Lateral communication is defined as "the exchange, imparting or sharing of information, ideas or feelings between people within a community, peer groups, departments or units of an organization who are at or about the same hierarchical level as each other for the purpose of coordinating activities, efforts or fulfilling a common purpose or goal". Examples in Organisms Lateral communication in organisms or animals can give rise to collective intelligence, or the appearance of collective intelligence. Examples of lateral communication in organisms include: A coordinated flock of birds or a shoal of fish all maintain their relative positions or alter direction simultaneously due to lateral communication among members . Ants, termites and bees are not coordinated by messages sent by the queen ant/bee/termite but by lateral communication, mediated in the case of ants and termites, for example, by their scent trails. Its physical structure is an emergent property of the individual entities. Bacterial colonies communicate with each other, coordinating, for example, an attack, or the production of slime using lateral communication based on chemical messengers so that as a group they can detect how many colleagues there are , and if they are likely to overwhelm a target. The pacemaker cells in the heart, a cardiac pacemaker form a very small groupof cells ; lateral communications sweep through the cells, much like a Mexican wave as a three-dimensional circulating wave, which relays contraction signals to the whole heart. With slime mold, millions of individual amoeba-like creatures can spread out and graze the surface of a leaf. When conditions change, the amoeba all concentrate and form a slug-like creature which can actually move somewhere else before forming a spore body and releasing millions of individual spores. The position and type of human cells are mediated by lateral communication. In Organizations and Communities It is argued that communities communicate and store collective knowledge through lateral communication and that it is an essential ingredient in making hierarchies work, by compensating for errors in hierarchies' information flows. Lateral/ Horizontal communication The term lateral communication can be used interchangeably with horizontal communication. In his text entitled Organizational Communication, Michael J. Papa defines horizontal communication as "the flow of messages across functional areas at a given level of an organization". With this system, people at the same level are permitted "to communicate directly without going through several levels of organization". Given this elasticity, members of an organization have an easier time with "problem-solving, information sharing across different work groups, and task coordination between departments or project teams". The use of lateral or horizontal communication in the workplace "can also enhance morale and afford a means of resolving conflicts.
Lateral communication is "the exchange, imparting or sharing of information, ideas or feelings between people within a community, peer groups, departments or units of an organization who are at or about the same hierarchical level as each other for the purpose of coordinating activities, efforts or fulfilling a common purpose or goal". Examples in organisms Lateral communication in organisms or animals can give rise to collective intelligence, or the appearance of collective intelligence. Examples of lateral communication in organisms include: The participants in a flock of birds or a shoal of fish all maintain their relative positions or alter direction simultaneously due to lateral communication . Ants, termites and bees coordinate by lateral communication, mediated in the case of ants and termites, for example, by scent trails. The resulting physical structure is an emergent property of the individual entities. Bacterial colonies communicate with each other, coordinating, for example, an attack, or the production of slime using lateral communication based on chemical messengers so that as a group they can detect how many colleagues are near and whether they are likely to overwhelm a target. The pacemaker cells in the heart, a cardiac pacemaker form a small group ; lateral communications sweep through the cells, much like a Mexican wave as a three-dimensional circulating wave, which relays contraction signals to the whole heart. With slime mold, millions of individual amoeba-like creatures can spread out and graze the surface of a leaf. When conditions change, the amoeba concentrate and form a slug-like creature that can relocate before forming a spore body and releasing individual spores. The position and type of human cells are mediated by lateral communication. In organizations and communities It is argued that communities communicate and store collective knowledge through lateral communication and that it is an essential ingredient in making hierarchies work, by compensating for errors in hierarchies' information flows. Lateral/ horizontal communication The term lateral communication can be used interchangeably with horizontal communication. In his text entitled Organizational Communication, Michael J. Papa defines horizontal communication as "the flow of messages across functional areas at a given level of an organization". With this system, people at the same level are permitted "to communicate directly without going through several levels of organization". Given this elasticity, members of an organization have an easier time with "problem-solving, information sharing across different work groups, and task coordination between departments or project teams". The use of lateral or horizontal communication in the workplace "can also enhance morale and afford a means of resolving conflicts.
D
defined as
R
Organisms
organisms
R
A coordinated
The participants in a
D
among members
R
are not coordinated by messages sent by the queen ant/bee/termite but by
coordinate by
D
their
R
Its
The resulting
R
there are , and if
are near and whether
R
very small groupof cells
small group
D
all
R
which can actually move somewhere else
that can relocate
D
millions of
R
Organizations and Communities
organizations and communities
R
Horizontal
horizontal