Karim Baïna (ENSIAS) invited keynote at ISKO-Maghreb'2012

(CC) Prof. Karim Baïna, ENSIAS at ISKO-Maghreb'2012, Hammamet, Tunisia, Nov. 3rd-4th, 2012

Rationalism in scientific management :

the dialectic between formal and informal

Prof. Karim Baïna

Responsible of Alqualsadi research teamon Enterprise Architecture

ENSIAS, Mohammed V Souissi University, Rabat, Morocco

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Alqualsadi research team Enterprise Architecture, Quality of their Development and Integration

Alqualsadi* research team stands for : Enterprise Architecture, Quality of their Development and Integration

* is Abou Al Hassan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad Alqualsadi (1412-1486) : Arithmetics, Algebra, Astronomy (father of X and √ symbols)

GAP

Gap

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Outline

1. Introduction

2. Definitions

3. Formalisation from different point of views

4. Duality of Formal - Informal

5. Properties of Formal - Informal

6. Continuum between Formal - Informal

7. Balance between Formal - Informal

8. Patterns and anti-patterns of Formal – Informal

9. Conclusion

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Introduction : Man evolution, and formalisation

● Human always used more or less explicit formalisation for his needs of survival, communication, memory, friendliness, trade, war ...

– Sharing ideas by gestures & sounds

– Transcription ideas to writing

– Evolving writing system and tools for these writing systems

– Delegating writing reproduction to machines (invention of printing)

– Mastering energy by inventing the steam engine then the electric motor

– Remarkable scientific progress in theoretical and experimental sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, economics, psychology, sociology, ...).

– Delegating rationalised duties by programming machines to reproduce them faithfully (automation, computer science, robotics, ...)

– Formalising and delegating decision making and learning mechanisms to machine or at least decision support

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Introduction : Man evolution, and formalisation

Human evolution continuesand with it the evolution of ideas

formalisation process

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Definitions

● to formalise is (Oxford dictionaries) :

– (i) to give (something) legal or formal status (eg. the marriage is formalised)

– (ii) to give a definite structure or shape to (eg. we formalise our thoughts)

● Formalisation, for Husserl, is : « the relationship of a matter to form »

● Ostrom (2009) distinguishes between

– rules-in-form (dead letters)

– and rules-in-use (rules which are actually followed)

● Formalisation, for Meijer (2008), means « a reduction in personal and relational elements of coordination and an emphasis on objectively documenting decisions, discussions, and work processes »

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Definitions

● Fraser et al. (1994); Junior (1997) distinguish between :

i. simple informal language not having a complete set of rules to restrict construction

● (e.g. "unstructured" text in natural language)

ii. standardized informal language with structure, format and rules for the composition of a building (e.g. "structured" text in natural language)

● professional e-mail (informal formalisation Meijer (2008)))

iii.semi-formal language having a syntax/structure defined to specify the conditions on which the constructions are permitted

iv.formal language which syntax and semantics are defined strictly to validate any construction.

● Formalisation process may be direct (informal/formel transition) or transitional (informal/semi-formal transition then semi-formal/formal transition)

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Formalisation from different point of views – Example of Human and implicit Formalisation

● According to Serres et al. (2004), what can be a hammer else than a fist with a forearm, which fells to our arm ?

● The technique was invented by outsourcing a bodily factulty.

● There exists a mechanism that produces continuous despecialisation of human organs.

– Human being is unique in his capacity to lose a faculty and to develop others.

– In instrumenting, and transforming his body, the human is involved in a endless loop of transsubstantiation that is transmitted by using technical objects Serres (2001)

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Formalisation from different point of views – Example of Human and implicit Formalisation

Bodily faculties externalisation includes, among others, a continuous

formalisation mechanism of defining shapes to objects, tools, and processes

necessary to achieve human tasks

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Formalisation from different point of views –Example of Human and explicit Formalisation

● All writing systems followed the same general progression :

– first actual writing was pictographic (or iconographic) where a simple picture designated a real object : pictograms.

– pictures were gradually formalised/used to represent relationships and ideas as well as objects. This is called ideographic writing : ideogram or logograms.

– Also, the sounds corresponding to pictograms are combined to form a word reducing the number of symbols required for a full writing system : phonograms.

● Tools adapted for writing systems have also evolved (reed and clay tablet, papyrus, paper, storage systems)

Wilson (2005)

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Formalisation from different point of views –Example of Human and explicit Formalisation

informal, semi-formal and formal notations and languages, used to

represent systems, are only results of this continuous process of writing

system formalisation based of pictograms, ideograms, and

phonograms

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Examples of artifacts evolution at human level and their formalisation process

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Enterprise, and Formalisation – analogy with human evolution

● Businesses evolution is not operating through

i. improving oral culture and visual internal and external communication ?

ii. developing written culture either formalised or informal ?

iii.capitalising memory, standardising their interactions, and controlling the quality of their products and services ?

iv.cartographying knowledge, strategic know-how, and their operational systems in a semi-formal style based on pictograms and ideograms ?

v. projecting system into more formal electronic and computer frames in order to be automated, measurable and therefore improvable ?

