A management tool,based on ecological concepts,in order to profit from diversity

摘要

The turbulent environment in which companies have to operate today demands flexibilityrn- flexibility to adapt to frequent changes. One of the preconditions for thisrn“changeability” is a team in which diverse people cooperate. The AEM-Cube? is a toolrndesigned to build such teams. It intends to help people understand their roles andrncompetencies, and to value the diversity found in teams and organizations. It is anrnattempt – on the basis of concepts derived from ethology, cybernetics and complexityrntheory - to build useful applications for management.rnIt is well known that people attach to human beings (Bowlby). On the other hand,rnethology has shown that animals may not only attach to other animals, but also to matterrn(Lorenz). We now propose to apply the concept of matter-attachment to humans as well.rnThe first dimension of the AEM-Cube? represents a continuum ranging from ‘peopleattached’rnto ‘matter-attached’ people. Individuals may be 'scored' through the use ofrnquestionnaires, and represented on an attachment axis. Although scientifically still inrndevelopment, in day-to-day management this concept seems to elucidate issues onrnmotivating, managing and retaining, for example, technical professionals.rnThe sense of security people derive from their attachment plays an important role inrndetermining whether they will look for stability or exploration. Stability orientation mayrnbe likened to error-controlled feedback systems; exploration orientation is analogous torninformation-controlled feedforward systems (Pribram). Someone's position between theserntwo extremes may be plotted on an exploration axis.rnThe third concept, complexity competence or maturity, is derived from complexityrntheory. The capacity to deal with complexity may be represented on a maturity axis, by arncluster of items, related to leadership characteristics in complex environments.rnThese three concepts are now combined into one model: the AEM-Cube?. Thernattachment and exploration axes form the Cube’s base, the maturity axis is placedrnvertically (see figure 1). This combination seems to be the added value of the AEMCubern?. Although none of the three concepts are derived directly from psychology,