Organizing Around Intelligence

The following sections are included:

• Preface

• Contents

This chapter introduces the changes taking place in the world that are affecting human organizations as well as all individuals. In particular, the relevant properties of chaos and complexity theory are examined. The fact that the edge of chaos is an unexplored space embedded with new opportunities is highlighted. The observation indicates that a change in era is inevitable.

In this chapter, the emergence of a new paradigm is discussed. The new paradigm is the intelligence paradigm which stipulates that organizing around intelligence is the strategy to adopt in the knowledge-intensive environment. The human thinking system and its intelligence forms the focal center of the new theory. This paradigmatic shift in mindset and approach in leading and managing human organizations is significant to everyone.

The foundation of the intelligent organization theory is conceptualized in this chapter. The significance of intelligence and organizing around intelligence is discussed. The roles of intelligence, information and language in a human organization are examined. The necessity of nurturing an effective intelligence enhancer encompassing three entities, namely, intelligence, knowledge and theory in the human thinking system is proposed. The basic aspects of the deliberate strategy and emergent strategy are further examined. The above concepts are developed with respect to the fact that the human mind and human organizations are complex adaptive systems.

In this chapter, the general structure of an intelligent human organization is further discussed. Some characteristics of intelligent biological organisms and other complex adaptive systems are scrutinized and compared with human organizations as composite complex adaptive systems. It is crucial for intelligent human organizations to possess these characteristics for more effective competition in the new complex environment. In particular, the characteristics of collective intelligence, orgmindfulness and connectivity are examined.

This chapter focuses on the macroscopic perspective of the human thinking system. The procedure in which a human mind handles one or more physical symbol systems is discussed. The conceptual development encompasses the transformation of data, information, knowledge and wisdom, and how a language emerges. The boundary of a human thinking system, the energy and matter subsystems involved, and the necessity of artificial information systems, are included.

In this chapter, the evolution and co-evolution dynamics of ecosystems are examined and compared to the processes of human organizations more explicitly. A special focus on businesses as complex adaptive systems is included. The individual local self-centric and the global org-centric evolutionary dynamics of intelligent organizations and their interacting agents are investigated. The intelligent person model is introduced. How the intelligent person as a smarter evolver helps to bind a group of human thinking systems and elevate the collective intelligence of the organization through mindfulness, orgmindfulness and co-evolution is also conceived. (For better connectivity, some concepts discussed earlier are further reinforced in this chapter.)

This chapter introduces the roles and needs of artificial information systems networks in intelligent human organizations. These networks support the efficiency of the physical structure by increasing the speed of information processing and transmission, elevating the capacity of knowledge storage, and improving the quality of connectivity and organizational learning. The common intelligent artificial information systems are briefly discussed.

This chapter illustrates the interdependency of five significant properties of intelligent human organizations. The properties involved are collective intelligence, connectivity, culture, organizational learning and knowledge management. When structuring and managing intelligent organizations, these properties cannot be considered independently of one another. The 3C-OK framework is introduced to emphasize the fact that complex adaptive systems cannot be analyzed, built or managed using hierarchical decomposition or reductionism. In particular, organizational learning and knowledge management cannot take place effectively in any human organizations without incorporating the other three characteristics. In addition, in highly intelligent organizations, the five properties should function similarly as gluons that confine quarks in elementary particles. Finally, the significance of a mindful culture in intelligent organizations is further reinforced.

The chapter concludes the book by providing a more holistic and integrated view of the intelligent organization theory through recollecting the various perspectives involved. Organizing around intelligence is the strategy to adopt in the current environment. This paradigmatic shift in mindset is inevitable. Certain properties of complex adaptive systems have been exploited by businesses in the US and Europe. (Please refer to the bibliography.) However, the intelligent organization theory conceived and developed in this book contains some fresh concepts and ideas. One aspect is the interdependency of the five properties of intelligent organizations that is captured in the 3C-OK framework. Another is the intelligent person model. It may not be too extreme to note that a highly intelligent human organization is one whose interacting agents are mostly intelligent persons as defined in this theory.

The following sections are included:

• Appendix: Chaos/Complexity/Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Order and Chaos
  • What Is Chaos?
  • What Is Order?
  • Linearity and Nonlinearity
  • Sensitive to Initial Conditions
  • Interdependency
  • Far-from-Equilibrium States
  • Complex Adaptive Systems
  • States of Complex Adaptive Systems
  • Self-Organization
  • Bifurcation
  • Connectivity and Relationships
  • The Edge of Chaos

• Glossary

• Bibliography

• Index