Each position is unique in an organizational configuration of positions and it is to be filled, of course, by a unique person. This singular uniqueness anchors organizational and personal identities for all the major support functions. Finance and Facilities rely on this “store once” aspect of positions, management teams, and organizational containers that rollup to the whole organization as represented by a root (“top”) position (e.g., CEO).
Each job brings with it a basic role, but people typically play many parts in organizations through a variety of teams. IT and HR rely on the singularity of person-position identities to anchor their systems, but typically also track the multiplicity of roles, the “use many times” aspect of positions. HR sees a unique person hired in to one job, then moving to other jobs, acquiring skills and experience in a variety of roles. IT sees a unique user that logs on and then plays in a variety of group contexts that are governed by permissions. It is the flexibility of playing multiple roles (each represented by a link) that allows singular positions to represent complex work within and between networks.
Axis of Singularity Finance and Facilities
Stability from nested containers structured by a mutually-exclusive relationship
• 1 Person
• 1 Position, 1 Job
• 1 Title Role
• 1 Management team of employees
• 1 Nested set of organization containers
• 1 Nested set of physical locations
Axis of Multiplicity
- HR and IT
Flexibility from one position, many roles, multiple links, many teams
