I've been reading up on a special case of spontaneous order lately: language. Hayek's conception of spontaneous order--order that is the result of human action but not human design--is a fundamental explanation of how markets work, and it's application is an interesting (if not hard-to-apply) aspect of "Vision" in MBM.
A recent article from Discover Magazine Online explores a unique phenomena, the creation of an altogether new language in the form of Nicaraguan sign language.
"In the 1970s, a group of deaf Nicaraguan schoolchildren invented a new language. The kids were the first to enroll in Nicaragua’s new wave of special education schools.... Its child inventors created it naturally by combining and adding to gestures that they had used at home. Gradually, the language became more regular, more complex and faster."
This new way of communicating grew spontaneously as the children adapted and learned from one another. But what about well-established languages? The Lexicographer's Delemma, by J. Lynch, describes how the English language has evolved without the guidance of intellectual elites imposing grammar dictates from the top down (the same is true for France, despite their efforts to the contrary). Rather, the author quotes a grammarian as saying that the "'the spirit of English liberty will hinder or destroy ' any such scheme" of command-and-control language planning (pg. 107).
Sorry grammar freaks; your services aren't needed, according to Mr. Lynch.
Are the formal rules of grammar needed to keep language useful, or does spontaneous order suffice? As managers, how do we balance letting employees go "laissez faire" vs. providing active, detailed guidance?
Oh Boy Andy G, I can just feel the chill of every English teacher you ever had running down MY spine. (Why is that?)
Seriously, though, I was having lunch with one of my oldest friends the other day and recounting the emergence of his own written alphabet. As in many things, necessity bread the multiple iterations and it is now in its 5th concise version.
He is a bit of a gypsy and has spent much of his adult life moving about the country in search of nostalgia. True to his bohemian lifestyle he is an avid journal-er, but all of his temporary roomies kept reading his journals, getting upset about what he wrote and the troubles would ensue. So, he began to create his own alphabet.
Basically it was a code at first that now has evolved into a right-to-left, column based text of symbols and conventions known only to him. Drawing from his experiences teaching English to Japanese college students in the early 90's, he says it is very fluid and pretty much impossible to decipher. I say it qualifies him to be placed into the genius category, especially when you consider some of his other behaviors (different post all together).
He has been rooted to his current home, sans roomies, for the past 6 years. But he still finds it necessary and valuable to continue to evolve his practice.
I would be interested to hear the opinions and opines of some of your colleagues on this topic. Notably, Eric Alston (self proclaimed wordsmith) and Dr. Zerkle (MBM Guru).
BTW: Great post.
Posted by: Jonny B | 29 June 2010 at 10:54 AM
Yeh, being an English literature major in another life, I've struggled with finally accepting that the correct 'rule' in my book means nothing compared to whether most people can understand it or not....
Posted by: Andy Gillette | 30 June 2010 at 07:55 PM