Knowledge Needs and Information Extraction: Towards an Artificial Consciousness

Chapter 4

The Models of Social Organization

This chapter deals with the notion of social organization. This is the context external to the individual that enables him to formulate plans and perform actions in accordance with his motivational states and his needs [ROU 62; TÖN 87; SIM 08; MEA 34].

Many models of social organization have been advanced. Here we shall only cite those which are directly related to action and motivation.

4.1. The entrepreneurial model

The entrepreneurial model was described by Sarmiento et al. [SAR 07], who present the entrepreneurial attributes necessary to run a company. Of these, we can cite self-confidence and self-determination, alongside: realization of ambition, perseverance, a high degree of control, orientation of action, preference for learning by doing, a taste for the work, determination and creativity.

In the same vein as the entrepreneurial model but also centered around personal development, Covey [COV 99] describes a method of development and management which advocates proactiveness: the seven habits of highly effective people. Here, the human being is as much an actor as a receiver. The paradigm of the model is the way in which each person views the world – not necessarily how it really is. This is the map, not the ground. It is the optic specific to each person: the lens through which the individuals examine everything; it is forged by the education we have received and the accumulation of our experiences and our choices. The rules are ...