Sections of this Article (accessed via the links on the right)

Introduction

As with many other social phenomena, never has there been a period of history in which so much occurred under the term 'communication'. There has been little interest in attempting to see how the many different forms of communication are related and in determining the significance of the resulting pattern. In general it is clear that these processes are vital to the future evolution of world society, but it is far from clear how they relate to the pattern of societal institutions and to the increasing problems they attempt to resolve.

Introduction

The 1970s have seen the development of considerable enthusiasm for "network" building, whether among individuals or among groups and institutions. Much hope has been attached to this "alternative" vehicle for action following the failure of  "coordinating bodies" and "organizational systems" to respond to the perceived needs without imposing unwelcome forms of order. Recommendations to create a network are widely felt to be low-key, low-threat options in a variety of sensitive situations.

Sections of this Article (accessed via the links on the right)

• Tensed Networks: Balancing and focusing network dynamics in response to networking diseases (1978)
• Tensing Associative Networks to contain the Fragmentation and Erosion of Collective Memory (1980)

Previous approaches

Despite widespread exposure to organizations and organizational systems in various states of growth, health and decay, it would appear that there is no convenient checklist of the malfunctions to which organizations are subject. The matter is of course normally broached through the various kinds of management problem, and the measures required to "get an ailing organization on its feet again".

Despite its title and the nature of the contents, this list is published here for a serious purpose. Some such checklist should be in the hands of anyone anxious to see a project effectively implemented so that he or she can ensure that each administrative step made in response to the project proposal is not disguised sabotage. In fact ' in case of doubt' the burden of proof should be on those responding to the project proposal. NG0s will recognize many of these methods from their associations with IGOs...

Introduction

Sections of this Article (accessed via the links on the right)

• Assessing the Impact of International Associations (1978)
• Why Systems Fail and Problems Sprout Anew (1980)
• Wrecking an International Project: Notes from a saboteur's vade mecum (1972)
• Networking Diseases: speculations towards the development of cures and preventive measures (1978)

Approaches to change

People tend to move or drift through the social system into those groups and organizations which are engaged in the change processes most congenial to them. As individuals develop they may reach stages when a given change process and its organizational support seems unfruitful or unsuited to their desire for self-expression. The individual needs fresh fields to conquer, a new life-style or a new mode of work. The development of the individual implies life-style mobility and organizational and social change.

Introduction