Suchergebnisse

The significant reforms being implemented in governance systems around the world reflect a broader transition of society from the modern to a new emerging era. This transition is framed in terms of a shift from a mechanistic to an ecological worldview, stimulated by a number of developments during the twentieth century and the last decade. In contrast to the mechanistic orientation toward reductionism, prediction and control, and competition, an ecological worldview emphasizes the interconnectedness, self‐organizing capacity, and coevolutionary dynamics of all natural systems. This emergent worldview yields useful insights regarding the purpose, design, process, and relationships characteristic of organizational systems that strive to play an effective role in the future governance of society. The discussion outlines specific organizing principles pertinent to these four areas, identifying some compatible practices that are already being adopted by public and private organizations. The authors address the possibility that the continued transition to ecological governance may not reflect just a long, slow process of incremental change, but also could entail a sudden, systemic reorientation that results in a faster transformation of the extant institutions of public administration.