ROLE OF SYMBIOTIC COMMITMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS: FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF SYSTEMS THINKING AND SELF ORGANIZING

Abstract

With the arguments that; present organizations should know their capability infrastructures, and are falling deep into complexities due to the lack of means in recognizing of such structures, this study is an attempt to show how the commitment approach to the organization represent a systemic way of recognizing their capability infrastructures. The commitment approach to the organization is studied here in the process of symbiotic commitment (SC) that involves its (SC) origins, growth and sustenance. Showing the organization as a living system that involved in a constant struggle of achieving an attractor space/sustainable performance (AS/SOP), the process of SC is explained in the gap between the present position (PP) and the attractor space of the system. The formation of the capability infrastructure is explained in the gap through vertical and horizontal shifts of the system as a whole. The model of the symbiotic commitment is explained through the activities of reinforcing and balancing loops that link together Q (commitment), SL (strategic level), OL (operational level), PP, AS/SOP, TCS (total commitment slower), PSL(pressure to settle for lower), G (gap) and the DL (delay) of the system. This linking eventually explicates the topics together such as; capability infrastructure of organization, dynamism of organization as a living system, dynamic view of the concept of commitment, learning, attitudinal and behavioral changes or changes in the mental models of strategic (SL) and operational levels (OL), and combination of micro and macro level properties of the system.

Keywords: Commitment, Systems Thinking, Self Organizing, Constructive and Destructive Emergent Properties, Vicious and Virtues Cycles

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk