Start your blogs!

Start your blogs!

Class blogging has already started, with B Strong commenting on classical management and systems theory. I like how B Strong noted that from a systems perspective, there is no one best way to organize, but some approaches may work better than others. Systems theory recognizes that the beginning point doesn't determine the end point--or what happens in the middle.

CGH commented on my metaphors and culture web lecture--thank you! Both are topics I've been interested in since my graduate work at U of Kentucky.

CurlySue blogged about Theory Y and distributed intelligence. I'm really intrigued by the latter. The internet has greatly increased the ability of organizations to coordinate the distribution of organizational intelligence throughout the system.

Kat Finn and Kaeli focused on human relations, which had a tremendous impact on how we think about organizations and organizational life. Human relations moves us from viewing organizations (and people) as machines to viewing organizations as organisms. Human relations essentially put the "people" back in organizing. Kat Finn also provides a good example of applying feedback to taking quizzes in the class.

San Jose Org Commer provided a good link between open systems and the notion of a global village. I hadn't heard of virtual surgery, but I do know that the internet has had a tremendous impact on telemedicine.

In contrast to CurlySue, Shona discussed Theory X and how it doesn't seem like a very useful way to think about employees. Shona also made a good point about the importance of instructors paying attention to feedback from students (and I'll be interested in what students in this class have to say about my new approach).

Yu talked about both Theory X and Y and applied the concepts to a manufacturing company. I wonder if employee attitudes would be different at a another type of company or one where work is structured in more person-friendly ways.

That's it for today. I want to post this before the electricity goes out again. Thanks to everyone who started blogging early in the week!

--Prof. Cyborg