In authoritarian systems, dissidents are considered to be difficult or undesirable. But this does not mean that they are dysfunctional. And it is unclear which function people, who question the status quo, breach informal rules and laws, disturb or impede the habitual processes, have in organisations. Are such people required for organisational change? To begin …
Sir Karl R. Popper, the British Philosopher of Science, formed the sentence: “We are mistaken in advance!” Quality, meta-theoretically, cannot be understood as perfection, basically not as optimisation either, but rather as an action choice, which finds, as appropriate, a suitable answer to the matter concerned. When closing security gaps in software, one also created …
How do organisations ensure sustainability? What seems self-evident (people, actions, merchandise, buildings, products, structures, locations and even names and owners change and yet the organisation maintains its identity), it is not really so self-evident. From the viewpoint of system-theoretical considerations, continuity arises through the repetition of decisions about particularly important guiding distinctions. So that these …
N.Luhmann draws attention to one important aspect. In contrast to the main stream of organisational theory, he does not see something undesirable in career orientation, which stands in the way of the purpose and goal of the entire organisation. In pursuit of a career he sees the expression of flexibility in people, who, in this …
Controlling decisions in the field of social complexity have a function which must not be underestimated. They serve to coordinate the participants, as people with the same function, or with tasks which build upon each other, must work in harmony. This cannot happen by chance or according to mood, but requires focused consideration. Sometimes control …
Wherever organisations operate in a controlling manner, a situation arises which stimulates communication. Every consultation, each budget and finance planning, all meetings about the actual control numbers and their interrelationship, annual targets, and target accomplishment discussions, are forms of communication and are often coupled with decisions. By means of the control mechanism structures, and their …
In organisations, the withdrawal of trust is a massive intervention, regardless of whether it affects individual workers, teams, departments, areas, projects, regions or functions. If, for example, the research and development in an organisation has squandered trust (e.g. through repeated poor products), this influences many guiding processes. Generally, it will cause a change of personnel, …
The betrayal of trust is a significant event and often has considerable and not easily repairable consequences inside and outside of organisations. Broken trust results in the relationship, team or organisation immediately having to come to terms with control, mistrust, fear of repetition and, thus, an unwillingness to take risks. A betrayal of trust occurs …
Trust is a very asymmetrical affair. Though it can sometimes take a long time to acquire it, it can be destroyed with in one fell swoop! This is what makes the interaction with trust so challenging. Trust can and must be earned. But how? It arises through the handling of expectations. At the level of …
Can you justify trust? Unfortunately not. Whatever arguments, experience and evidence one has – in the end none of this may be worth anything. Thirty years of loyalty and yet…! Those who trust, risk being disappointed. Luhmann says that you can recognise whether you have trusted by whether it would be possible for you to …