Source:
Demos (UK) http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/networkcitizens
Humans are social animals, spinning intricate webs of
relationships with friends, colleagues, neighbours and enemies. These networks
have always been with us, but the advance of networking technologies, changes
to our interconnected economy and an altering job market have super-charged the
power of networking, catapulting it to the heart of organisational thinking.
Social networks are providing tremendous
opportunities for people to collaborate. But until now, thinking has focused
only on how organisations can respond to and capitalise on networks. This
report argues that we have to look equally at how networks use organisations
for their own ends. That is where the new contours of inequality and power lie
that will shape the network world. We have to face networks’ dark side, as well
as their very real potential.
Bringing together in-depth case studies of six organisations, Network Citizens
maps the key fault-lines that people and organisations will have to address in
the future world of work. Not doing so puts at risk the very qualities we had
invested in them: openness, innovation, collaboration and meritocracy. Since
networks can act for good or ill, incubating the talents and ideas of the many,
or promoting the interests of the few, the need for a new set of
responsibilities is growing. If we are network members, we must be network
citizens, too.
See also the
other publications: http://www.demos.co.uk/publications
Demos is the think tank for 'everyday democracy'. Our aim is to put this idea into practice by working with organisations
in ways that make them more effective and legitimate.
Democracy, as it gets epitomised by the famous words, “Of the People, By the People, For the People”, is in shackles in India at present.
Posted by: Custom essay | April 10, 2009 at 08:41 AM