Replying to [Maturana - Epistimology LO12984] and [Types of change
LO12987] --
The enclosed excerpts are from Connie Gersick's paradigm of punctuated
equilibrium - a process encompassing both transformational change and
transitional change. She talks of these changes in terms of incremental
change and radical (revolutionary) change.
A compilation of transformational and transitional change related online
articles, abstracts, and links is also accessible from the Management
section of 'A Business Researcher's Interests':
http://www.brint.com/interest.html
Sections on Reengineering, Knowledge Management, Complex Systems and
Virtual Corporations focus particularly on transformational and
transitional types of change at organizational, group and individual
levels.
---Excerpts from 'Punctuated Equilibrium':---
Punctuated equilibrium is defined as "an alteration between long periods
when stable infrastructures permit only incremental adaptations, and brief
periods of revolutionary upheavel."
"Systems evolve through the alternation of periods of equilibrium, in
which persistent underlying structures permit only incremental change, and
periods of revolution, in which these underlying structures are
fundamentally altered." (p. 13)
"Systems do not evolve through a gradual blending from one state to the
next. Systems' histories are unique. They do not necessarily evolve from
lower to higher states, through universal hierarchies of stages, or toward
pre-set ends." (p. 14)
"Deep structure is a network of fundamental, interdependent "choices" of
the basic configuration into which a system's units are organized, and the
activities that maintain both this configuration and the system's resource
exchange with the environment." (p. 15)
"During equilibrium periods, systems maintain and carry out the choices of
their deep structure. Systems make adjustments that preserve the deep
structure against internal and external perturbations, and move
incrementally along paths built into the deep structure." (p. 17)
"Revolutions are relatively brief periods when system's deep structure
comes apart, leaving it in disarray until the period ends, with the
"choices" around which a new deep structure forms. Revolutionary
outcomes...are not predictable..." (p. 20)
---Excerpts over----
Sincerely,
Yogesh Malhotra
Yogesh Malhotra E-mail: host@brint.com
Founder & Principal, @BRINT Research Initiative
URLs: http://www.brint.com http://www.brint.com/interest.html
@BRINT: On Business, Management & Information Technology
--Yogesh Malhotra <malhotra@vms.cis.pitt.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>