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Examples of formal-informal dualities in entreprise and informal contribution

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Formal-Informal : Duality

● The contibution of informal is undeniable for the enterprise, it complements the formal. Renaud (1995) calls the formal and informal a "notional couple" where one does not combine without the other.

● In Renaud (1995), informal (badly named) is not a "complementary" resource that should be "formalised and rationalised", the form hits the formlessness which makes it live.

– e.g. the informal communication channels complement the formal communication channels when they are no longer sufficient or are no longer adequate Amosse et al. (2010).

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● Foudriat (2007) studied informality in three views:

– Scientific management (Taylorism) has a single rational point of view :

● The informal is considered as a temporary residual rationality deficit that new formal rules will reduce or to remove.

– Human relations school (eg. in surveys of Elton Mayo) : Informal and formal are two opposite and irreducible sides of the the organisational phenomenon :

● The informal includes goals and psychological needs of individuals which can neither be filled, nor reduced, nor manipulated by rational logics, and which are in shift with the local order that the formal organisation seeks to impose.

– Systemic and strategic analysis (Crozier & Friedberg (1977) surveys) : the informal is not limited to the psychological needs of individuals

● The inform includes the interests centered power games that individuals find in the formal organisation. Informal behaviors are seen as strategies.

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Formal-Informal : Duality - Iceberg metaphor

● Some theorists proposed a metaphor comparing the organisation to an iceberg, where

– the emergent part corresponds to the formal aspects (behavior related to the organisations scientific approach).

– while the submerged part, consists of individuals strategies, affective ties, coalitions of groups, power relations.

Siakas and Georgiadou (1999)Herman (1970)

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each formal system, has and depends on a dual informal system (complementary image) more important (duality

or dichotomy).Both systems evolve in parallel and interact continously.

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Examples of formal-informal dualities

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Formalisation from different point of views – Formalisation and power of informal within

organsations

● Organizations have never been only formal, functional, impersonal.

● Any organization contains within itself diverse communities, micro-cultures and is a place to live not just a workplace.

● Even in the most rigid bureaucracies, there exist informal relations, groups based on elected affinities, on the work necessity, on the circumvention of rules, or collective defense. Enriquez (1990), Renaud (1995)

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Formal versus Informal Systems

● The formal is best used for predictable and repeatable work that needs to be done efficiently and with little variance.

– The predictability and repeatability of the work warrants the effort to develop the infrastructure of the formal organisation, which can be documented and constantly improved upon to improve efficiency and remove variation.

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Formal versus Informal Systems

● The informal is best applied against unpredictable events. Issued that arise outside the scope of the formal organisation are often surprises that need to be sensed and solved.

– Increasingly, pepole who need to do the solving need to be motivated outside the reward system, collaborate across organisational boundaries.

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Formal versus Informal Systems – example of Information Systems● Formal information systems consist of policies, rules

and procedures. Howarth (2005). Many of formal processes and tasks can be and have been computerised over the years.

● Informal information systems relies on common practices and common sens of the organsiation's employees. Informal information systems usually arises from restraints or inadequacies of the formal system. They are more spontaneous and provide flexibility and adaptation to the way organisation functions.

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Examples of formal-informal dualities in entreprise and purpose of formalisation

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Examples of deformalisation processes in enterprise and purpose of deformalisation

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Properties – degree of formalisation/defomalisation

● The formalisation (resp. defomalisation) degree of a system :

– is a qualitative value that evaluates on a discrete scale its level of formalisation (resp. deformalisation).

– alias : "degree/level of standardisation" (resp.deformalisation) Delzescaux (2002), Hughes et al.(2005); Ross et al. (2006).

● The degree of formalisation of an organisation depends on its size and nature of work Hughes et al. (2005)

– eg. a Prod. and a R&D units cannot have the same degree of formalisation

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Properties – gap between formal and informal

● The formal-informal gap is the difference between the degree of formalisation and deformalisation of a system peak-to-peak (ptp) at a given time.

– Delzescaux (2002) calls this gap"synchronic" (as opposed to "dyachronic gap" which measures the difference between formal and informal at two different instants in time).

● The larger the gap in society, the greater the distinction between social classe (one could project this gap on the depth of a hierarchy in an organization, that Hughes et al. (2005) called vertical complexity of an organizational structure).

● The reduction of this gap indicates a shift in the balance of power (which we will define later as the center of gravity of the couple formal / informal).

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Properties – centre of gravity of formal-informal couple

● The center of gravity of formal-informal system couple is a point representing the balance of power between formal and informal.

