Unorganisation
Encyclopedia
Unorganisation is an approach to organisational structure and design that consciously removes or avoids layers of management
and bureaucracy
, eschews job titles, and instead attempts to operate with the minimum of formal structure so as to become as flexible and effective as possible.
Unorganisation is not the same as disorganisation (a chaotic environment in which little can be easily or quickly achieved); neither is it the same as being disorganised, a term usually applied to industries with non-unionised labour
(or just being personally untogether).
, for example), the term itself was apparently coined by Simon Buckingham
, who wrote extensively about unorganisation on his web site www.unorg.com (now defunct) from 1996 through to 2004. The ubiquity of distributed computer network
s, mobile communications technologies and team based project
approaches to work have brought many of the ideas that he wrote about to fruition, to the extent that they now seem passé and dated. His term for what has now become common never really caught on, yet it remains an excellent catch-all for those who reject large corporate bureaucracy
as a necessity (evil or not), and instead see a future of autonomous individuals contributing their skills and effort to a shifting set of projects according to their interests and/or current requirement for remuneration.
Buckingham’s writing had a particularly revolutionary flavour, looking forward to a ‘globally unorganised world of freedom, diversity and instability’, in contrast to the certainty and convention that he saw as characterising the orderly organised world. He looked forward to the rise of ‘technological capitalism’, as the next step away from communism
, socialism
and capitalism
.
level, disorganisation requires ‘downstructuring’ (removing structure
), as distinct from restructuring
(changing structure) or downsizing (removing people
). Downstructuring is the practice of eliminating systems and procedures, such as job titles and paper-based administrative processes, so as to make what remains flexible and dynamic.
At the individual level, Buckingham suggested that people should stop seeing themselves as ‘interchangeable units of economic production’, and instead seek to realise their own growth potential by developing multiple ‘lifestreams’ – alternative areas of expertise that develop from interests and hobbies into a diverse set of skills and experiences that can be contributed to projects and teams as an alternative means of earning a living.
Buckingham reckoned that three things drive intentional unorganisation:
Buckingham anticipated that these trends would lead to “technological capitalism realising in practice the equality of opportunity amongst individuals that was always the theoretical goal of communism whilst anchoring the achievement of such equality firmly within an economic system of very free markets”. This has clearly yet (as of 2006) to be achieved for the majority of the world’s people.
and information society
are also manifestations of unorganisation.
Similarly, unorganisation can be observed as an obvious feature of the open source
approach to software development and other kinds of collaborative development. Wikipedia
itself could be seen as a deliberately unorganised entity.
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
and bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, eschews job titles, and instead attempts to operate with the minimum of formal structure so as to become as flexible and effective as possible.
Unorganisation is not the same as disorganisation (a chaotic environment in which little can be easily or quickly achieved); neither is it the same as being disorganised, a term usually applied to industries with non-unionised labour
Manual labour
Manual labour , manual or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals...
(or just being personally untogether).
Origin
Whilst the idea of unorganisation has been a common theme among management theorists (see Tom PetersTom Peters
Thomas J. "Tom" Peters is an American writer on business management practices, best-known for In Search of Excellence .-Life and career:Peters was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
, for example), the term itself was apparently coined by Simon Buckingham
Simon Buckingham
Simon David Buckingham. Late 20th century English information society theorist. The originator of the term unorganisation.- Biography :Simon Buckingham created and published in 1996 the unorganisation philosophy. Subsequently, Simon became a serial entrepreneur, founding his first start up in 1999...
, who wrote extensively about unorganisation on his web site www.unorg.com (now defunct) from 1996 through to 2004. The ubiquity of distributed computer network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
s, mobile communications technologies and team based project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
approaches to work have brought many of the ideas that he wrote about to fruition, to the extent that they now seem passé and dated. His term for what has now become common never really caught on, yet it remains an excellent catch-all for those who reject large corporate bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
as a necessity (evil or not), and instead see a future of autonomous individuals contributing their skills and effort to a shifting set of projects according to their interests and/or current requirement for remuneration.
Buckingham’s writing had a particularly revolutionary flavour, looking forward to a ‘globally unorganised world of freedom, diversity and instability’, in contrast to the certainty and convention that he saw as characterising the orderly organised world. He looked forward to the rise of ‘technological capitalism’, as the next step away from communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
.
Implications
At the companyCompany
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
level, disorganisation requires ‘downstructuring’ (removing structure
Structure
Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...
), as distinct from restructuring
Restructuring
Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs...
(changing structure) or downsizing (removing people
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
). Downstructuring is the practice of eliminating systems and procedures, such as job titles and paper-based administrative processes, so as to make what remains flexible and dynamic.
At the individual level, Buckingham suggested that people should stop seeing themselves as ‘interchangeable units of economic production’, and instead seek to realise their own growth potential by developing multiple ‘lifestreams’ – alternative areas of expertise that develop from interests and hobbies into a diverse set of skills and experiences that can be contributed to projects and teams as an alternative means of earning a living.
Buckingham reckoned that three things drive intentional unorganisation:
- Individual dissatisfaction with impersonal corporate hierarchies, which should be replaced by ‘voluntary and impermanent collaborations between independent individuals’. This is associated with the idea that talent should determine future wealth, not current wealth and access to economic opportunities limited just to those who have already benefited from other opportunities
- Increasing ability of individuals to act independently using telecommunications technologies to work, collaborate and access both opportunities and informationInformationInformation in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
. This trend has accelerated as technology costs have fallen whilst their power has increased
- OutsourcingOutsourcingOutsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
of many parts of the value chain associated with the production and distribution of a product or service, as a means of cutting costs, building flexibility, and ensuring competitiveness
Buckingham anticipated that these trends would lead to “technological capitalism realising in practice the equality of opportunity amongst individuals that was always the theoretical goal of communism whilst anchoring the achievement of such equality firmly within an economic system of very free markets”. This has clearly yet (as of 2006) to be achieved for the majority of the world’s people.
Contemporary manifestations
Unorganisation has become mainstream in the early 21st century as a consequence of globalisation, which has been both a driver and a result of the use of the internet and associated technologies to distribute related business activities around the planet to their lowest cost / highest value locations. Related developments include the efforts to liberalise trade and reduce barriers to the flow of goods, people and information. The rise of the knowledge economyKnowledge economy
The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies to...
and information society
Information society
The aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,...
are also manifestations of unorganisation.
Similarly, unorganisation can be observed as an obvious feature of the open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
approach to software development and other kinds of collaborative development. Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
itself could be seen as a deliberately unorganised entity.