(Update on 02/29/00. You are at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, USA).
“Curious
things happen when you connect all to all.
Mathematicians have proven that the sum of a network increases as the
square of the number of members. In
other words, as the number of nodes in a network increases arithmetically, the
value of the network increases exponentially.
Adding a few more members can dramatically increase the value for all
members.”
Kelly, Kevin. “New Rules
for the New Economy: Twelve
Dependable Principles for Thriving in a Turbulent World.”
Wired. (September 1997): 142.
This
quotation from a magazine devoted to what is happening in Web type computer
communication is all about wiring nodes together in computer and communication
networks. It suggests a kind
of synergism that arises as we all adopt the new Web related technologies, and
broaden interaction with others.
Perhaps
a similar type of synergism arises as we enhance relationships through
networking among individuals by not only electronic means but also by other more
direct ways within an academic department or in other organizations and the
community more generally. Building
relationships and linkages in a variety of networks is important to our
individual and total productivity.
This is not to say we ignore the individual.
Regarding our own academic department here at UNL, on the contrary, as the
1997 Academic Program Review Team Report ssuggests, division (and specialization) of labor is necessary but
“... not sufficient (p. 25).” The
Report goes on to argue that “ ...
an individual faculty member... would be more productive if the linkages
existed.... (in fact) the success of the Department requires the linkages
because its success depends on the unit acting in concert (p. 25).”
As in the matter of synergism within academic departments, organizations and communities, this dimension is equally important in the economy. Metaeconomics posits that it undergirds and gives strength to the market economy.
Return/Go to Metaeconomics Homepage, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA