Change in the Small Group: A Dissipative Structure Perspective

In living systems that are experiencing highly turbulent conditions, dissipative self-organization sometimes takes place and results in greater viability. The potential applications of the paradigm of dissipative self-organization to the study of change dynamics in small groups are explored. A certain type of change in groups is likened to change in dissipative structures found in the physical world, and group effectiveness amid complex and turbulent environments is seen to require the key elements of dissipative self-organization: an ongoing tolerance for error and for deviation from an established order, a breaking of existing system relationships so that new ones may emerge, a reflective, self-referencing mode, and a creative process of boundary reparation and movement into new configurations. Lewin's model of change in social systems is extended here through the application of the self-organization paradigm. Instead of utilizing Lewin's formulation of a discrete movement through phases, the emphasis is placed on continual change taking place amid turbulence or near-chaos conditions. The group's ability to be self-organizing, by opening to turbulence and functioning at its boundaries, and by experimenting, self-referencing, and repairing boundaries is discussed as a crucial factor in group effectiveness amid such conditions.