an organic form of management allows whatever the final form systemic order takes to emerge empirically.

An audiovisual systemic distance learning programme, The Value Organisation, is now available to enable an organisation to manage the transition unaided by improving organisation value system by system while evaluating the systemic approach.

The Value Organisation distance learning programme is a complete departure from traditional organisation development methods and materials in every respect. It is designed by the originator of systemic learning to:

• improve the value, the effectiveness of an organisation with each project;

• use distance learning to put the development process into the hands of those planning, organising and taking part in value projects;

• facilitate the intrinsic organisation change (learning) process;

• provide an organisation theory which can be understood by everyone to replace traditional 'no theory' bureaucracy;

• exploit 'learning by doing';

• facilitate 'learning systems' of those directly involved in how best to identify and deliver their intrinsic functional roles;

• eliminate the myth that controlling where we are going and empowering those involved in deciding how best to get there are incompatible;

• provide a basis for controlled knowledge management;

• make the most of education and training budgets;

• enable organisations to experiment with systemic learning without changing organisation structures until they are ready to do so.

Systemic learning provides the means to combine management control of purpose and objectives while empowering those involved to recommend how best to get there. It liberates the full innovative potential of an organisation.

Systemic learning as a methodology simply accepts that all organisations are systemic in form: they combine interactive knowledge resources into systems to secure the functional roles through which they deliver their part of the purpose of the organisation. They also improve systemically: system by system to deliver functional roles more effectively.

Systemic learning introduces 'learning systems theory of organisation' which holds that for every delivery functional role there is a learning system of interactive knowledge resources uniquely equipped to decide how to deliver its role by the most effective means.

Systemic distance learning puts the change process entirely in the hands of those directly involved except for the help that is provided at a distance for in-house learning facilitators.

Systemic learning projects exploit fully 'learning by doing', using the local knowledge resources of experienced people interacting in 'learning systems' to identify and resolve issues of common concern.

Each value project is expected to result in an incremental improvement in the effectiveness of an organisation to deliver its purpose or at the very least in an improved understanding of how organisations function and respond and adapt organically to change .

Distance e-learning methods allied to in-house value improvement projects makes the most of training and development budgets.

The learning system is a basic unit of knowledge management; the systemic learning environment is ideal for assisting the planning and control of knowledge management policy and for evaluating existing levels of knowledge and the personal attributes of those taking part in live organisation change processes.

Systemic order simply recognises how an organisation delivers its purpose. Systemic learning simple recognises how it responds and adapt to change. To exploit the concept formally in pilot development projects and to test the benefits of systemic learning there is no need to re-jig the existing management structure. Like gravity systemic learning is intrinsic.

Within any organisation there is an economy of resource interaction which will secure the purpose of the body to optimum value. The systemic distance learning programme is aimed at securing this economy of purpose system by system. Distance learning methods are used to exploit the intrinsic and proven systemic learning processes of organisations. Those directly involved know their business best and can conduct pilot projects at minimum cost without outside pressure and contrived solutions.

THE VALUE ORGANISATION: A systemic distance learning programme

This multimedia programme is designed to facilitate continuous value improvement projects in both market and public sector organisations. The self-generated change approach enables organisations to explore organisation and management structures and to facilitate productive change projects without outside pressures or contrived solutions.

The programme exploits existing universally available software, can be made available at minimal cost by CD (with users' producing manuals as required in-house) or over the internet.

The Programme comprises four elements:

• a control manual for management and learning facilitator;

• a learning-group manual for those taking part in value improvement projects;

• six computer-based audiovisual presentations;

• a learning facilitator nominated from within the user organisation.

The Implications

The implications of the programme are far-reaching. In addressing organisation value the programme provides an introduction to the systemic approach to organisation structure, management and control to challenge existing precepts:

• a systemic interpretation of organisation, explicit to and debatable by everyone: to replace the increasingly arcane bureaucracy;

• a management structure based on the purpose of an organisation and the hierarchy of functions which enable and ensure its delivery: to replace empirically the existing manager-centred hierarchy;

• an e-friendly systemic learning methodology to facilitate effective organisation change: to make productivity and value improvement continuous and routine;

• a means to exploit the symbiosis that exists between the control of policy and the empowerment of those best equipped to recommend how to deliver it: to encourage individuality and to liberate the vast source of latent knowledge, innovative skills and commitment that exist within all organisations;

• and the effective assessment, measurement and use of knowledge: to maximise latent potential.

The Organisation

The programme introduces systocracy (rule by purpose, enabling function and knolwedge resource interaction) as an alternative to the arcane and discredited bureaucracy (rule by office holder). Systocracy introduces an explicit understanding of organisation based on the functions that enable an organisation to deliver the purpose and objectives of its public or market sector parent enterprise. Systocracy applies equally to a government as the manager of the functions that enable and ensure the viability of a community, the nation-state. (At this stage the term systocracy is provisional: the systocratic structure is an acceptance of the intrinsic: the law of the situation, yet to be established empirically.)

