Information Ecology and Knowledge Management: Toward Knowledge Ecology for Hyperturbulent Organizational Environments

The traditional view of organizational systems and supporting information and knowledge systems is based on the model of a well-oiled machine expected to deliver optimum performance derived from pre-defined parameters and specifications. Such systems consider performance as a derivative of external controls defined by the designers of the systems and have given marginal importance to the self-adaptive and emergent nature of human and organizational systems. These characteristics of human and organizational systems are particularly relevant to their adaptation and survival within dynamically changing business environments. Recently, some management thinkers have attempted to address the human bases of information systems within the framework of information ecology. This characterization, although interesting, needs to be further developed to account for the human sense making processes and self-regulatory nature of the natural ecosystems relevant to new organizational environments. We extend the information ecology framework to a framework of knowledge ecology. The knowledge ecology of organizational systems goes beyond the emphasis on information, to account for action, performance and adaptation of self-regulatory systems.