Communication is structure

In collapsible corporations, communication is the dynamic structure between the individual members that shapes and guides the progress and actions of the people. It is the communication that coordinates and not formal written procedures. The success of dynamic organizational forms such as collapsible corporations is inversely related to the quantity and quality of communication between members around the world.

Problems arise when communication slows or stops and progress is taken for granted- requiring hypercommunication to achieve subsequent residual recovery of right direction. Problems are just uncommunicated differences- in actions and expectations. (used 10/22/00

This intense deliberate communication is itself a transaction cost- it needs working hard at and may not always be business- you provide deliberate opportunities to other people in the collapsible corporation to explain and notify about problems- but naturally they do not actually arise every time members communicate. But the benefits from avoidance of misunderstanding achieved from effective and honest ongoing inter-personal communication- facilitated by technology tools such as the Net- make such dynamic organizations possible and also prevent greater, later costs incurred from error correction.

Of course the communication needs to be timely and truthful for it to be valuable- it needs to be proactively stated, discussed, openly, honestly and fully disclosed.

For remote communications, the use of Internet email, fixed and in particular mobile telephones is often prolific. There should be regular broadcast news and information in the form of say email messages updating members around the world on how the business is doing and latest developments. Informal discussion of this news, plus the formal emails kept different people in different places up to date with these moves. This kept people in different time zones in touch with the same information distributing at low charge around the world. Periodic face-to-face meetings are also necessary to supplement and balance this electronic communication- just as with teleworking, the balance between electronic and physical and the overriding dominance of neither is very important to the success of the venture.

Respect and trust and so on is important in relations between colleagues, with some people easier to talk and relate to than others, but primarily, as long as activities and approaches were agreed to by other managers, you are okay. It was consensus and inclusive decision making and proactive communication before the event which formed an important part of the accountability and consistent message and approach from members despite their geographical operating autonomy. Within the collapsible corporation, people are accountable primarily for achieving the results that were agreed by the company consensus. Once buy in from the team was agreed, full support in successful implementation should then be in place.

As such, effective communication facilitated by technologies is the glue of the collapsible corporation. Communication is the structure of effective collapsible corporations.

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