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3.0 GROUP AND STRUCTURE
By the term
"group" we understand the agglutination of people around a
member of the Movement, or more spontaneously the agglutination that
may occur around the books or other materials of the Movement.
In the first case, the
member functions as a leader, the contacts are personal, and there are
neither differentiated levels nor functions. The possibilities for
growth of a group are limited, and do not extend beyond the range that
personal contact permits. In general, the group fluctuates according to
the personal vicissitudes its leader suffers.
In addition, it is
difficult to sustain a group over time. While a group may achieve an
apparent permanence, this may be due to a rapid turnover in its
membership.
Every structure begins
as a group, but not every group will convert into a structure. A group
becomes a structure when the following two conditions are met:
a) There is
differentiation of functions;
b) There is
differentiation of instances, i.e. intermediation.
3.1 The
differentiation of functions arises when the group leader begins to
convert into an Orientor, that is, when he or she gives the proposals
of the Movement, and the agglutination is produced not through his or
her personal qualities, but through these themes, and through teamwork
in action.
Accompanying the
progressive conversion of the leader into an Orientor, another member
begins to fulfill the administrative function for the group. This
person makes certain that the contact between all the members is rapid
and permanent (including re-connecting members who are out of touch);
produces the written materials that are needed; keeps all information
needed by the group current; and may also connect with the immediate
human environment as a spokesperson for the group. The Administrative
member fulfills the tasks of: contact, materials, and circulation of
information.
A third member
assumes the Support function, in which he or she complements the two
previous members for the best development of the activities of the
whole, and also supports any members who have notable difficulties in
integrating into the whole or into certain activities. The Support
function is to carry out tasks focusing on the integration of new
members and complementation.
When the three functions
of Orientation, Administration, and Support all reach a permanent
character, then the structure is in a condition to differentiate
instances.
3.2 The
differentiation of instances occurs when distinct members of the
group begin to form their own groups, according to what they have
learned in the initial group.
Reviewing what has been
said: We have an Orientor, an Administrator, and a Support person (i.e.
differentiated functions). There are also other group members who begin
to intermediate the work of the Movement by forming their own groups
(i.e. differentiated instances).
When it reaches certain
numbers and configuration, this initial structure is called a
"Council", and it works with the themes and the guidelines of
one or more organization(s), also gathering around it members,
affiliates, adherents, or sympathizers who may participate in the
organization, without being members of the Movement. That is, the
Council is composed of a minimum nucleus of three members (Orientor,
Administrative, and Support), and of other members who are forming
their own groups, in addition to other non-member supporters or
adherents, who do not fulfill Movement functions or develop instances.
The minimum number of
members of the Movement necessary to form a Council is stated in the Norms,
as are the proportions maintained between Orientor, Administrative, and
Support persons in relation to the total number of members (see Norms,
Chapter I, Articles 1 - 8, Chapter II, Article 10, and Chapter VI,
Article 37).
In the initial structure
before it reaches a Council, there are differences of instances but not
of levels, because the Orientor will only be promoted to another level
when the total number of members reaches the required minimum number,
counting the total of all the instances. Until this happens, all the
members are peers (in this case, Group Delegates).
A frequent error in this
process is to consider as Group Delegates those adherents or
sympathizers who may participate in meetings or activities, but who do
not form instances or work in this direction. In this mistaken way, a
Group Delegate could be promoted to a Team Delegate very rapidly,
through the fact of having the bare number of members called for in the
Norms.
From the point of
view of both the theory and practice of organization, a Team Delegate
is such because he or she has formed a structure, and not simply a
group. That is, a group corresponds to a Group Delegate, but a true
structure should correspond to a Team Delegate. While the Norms
are broad in their characterization of these levels, our experience
shows clearly that if one does not fulfill the minimum requirements
stated above, including the formation of new
instances, then the work will become stuck,
or regress to the initial point, even though a formal promotion could
be done (probably only temporarily) according to the Norms.
1.0
ORGANIZATION | 2.0
THE MOVEMENT AND THE ORGANIZATIONS | 3.0 GROUP
AND STRUCTURE |
4.0
LEVELS AND STRUCTURES |
5.0 THE
ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE STRUCTURES FORM AND DEVELOP
6.0
SYNCHRONIZATION OF ACTIVITIES | 7.0
CIRCULATION OF INFORMATION |
8.0
THE ORIENTOR, THE FUNCTIONS, AND THE INSTRUMENTS
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SUMMARY
We invite everyone to
participate with us in putting into practice the moral principle that
says: "Treat others as you would like
to be treated."
More information:
www.dialogo.org , [email protected]
or [email protected]
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