● The center of gravity of formal-informal couple follows the metaphor of the formal / informal iceberg.

● Moving the center of gravity of an iceberg is sufficent for the iceberg to capsize or roll on itself.

● Shifting the center of gravity of the couple formal / informal is a characteristic of a regulation (search for the balance of forces governing them).

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Formal-Informal : Continuum

● Complementarity and dynamics acting between formal and informal supports a continuum which ensures the move from one to the other in a continuous way.

– If the transition from informal to formal is insured by formalisation

– the dual transition from formal to informal is provided by deformalisation.

● Formalising process is not a choice but an evolution. One can deduce that if we generalise that deformalising a formal system returns to formalise its dual informal system (negative correlation).

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Formal-Informal : Continuum - Example

● Knowledge deformalisation, is to defer the weight of problems and conflicts resolution mainly on participating parties Volckrick and Deliège (2001), Deliège (2010).

– Knowledge deformalisation is also reflected in the fact that the patient become himself well informed about his illness, or on the fact that all the actors involved in a problematic claim as legitimate their point of view and "experience know how" on some situation).

– Justice procedures deformalisation is easing rules by the players or the law itself Cadiet (2008).

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Formal-Informal : Continuum

continuum between formal-informal systems finds its balance through regulation cycles of those systems (series of oscillations formalisation-deformalisation until an equilibrium position).

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Informal - Formal : Balance

● Ideally, informal & formal systems should complement one another. Flatau (1988), Lucey (2005). However, where to draw the line between the formal and informal systems and continually to monitor the dividing line ?

● Interactions between formal tools and informal practices are fragile, unstable, characterised by never-ending frictions, loose ends, and unforeseen consequences. This regulation respects the formal/informal iceberg metaphor.

● How companies balance between their formal and informal organisations ?

– They retain the efficiency and clarity of the well-defined structures that define the formal organisation and predicatble work while also capitalising on the flexibility and speed of the social networks and unpredicatble work Katzenbach and Khan (2010)

– They monitor the interaction between two formal & informal systems to ensure that they are working together effectively, else wahre, there is a danger in having the two systems Howarth (2005).

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Informal - Formal : patterns & anti-patterns –

(1) formal/informal stable equilibrium

● Ring and van de Ven (1994) denotes the formal/informal equilibrium state as a situation of organizational cooperation.

● The center of gravity of the formal/informal couple remains stable.

● Formal/informal stable equilibrium deformalisation of a formal system leads to a logical and normal deformalisation of dual informal system and vice versa without neither important gap nor overlap

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(2) formal/informal instable equilibria

● There are two kinds of instable formal/informal equilibria

– (i) Successive system formalisations that may yield, if repeated, an over-formalisation of the formal system.

– (i) A deformalisation of a formal system meets the formalisation of an informal dual system and we no longer distinguish the two dual systems (zero formal/informal gap)

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(3) over-deformalisation

● deformalisation of formal information system drops below the minimum informal limits for formal system for this system

– This leads to a formalisation of the dual informal system beyond the maximum formal limits for informal system (over-formalisation of informal system)

● State of over-deformalisation is an anti-pattern.

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(4) over-formalisation

● Formal system follow a succession of formalisations more and more complex without any regulation.

– This leads to deformalising the dual informal system in the same pace (over-deformalisation of informal system). But, the causality may be reversed.

● This state is characterised by an abnormal growth of formal/informal gap.

● State of deformalisation is an anti-pattern.● Alias : over-institutionalisation

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Informal - Formal : patterns & anti-patterns – synthesis

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Informal - Formal : patterns & anti-patterns – synthesis

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Our recent research relatedto the formal & the informal

● Aligning between informal business strategies and formal IT organisation

– Karim Doumi, Salah Baïna, Karim Baïna : Strategic Business and IT alignment: Representation and Evaluation. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology 2012, (JATIT'2012)

● Bridging between end user informality and systems formality

– Meriem Benhaddi, Karim Baïna, Abdelwahed El Hassan, A user-centric Mashuped SOA. Int. J. of Web Science 2012, (IJWS'2012)

● Maintaining formal process models with informal human practices in-use

– Walid Gaaloul, Karim Baïna, Claude Godart: Fouille de workflow. Technique et Science Informatiques 29(10): 1207-1236 (TSI'2010)

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Conclusion

● We will never over emphasis on the power of informal style to provide a good knowledge description, sharing, sustainability, implementation and operation.

● Companies should know more their formal and informal organisations.

● Instead of destructuring effects by which the informal organisation, companies should monitor the balance between their formal and informal organisations

● Systems and their rules in-form should take into account innovative informal ideas and individual strategies represented by rules-in use

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Merci pour votre attentionavez-vous des questions ?

Prof. Karim Baï[email protected]

@kbaina

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