Requirements for effective participation in self-constructed organizations

This is an article about effective participation in organizations. It offers insights about the interplay between individual action and organization structure. It is argued that our actions produce these structures at the same time that these structures create the space for our actions in a never ending regression. Effective participation requires that all of us are involved in the invention and formation of self-constructed action spaces. This is in contrast to participation in organizations where a few create the context for the most, that is, where the organizational context of our actions is constructed (for us) rather than self-constructed. Organizations emerging from effective participation are called recursive organizations. The idea of recursive organizations is further developed using Beer's Viable System Model. This is a model of the communicational requirements to self-construct our action spaces and to align them with those of others. The argument is focused on our participation in team work and the requirements for us to develop organizational citizenship, cohesion and effective performance. These are all requirements to have an effective organization.