seems important to distinguish between open space as the "cause" of disequilibrium and open space technology as one way of inviting people in the system to deal with it?
-- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates 312-280-7838 (mobile) http://MichaelHerman.com http://ManorNeighbors.com http://OpenSpaceWorld.org On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 12:45 PM, John Watkins <[email protected]> wrote: > Great questions, Michael! > > I think when I am feeling optimistic (most of the time) I see OST as > creating one of those "far from equilibrium states" that Prigogine and > Stengers talk about as enabling new orders to emerge; however, in less > sanguine times, I could also imagine OST as just a "subsystem fluctuation" > enabling larger system stability. But I think that most of our larger > systems these days are exhibiting something like either disequilibrium or > bifurcation points, so maybe OST is able to restructure the system > architecture so fundamentally that a new order could emerge. Weick talks > about that restructuring of the system architecture in order to change the > "flows" of energy in the system. I think Bateson referred to one kind of > larger system disequilibrium as an "uptight system," where at least one of > the "variables" is "pinned" at its upper or lower limits of its range of > flexibility, resulting in that rigidity rippling through the whole system. > Rigid systems change more easily, but not usually in a very pretty way: > chaotic bursts, turbulence, tumbling into chaos, new orders emerging > spontaneously... > > John > > On Sep 19, 2011, at 10:24 AM, Michael Herman wrote: > > yes, thanks, john. and... where does os practice drop into either of > these? in bateson terms, it seems open space meetings would be an > alternative state that organizations are unconsciously working to prevent? > how does something like working in an open space way become part of the > equilbrium state that is then automatically preserved by continually > returning from anything that's alternative to that way of being in > organization? in lemke terms, there seems a place for operating in open > space, but will it always require what sounds like a crisis, choice-point to > be helpful? how does working in an open space way become normal in systems > that are storied in this way? m > > > > -- > > Michael Herman > Michael Herman Associates > 312-280-7838 (mobile) > > http://MichaelHerman.com > http://ManorNeighbors.com > http://OpenSpaceWorld.org > > > > > > On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 12:06 PM, John Watkins <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Michael, >> >> I think Gregory Bateson addressed the question of equilibrium most >> eloquently a long time ago in his great book, Steps to an Ecology of Mind! >> And I've seen some great analysis of it in Jay Lemke's book, Textual >> Politics. Let's see if I can find the relevant quotes... >> >> Bateson: Systems “…maintain a dynamic equilibrium or steady state… >> [through] maximiz[ing] the chances against the maximization of any single >> simple variable” (124). “The steady state is maintained by continual >> nonprogressive change” (125). What Bateson noticed was that allowable >> levels of fluctuations in some subset of a larger system were used to create >> relative stability in the larger system, but that those fluctuations never >> led to fundamental shifts in the architecture of the system, as they >> continually shifted out of and then returned to a kind of dynamic >> equilibrium. It is a “corrective action… brought about by [the >> awareness of] difference” (Bateson, 1972:381). A social system “…does >> not elect the steady state; it prevents itself from staying in any >> alternative state” (381). Or, “[T]he constancy and survival of some >> larger system is maintained by changes in the constituent subsystem” >> (Bateson, 1972:339). >> >> Lemke calls that a “meta-stable non-equilibrium” (Lemke, 1995:11). He >> goes on to argue that as social systems develop, they become more ordered >> and differentiated, increasingly complex, and as such, demonstrate >> irreversibility. At some point, in various layers of their hierarchy >> (hierarchy in systems theory is not the same as hierarchy of authority or >> knowledge, e.g., bureaucracy; it is a concept of scale, in scope, time, or >> space), open, complex systems begin to demonstrate non-symmetry, or the >> possibility of bifurcation (branching, “choice” points), due to the >> amplified, interacting oscillations of various sub-systems. Bifurcation >> in larger systems can enable larger out-of-equilibrium fluctuations in, or >> unpredictable interactions between, sub-systems to result in evolutionary, >> or adaptive, change in the larger system... >> >> Does this help? >> >> John >> >> >> >> On Sep 19, 2011, at 9:36 AM, Michael Herman wrote: >> >> i want to echo florian's appreciation for your story, john, thank you. >> and i have a question about "equilibrium." >> >> in financial markets, gene fama won a nobel prize for his theory of >> "efficient" markets, suggesting that markets always reflected all current >> information, immediately returning to "equilbrium" after every news release, >> so that above-normal returns were not possible. many now question or >> dismiss this. >> >> so, in a world that is always moving, what does the theory you described >> so nicely have to say about equilibrium? does it then lead into questions >> about locality and "self" ...the department might be in equilibrium but the >> company is falling apart, or vice versa... so the boundaries of the "self" >> that is being invited to organize or re-organize really matter. >> >> mostly i'm just wondering if you can say more to map the open systems, >> thermodynamics, and esp equilibrium story to what we have all seen happening >> in organizations and open spaces. is "equilibrium" the same as "normal?" >> >> m >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Michael Herman >> Michael Herman Associates >> 312-280-7838 (mobile) >> >> http://MichaelHerman.com >> http://ManorNeighbors.com >> http://OpenSpaceWorld.org >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > >
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