Collective Self » FAQ

Will self-organizing work groups work in my environment and organization?

Posted by lori on April 13, 2010 No Responses »

Apr 132010

Will self-organizing work groups work in my environment and organization?

A friend recently said this to me: “One of my master’s classes this quarter briefly touched on the topic of self-organizing systems. We discussed how this might work in government employment, but I was skeptical. I argued that this sort of peer work was not feasible in government since government lacked the mechanisms for weeding out weak contributors or “free riders” in the system. Am I too cynical?” … [Read More]

Why do people resist change even when they know that what they are currently doing is hurting themselves, their team, or their organizations?

Posted by lori on April 5, 2010 2 Responses »

Apr 052010

From my perspective, people as individuals often fear change. I know I do. But I’ve learned that people working as self-organizing work groups in organizations fear change far less than they did when working as individuals. These groups appear to support people in being more flexible and adaptable, not to mention more creative and resilient, than they are on their own. This appears to be … [Read More]

Aren’t other forms of human organization faster at achieving change in organizations than self-organizing work groups?

Posted by lori on October 22, 2009 No Responses »

Oct 222009

If you asked the self-organizing work group members I studied—especially those who worked together the longest—I think most would say no. Group members experienced the ability to work faster as part of these groups than they could on their own and as part of other teams and groups they were part of at work. As for me, from my perspectiveas a researcher, I’m not entirely sure. … [Read More]