The systemic approach is not new; the principle of 'learning systems' was established and validated some years ago through a practical project using multimedia systemic distance learning methods to facilitate self-generated productivity improvement. The systemic concept specifically separates purpose, the policy of an enterprise, from the means of delivery, the organisation. The systemic approach deals only with the organisation: the management and control of interactive resources in context of a purpose.

Organisation Structure, Management and Control

The role of the manager is to lead. Clearly leadership must facilitate, liberate and maximise the product of resource knowledge and interaction in context of delivering the purpose of an organisation. The systocratic structure holds that correctly identified an organisation is 'organic' in form: combines interactive knowledge resource inputs in an order intrinsic to the purpose it exists to deliver. If an organisation is to perform organically, and in particular to respond and adapt spontaneously to change stimuli, the management hierarchy must correspond to the functional hierarchy through which its resources combine and interact in systems to enable the delivery of its purpose.

Organisation Change

The systemic approach was validated by a practical project to improve productivity. Productivity, in its output-per-unit-of-input sense, was interpreted as organisation learning: an organisation 'learning' to be more effective at delivering its purpose.

Systocratic management provides for the controlled management of organisation change. The Value Organisation programme:

• introduces the concept of systemic order, systemic learning and 'learning systems' based on the interaction of knowledge resources in delivery functions in context of a purpose;

• introduces an organisation change methodology based on systemic learning;

• enables the effective use of e-communications to promote and facilitate at a distance the processes of organisation change;

• provides a model for a central source of systemic distance learning programmes based on a common organisation learning methodology;

• enables by e-communications the widespread diffusion of methods, knowledge and information;

• puts controlled change directly into the hands of those actually involved.

Devolvement and Empowerment

The systocratic approach shows that an organisation can respond and adapt to change only system-by-system. An improvement in a system that delivers a valid functional role improves the whole: improvement in the macro depends on incremental improvements in the micro. The extent of a change will depend on the position of the subject functional role in the functional hierarchy. The systemic approach accepts the inevitability of micro-management but emphasises policy, what is to be secured, rather what must be done (targets) or how it is done (method). How a function is secured and its system embedded is left to the ingenuity, the inventiveness of those directly involved.

Systocracy:

• involves and empowers the whole organisation;

• ensures that organisation change projects are directed and steered in context of organisation purpose and objectives;

• involves and empowers learning systems to recommend how the purpose of enabling functions and functional roles are best delivered;

• liberates creativity and innovation throughout the organisation;

• commits the organisation to the change process.

Knowledge Management

The learning systems approach to the control of change introduces the practical means to control key aspects of knowledge management. The valid enabling function and its sub-structure of individual functional roles comprise the basic units of organisational knowledge management. The learning system and the learning event is where tacit and collected knowledge is applied and questioned and new knowledge is evaluated and embedded.

The empowered learning system:

• questions tacit knowledge in respect of why things are done the way they are;

• liberates latent information, knowledge and skills;

• reveals the current levels of knowledge and skills relevant to particular resource inputs of a valid functional role;

• identifies the individuals who hold the relevant knowledge and skills;

• reveals shortfalls in the information, knowledge and skills bases of individual knowledge resource inputs;

• identifies the individuals whose knowledge and skills need to be upgraded;

• identifies additional knowledge needs;

• evaluates new knowledge for its relevance to current needs;

• translates new knowledge into applicable knowledge;

• embeds new and upgraded knowledge and skills immediately into revised processes, practices and procedures;

• tests the leadership attributes and calibre of individuals driving improvement projects;

• links education and training directly to the current organisational development strategy.

Systemic Learning Methodology

Systemic Learning Methodology involves an interpretation of organisation structure and change (learning) based on what is referred to as systemic order: the intrinsic order in which the knowledge resources of an organisation combine and interact to secure the functions which enable an organisation to deliver its purpose. The Value Organisation programme introduces the function and culture of continuous organisation learning based on the only constants: the interaction of resources in context of a purpose. It also introduces the learning facilitator whose role is to facilitate, on behalf of the chief executive, continuous improvement in the capacity of an organisation to deliver what it exists to deliver by the most effective means. It is expected that the learning facilitator will be supplied with e-communications change programmes covering all aspect of organisation processes based on a common systemic learning methodology.

The Value Organisation

Value analysis is perhaps the most important but sorely neglected management technique. It emerged from WW2 when shortages of materials, skills and time caused people to question current materials, means and methods. Alternatives were tried and, in some cases, found to be as good as and sometimes better than the original they replaced. Larry Miles formalised a value analysis job plan.

Value is always judged against function. The value organisation is one that secures the functions that enable it to deliver its purpose by the most effective means. Purpose and enabling functions must be decided, agreed and accepted by those directly involved; the concept of value must become intrinsic to the ethos and culture.

The related website, www.organisationvalue.co.uk, provides further information.

Copyright © 2009 Kevin J. Nixon
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without prior permission.

Information: info@systemic-learning.com