Organization

The party wipes on the same mechanic for the third time. In FFXIV, a total party defeat that forces everyone to restart a fight is called a wipe. The cause should be clear, but nobody speaks. Eventually, someone says, “Let’s go again,” and all eight players begin the countdown with the same uncertainty unresolved. At a moment like this, is player skill really what is missing? Even when everyone understands their own movement, the group will get stuck in the same place if they use different reference points for their positions or cannot admit a mistake. In FFXIV, a static is a group that tackles high-end content such as Savage and Ultimate fights with, in principle, the same members over time. Difficult mechanics are not the only thing that stops a static’s progress. