Abstracts Business

Towards an autopoietic perspective on knowledge and organisation

by Robert Kay

In this thesis a number of disparate subjects and notions are drawn together in order to move toward a coherent perspective on the notion of an organisation and the way in which organisations may be seen to survive. The contribution of the work and knowledge management in order to produce a 'frame' for the way in which organisational change and survival may be discussed. The assumptions are made that the notions of the learning organisation and knowledge management are subsets of organisational survival. An examination of how these notions have been interpreted in organisations provides the context to which Maturana and Varea's autopoietic theory may be used as a 'frame' for discussion on the nature of organisations. The combination of my experiences in organisations and discussions on the use of autopoietic theory in the organisational context, provide the basis from which I make hypotheses regarding the nature of organisational survival and the way in which organisations may be seen to change over time Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)