Scott (1987) notes that the open systems view of organizations stresses the complexity and variability of individual parts - both individual participants and organizational groups. Emphasis is placed on processes, with the organization needing flexibility to learn and change. The arrangement of roles and relationships is not the same today as it was yesterday or will be tomorrow: to survive is to adapt, and to adapt is to change.
These concepts are echoed in the language of knowledge management. For example, Choo (1998) argues that organizations use information in three vital knowledge creation activities. First, organizations use information to make sense of changes and developments in the external environments - a process called sense making. This is a vital activity wherein managers discern the most significant changes, interpret their meaning, and develop appropriate responses. Second, organizations create, organize, and process information to generate new knowledge through organizational learning. This knowledge creation activity enables the organization to develop new capabilities, design new products and services, enhance existing offerings, and improve organizational processes. Third, organizations search for and evaluate information in order to make decisions. This information is critical since all organizational actions are initiated by decisions and all decisions are commitments to actions, the consequences of which will, in turn, lead to the creation of new information. Therefore, how well the organization adapts to its environment depends on how well it succeeds in its knowledge creation activities.