The Simulation of Idea Propagation in Organizations

The healthy exchange of ideas within an organization leads to faster problem solving, mitigates short and long term risk, and opens the possibility for disruptive technological change. We introduce a new tool (GYRUS) for the simulation and optimization of idea propagation within an organization. This tool treats the organizational topology, internal processes, and implements an individual knowledge model to examine idea propagation. The topology represents both the formal and informal networks of idea movement within an organization. The processes include all activities resulting in the exchange or introduction of ideas to the organization. The knowledge model concerns how individuals store and propagate ideas. We apply this tool to a simple organizational topology to understand the propagation characteristics of ideas and the coupling of ideas between entities in the structure.