The Role of Boundaries

Boundaries are an important feature of any organization. The nature of these boundaries has undergone considerable change over time. For many organizations today, what is inside or outside the boundaries is less clear and the ease of flow of information across boundaries has greatly increased. Boundaries can exist between individuals, between teams, between organizations, or even between an organization and its social environment (e.g., city, community, etc.).

• Discuss your current organization or a previous organization in terms of boundaries. How did these boundaries affect you as an employee? Reflect on your mental construct of boundaries.
• Explain what roles boundaries play and why these are important to organizations.
• How permeable are your boundaries both personally and for your team?
• Examine what determines how much rigidity and permeability is required by an organization and the teams in an organization.
• Assess the benefits for many organizations to be less rigid and more permeable than previously.

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