Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Wheatley, M. J. (1999). Chapter 6: The creative energy of the
universe--information. In _Leadership and the new science: Discovering
order in a chaotic world_, 2nd ed. (p. 93-112). San Francisco CA:
Berrett-Koehler.
Wheatley shows information as dynamic and central to life; this is
very different from the traditional view of information as "thing".
Instead of being thing, information is a process which is used to
organize systems on the fly. This view points to new directions for
organizational management. Information theory has cast information as
a thing which is transmitted. With this view the goal of an information
processor is to maintain and control transmission. Wheatley says, "that
has gotten us into trouble." Information, instead, is an integral part of
the formation of life. Therefore, in order for systems to remain alive
information must be generated and let to flow. This has implications
in organizations: information should be viewed as the nourishment
of an organization--"Everybody needs information to do their work";
organizations should be resilient in their responses to information;
organizations should be prepared to accept and adapt to ambiguity and step
back to see systems as a whole; organizations should encourage open access
to information to foster sharing and collaboration. Organizations which
are able to implement these strategies will more effectively adapt to
changing environments. -cjd
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