Reflection in self-organised systems - Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising - page 113

(verbal, email, phone, correspondence, voice mail, body language) can be utilised at any
particular time.
To summarise, reflection is integral to the success of self-organising systems (they are
intertwined ). Reflection enhances:
1.

the freedom of internal actors' decision-making processes (generating creativity,
innovation and motivation);

2. clarification of purpose;

3. the capability of the system to adapt to the environment; and

4. expands communication channels into the environment.

Future research
Although we believe that reflection is fundamental to self-organisation, there is still
much work to be done in validating this principle both in theory and in practice. Fur-
thermore, in the information systems field, self-organisation is not clearly accepted as
a problem-solving approach. We believe this approach to be feasible in the real work
setting if an appropriate organisational culture is in place. It can readily be seen that
reflection already occurs successfully in some organisations when addressing problems.
Hence, self-organisation could easily be the next step. There will be, of course, far-ranging
implications for organisations seeking to adopt this approach in terms of internal struc-
tures, information systems already in place and indeed the motivation to do so.
Acknowledgement: The authors would like to acknowledge Dr Mike Metcalfe's contri-
bution of ideas on this topic.