Entropy and Negentropy

Video Transcription

Hi, I'm Julie Tietz, and welcome to Conflict Resolution-- Putting the Pieces Together. Today, we're going to talk about the concepts of entropy and negentropy.

Entropy and negentropy come from terms out of physics. And they refer to the behavior of thermal energy and physical systems. But the key that we're going to focus on is the behavior of energy in other systems. So entropy and negentropy, although it is coming from physics, we can relate it to other systems which we are more familiar with and what we're going to talk about.

Let's talk a little bit about energy. So we need energy for systems to function. So let's look at some examples here. We need food for our body to have energy and to function. We need electricity for energy in our home so we can use our lights, use our ovens, use our computers, use our TVs. You get the picture.

And we also need energy for our groups to function. So for example, maybe there's an excitement going about. Maybe there's a new person coming into our workplace and we're excited about it. There is a new plan, there is a new organizational structure. Whatever the buzz is, this excitement is fueling our ourselves as a group and is keeping us going and keeping our morale high.

So you get the point here. Energy can be for our body systems. It can be for systems within our home. And it also can be within systems of groups or organizations.

So now that we know what energy is and that we need that energy for our systems to function, let's get into those entropy and negentropy terms that we talked about earlier. In entropy, we are losing or expending energy to the point that we're not replacing it. And so we are losing our efficiency, and therefore are breaking down.

So let's go back to those examples that we used when we're talking about energy earlier. So let's say you don't have any food, so you don't eat. And therefore your body system needs that food as energy. And if you're not giving it to them, we are slowly breaking down.

Let's say there is a fossil fuel shortage and our electricity, we only can use it minimally or not at all. And so the functions of, let's say, our home are breaking down because we can't cook or we can't use our telephone or we can't use our lights, whatever the situation may be. So that would be losing the energy, and then losing efficiency.

Also, going back to our group systems. If we have some low morale or burnout within our work systems, for example, we may lose efficiency because we don't have that energy or the excitement that we needed to keep on going.

So negentropy is unlike entropy in that it uses new energy as a replacement for that lost or expended energy. And when we have this new energy replacement, we are maintaining our efficiency. Or we are having a state of homeostasis where we are remaining in the same condition. So either negentropy is giving that new energy replacement or it's where we're maintaining the status quo as is.

So let's use those three same examples from before with energy and entropy and apply that to negentropy here. So when we eat something, we are replacing that energy that has been expended from our bodies because we know that we can't just eat one thing and we will be satisfied forever. We need to replenish our fuels in our bodies so we can maintain that energy.

So let's say going back to the electricity, maybe we've run out of all of our fossil fuels. And so we replaced that type of energy source to something different. So let's say we have decided to get rid of our fossil fuel electricity and move on to solar panels. So we're still having the energy source, but we're replacing it with something different so we can have a functioning electrical system in our homes.

Now going back to the human group systems, let's say that your job has decided to take everybody on a retreat where we are replenishing our minds and refocusing on our goals, and really talking about new ways in which we can lift each other up and get more energy within our group.

So now let's take a look at the difference between closed and open systems. So sometimes energy can not be replace. And so it's always lost within a system. And this would be called a closed system. So we are not able to give new energy or replace it in a closed system.

Whereas an open system, we can have ways of replenishing the energy and maintaining homeostasis, like we did in negentropy. So closed systems, there's no means of replenishing the energy. Open system, we can replenish the energy.

So how does this relate to conflict? Well, if you think about it, when we have a conflict in a group, it can have a really big burden on the whole entire group system. So if two people within a group are in conflict, it can affect and have a burden on the whole rest of the group. And at times, it can lead to a group energy loss and therefore a breakdown of our group system.

So how can we replenish the group energy when there is a conflict? One solution is through conflict resolution. Conflict resolution really can replace that energy gap or that burden that the conflict has placed upon the group.

And it can actually add more energy and increase overall function of the group. Because we are going through this conflict resolution process and really exploring what the conflict is and how we can solve it, it can provide that new energy for not only the parties, but also the entire group. And when we have more energy, we are increasing our function.

So now that we've gone over entropy and negentropy, let's look at our key points here. So entropy is a loss of energy, whereas negentropy is the replenishment of new energy and maintaining efficiency within our system or homeostasis.

And we have two types of systems, which are closed and open. Closed does not allow new energy to enter in, where open systems allow entropy over time.

And conflict really can have an impact on our group systems. But if we go through a conflict resolution process, we can really fix that impact and burden that the conflict has had on the group and add new energy and new efficiency.

Well, that's all that I have for you today. Take a look at your key terms here. Feel free to pause and look them over a little bit closer.

Thank you so much for taking the time out to view this tutorial. And I can't wait to catch you again next time.