jchan

I want to abolish the word "organizer" from discussions about community. By this I mean not Tabooing the word - I know perfectly well what "organizer" means. The problem is rather that sociological description can never be inert. Well, I suppose it could come close, if we on this English-language...

[Part of Organizational Cultures sequence] Overview We all know "anti-social" behavior when we see it - defecting against the commons, and enriching oneself at the expense of others in a way that leaves everyone worse off if generalized. (And conversely, we call behavior "pro-social" that does the opposite.) Even though...

[Part of Organizational Cultures sequence] The "rubber stamp" is unduly maligned. When a Principal decision-maker is asked to ratify the actions of an Agent, but in practice never (or almost never) refuses, we call the Principal a rubber stamp. But this can mean one of two very different things: *...

[Part of Organizational Cultures sequence] Returning again to Bowling Alone after our previous discussion, we have Putnam describing the distinction between machers ("makers") and schmoozers: > In Yiddish, men and women who invest lots of time in formal organizations are often termed machers - that is, people who make things...

[Part of Organizational Cultures sequence] Where does your opinion fall on this spectrum?: * (A) If someone is Doing a Thing for the benefit of others, then one should refrain from needling him/her with complaints about how the Thing is being Done less-than-optimally. Nobody likes backseat-drivers or Monday-morning-quarterbacks; if that's...

[Followup to: We live in a society] For logical positivists, deeming something a "social construct" is like signing its death-warrant. But really all it means is that the Litany of Tarski doesn't apply. If there is no underlying reality to the thing, we are allowed to decide what we want...

[Previous in sequence: Clique, Guild, Cult] > We whose names are underwritten... do by these Presents... covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick... - Mayflower Compact, 1620 > There's no such thing as society. - Margaret Thatcher, 1987 > You know we're living in a society! -...