On 30 Dec 1995, Rol Fessenden wrote:
> Therefore, the jury is still out regarding whether
> organizational 'flatness' is a driver of a learning organization. For me,
> it seems counter-intuitive. Flatness does not seem relevant.
I think the issue of "who controls the flow of information" is relevant.
In the hierarchichal organization, it seems that the secretary of a top
executive often had a lot of power - even though they didn't have a
prestigious title. The secretary controlled a lot of the information that
flowed _to_ the executive.
In "flat" organizations, it seems like "watch teams" and "auditors"
control the flow of information. They control the "feedback" of
information back to decision makers.
What is the remedy to a not so clear problem? Get teams/individuals to set
measurable goals that support a shared vision by developing the ability to
make distinctions between ideas on the logical level of _action_ and the
logical level of _values_. Then delegate monitoring of achivement of those
goals to teams _on the same level in the organization_. Get the teams to
manage themselves. Remove the "watch teams" and "auditors."
Andrew Moreno
-- Andrew Moreno <amoreno@broken.ranch.org>