A mathematical interpretation of the communicative constitution of organizations

ABSTRACT

We propose a probabilistic control-system model to measure gradations of organizational coherence. Our model expresses the four flows of the Communicative Constitution of Organizations, and moves beyond common network-based analyses to quantify the emergence of organization through communication. In the model, an organization’s leadership selects from a set of discrete strategies, the number and complexity of which are regulated by membership negotiation and self-structuring. Activity coordination constrains the internal response of the organization to the selected strategy, and institutional positioning shapes its ultimate outcome in the environment. Our model introduces a new partition of the four flows between those that affect the set of available strategies versus the precision of organizational control. The model informs proxy measurements of the maturation of a partial organization, such as an insurgency. Its quantified approach enables testing of the interrelationships and tradeoffs among flows in an agent-based simulation of varying levels of partial organizations competing and cooperatively exploring for resources. The most consequential flow in our scenario, measured in comparison to baseline data, is membership negotiation. Complex behaviours emerge in simulation results, such as information asymmetries, tradeoffs between power and efficiency, the contrast between short- and long-term gains, and individual versus group utility.

KEYWORDS:

• Asymmetric conflict
• insurgency
• social movement
• communicative constitution of organizations (cco)
• systems theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kyle M. Schwing

Kyle M. Schwing is a student in the Individualized Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at Virginia Tech.

Jason Spitaletta

Jason Spitaletta is a researcher in the Asymmetric Operations Sector of The Johns Hopkins University-Applied Physics Laboratory and a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the Catholic University of America.

Jonathan Pitt

Jonathan Pitt is an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering and an affiliate of the Intelligent Systems Division of the National Security Institute at Virginia Tech.