Who needs memory? The case for the Markovian organisation
Who needs memory? The case for the Markovian organisation
This paper examines the contradiction of organisational memory: that an organisation requires a memory to operate effectively, but that that same memory inhibits and constrains its ability to operate effectively. We briefly review the field of organisational memory and note its close connection with organisational learning.We introduce a conceptual framework pioneered by Schultze and Stabell for examining contradictions in the area of knowledge management. We use this framework to distinguish between the conventional view of organisational memory, which implicitly or explicitly regards knowledge as a commodity, and a constructivist view, from which emerges a picture of the Markovian organisation: an organisation the future behaviour of which is determined not by memories of the past but by its current state, characterised by an organisational consciousness informed by the activities in which it is engaged. While the emphasis of this paper is theoretical, we suggest that adopting this Markovian view of the organisation might be particularly appropriate to practitioners in organisations that are immersed in turbulent environments.
organisational memory, organisational learning, management cognition
110-116
Klein, Jonathan
639e04f0-059a-4566-9361-a4edda0dba7d
Connell, Con
20c3599b-f2e6-49fb-9b95-870b421fc27e
Jasimuddin, Sajjad
3330efb8-b9e7-428f-8e2a-7c2e4679bfab
May 2007
Klein, Jonathan
639e04f0-059a-4566-9361-a4edda0dba7d
Connell, Con
20c3599b-f2e6-49fb-9b95-870b421fc27e
Jasimuddin, Sajjad
3330efb8-b9e7-428f-8e2a-7c2e4679bfab
Klein, Jonathan, Connell, Con and Jasimuddin, Sajjad
(2007)
Who needs memory? The case for the Markovian organisation.
Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 5 (2), .
(doi:10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500130).
Abstract
This paper examines the contradiction of organisational memory: that an organisation requires a memory to operate effectively, but that that same memory inhibits and constrains its ability to operate effectively. We briefly review the field of organisational memory and note its close connection with organisational learning.We introduce a conceptual framework pioneered by Schultze and Stabell for examining contradictions in the area of knowledge management. We use this framework to distinguish between the conventional view of organisational memory, which implicitly or explicitly regards knowledge as a commodity, and a constructivist view, from which emerges a picture of the Markovian organisation: an organisation the future behaviour of which is determined not by memories of the past but by its current state, characterised by an organisational consciousness informed by the activities in which it is engaged. While the emphasis of this paper is theoretical, we suggest that adopting this Markovian view of the organisation might be particularly appropriate to practitioners in organisations that are immersed in turbulent environments.
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Submitted date: July 2006
Published date: May 2007
Additional Information:
Received 27 July 2006; accepted 22 February 2007.
Keywords:
organisational memory, organisational learning, management cognition
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Local EPrints ID: 47668
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/47668
ISSN: 1477-8238
PURE UUID: 1484d642-55c3-4ed6-9d92-fd761c35cac6
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Date deposited: 07 Aug 2007
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:34
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Author:
Sajjad Jasimuddin
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