LC 00397

As mentioned previously, Social Theory (ST) was not only developed with government institutions in mind. ST was developed to deal with wicked problems affecting all members of society. This does not mean that society as a whole is ST’s only target area for application. It can also be applied in a more restricted sense in NGOs and businesses, although the terminology has to be adapted to suit this purpose. In this chapter, we will discuss applying ST in organizations in more detail.

Organizations, including NGOs and businesses, do not always operate from democratic principles. Yet, they do have one essential property in common with a democratic society. In order to persevere, they all have to adapt to changing circumstances. An organization has to be well aware of what is going on in the outside world in order to remain viable. And this is precisely what ST can offer. The reflection process can be put to good use to stay relevant by getting a critical, outsider’s view on the organization. The organization itself can organize the reflection process, but it must guarantee and value its independent role. In short, the organization empowers its hardest critics and it appreciates the naked truth they bring to the table. This borders on self-chastisement.

Organizations are typically organized in a top-down fashion - led by a board of directors and supervised by a supervisory board. Most organizations do value the opinions of employees, but a systematic approach to learning and improvement is the exception rather than the rule. Notable exceptions are organizations that implement trajectories centered around continuous improvement (PDCA, Lean, Six-Sigma, etc.). However, the focus is typically more on verification (doing things right) than on validation (doing the right things). The SI process focuses on validation to make an organization agile, but validation cannot be seen independently from verification.

Perhaps the most valuable asset of ST, is the development of facilitator of change skills by employers and employees. ST provides the process to acquire the skills in practice. Moreover, the skills can be seen as a way of being, which in the context of ST is continuously adapting to changes in the outside world by means of mutual understanding and shared meaning. An organization which has such a mindset, is an organization that puts individual and group learning center stage, which amounts to a lifelong learning organization.

In conclusion, ST has much to offer to organizations, but as remarked before, the terminology has to be adapted. This could for example be done as follows:

• Implementation process → on-going daily process (performed by employees);
• Reflection process → advisory process (performed by independent experts);
• Democratic process → supervisory process (performed by supervisory board);
• Strategic process → steering process (performed by board of directors).

Note to the reader: As mentioned before, ST itself is also subject to change. New insights help us learn about ST and will change ST. ST has been put to practice mostly in settings in which several organizations (often including governmental institutions) work together in projects/social challenges. There is less experience in applying ST solely within one specific organization in which there is no direct relation with other parties. Therefore, this chapter will be added to over time when more experience is gained with applying ST within organizations.

• Lees hiervoor:
  Responsible Setting for Social Innovation
• Lees hierna:
  Program Management