And We're Off and Running... err... Researching!

For those who have been following my weblog, you’ll know that I have been working on the question of how to think about and describe organizations in the context of the massively interconnected world in which we now live. Somehow, the hierarchical and bureaucratic conception of organization seems dated in our contemporary context. A new model and descriptive vocabulary of what one might call, “the future of organizations” might prove beneficial and useful to managers, employees and volunteers alike.

I’m now at the stage in my doctoral program when it’s time to go out and learn from the real, lived experience of people in real organizations. I am seeking participant organizations of various kinds and sizes, from corporate giants to small volunteer groups, institutions, religious organizations, community groups, NGOs – the greater the variation and diversity, the better. I would plan to conduct one or two interviews with each of two to three people from the participating organizations. Ideally, the people will come from different hierarchical levels in the organization (assuming, of course, that the organization is hierarchically organized), from relatively lower to relatively higher. The names of the participating organizations and all individual participants will be kept confidential, unless they explicitly give permission for identities to be revealed.

If you would like your organization to participate in this exciting research, or know of an organization that might like to participate, please contact me at federman@sympatico.ca, with an email subject line of “Organization Research.” I will send you more detailed information about the research and the proposed interviews so that you can decide whether or not you and your organization would like to participate. Of course, you are under no obligation to participate, even if you request the information package.

[Technorati tags: phd | thesis | research | organization | valence theory]