Glen writes: "In the context of this discussion, it strikes me that it might be possible to build a company that is better at bureaucracy than individual humans."
If you accept the assumption that the other stuff (e.g. bureaucracy) mostly serves the organization's stated mission, then ok. Another hypothesis is that it doesn't, necessarily, and that these behaviors are a way for sub-organizations to emerge, and this becomes an end in itself. The sub-organizations are convenient alternative venues for individuals to become influential or at least protected, i.e. `alternative' relative to the mission. They'd be the ones saying "Safety is job #1" like your example. Now this could all lead to a sweet spot environment, or it could be more like a cage where cross-disciplinary communication is squelched because it tends to undermine the various local power hierarchies. Marcus ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
