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problems such as poverty, terrorism or natural disaster response. This common purpose
may spread through the weak inter-cluster links. The Research Dean may also further
encourage this concern by allocating increased resources to multi-discipline research
solutions. Each cluster has specialist knowledge and any excessive attempt to insist all
its members spend a significant proportion of their time getting to know other cluster's
research in detail may distract them from developing their own knowledge. However,
these clusters do need to be 'weak linked' both with each other and with clusters
knowledgeable about research resources. These weak links will need to be synchronous
and asynchronous (stigmergy), using web pages, internal research newspapers, public-
ation listings, signage, question-asking software like 'askme.com', web publishing of
seminar PowerPoint slides, financial rewards and Listserv public acknowledgement of
achievements. All of these are examples of the asynchronous (stigmergy) weak linking.
Telephone lists by knowledge area, cross discipline coffee groups and conferences are
examples of synchronous weak linking. The role of the Research Dean is merely to
provide effective responses to those that do multi-discipline research compared to those
that do not, and to encourage weak linking (not strong linking) between groups that
would not normally even appreciate each others existence. Given the common purpose
and the presence of weak links, the self-organisation perspective anticipates that members
of the clusters will knowledge-share and self-organise an appropriate response for the
improvement of the knowledge holding of the entire university.
Implications and conclusion
There is not much new about many of these activities, perhaps because weak linking
across clusters is naturally efficient, an unappreciated theory in use (Argyris and Schon,
1978). However, this paper has attempted to make this theory explicit, and provide a
clearer picture that makes sense of the phenomena of interest. This, it is hoped, will
make the governance of strategic knowledge sharing more explicit. Given the complexity
of wicked problems and the creativity needed to respond to them, hierarchical control
of either participant's actions or of their knowledge sharing is considered naïve. The
exact opposite of a 'need to know' knowledge sharing policy is required. Participants
are to be encouraged to decide for themselves what they need to know and to be aware
where they can get that information easily, as in the oil spill example.
This paper has argued that strategic knowledge sharing can be viewed as a task in
designing small-worlds networks so as to allow a self-organised strategic response to
wicked problems. Knowledgeable clusters and synchronous or asynchronous weak links
can both identify wicked problems and respond strategically. A designer of this sort of
network needs to encourage knowledgeable clusters that are only weak linked together,
whether synchronously, asynchronously or both. Perhaps, for a commercial organisation,
the designer may allocate resources to encourage a particular common purpose. Two
examples of wicked problems being handled by wicked systems were outlined. In one,
the wicked problem was a rather obvious oil spill threatening many dimensions of a
community. In the other, the wicked problem required innovation and creativity. It is
argued here that neither should be managed in a hierarchical sense.
Future research may continue the work to make explicit the design of existing social
networks in public and research communities, so as to better appreciate if they follow
a small-world structure. The limits of synchronous and asynchronous 'weak links' may
also warrant further investigation, as might the role of information and communication
technology from this point of view. Other suggestions may include: how people commu-
nicate, and with whom, when involved in a crisis; and what information they need or
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