Abstract

The problem of increasing societal variety is described.

A suggestion is made that social networks might serve as decentralized regulators of this variety. Examples of social networks serVing in this capacity are given.

Sections of this Article (accessed via the links on the right)

• Inter-organization networking (by David Horton Smith)
• On facilitating networks for social change (by Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz)
• Groups and networks (by Yona Friedman)
• Human organisations

with contributions from A.J.N. Judge

Both social science literature and practical experience show that networking benefits the organizations themselves and advances their common goals. This paper will be dealing with Inter-Organizational Networks (know as IONs), their functioning and operations and the special characteristics of this style of cooperation (1).

Principles essential to widespread response to world crises. Prepared for the planning meeting of the Planetary Initiative for the World We Choose (Stony Point. January 1981)

Introduction

When a decision is made to pursue a group of concerns, there is a basic problem of ensuring that they are appropriately interrelated and do not simply constitute a fragmented collection of initiatives. This paper examines a new approach to the systematic recognition of the interrelationships necessary to the emergence of a viable configuration of concerns at a new level of significance.

Introduction

Organizations have traditionally been based on some more or less explicit notion of hierarchy. This paper is not concerned with varieties of alternative organization which may be obtained by tinkering with the hierarchical formula and introducing participative forms of decision-making, worker management, etc. The intention is to look beyond hierarchy (1). A recently much-favoured approach is that of networks and 'networking' which has now been quite extensively described and practised (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) as a contrast to hierarchical activity.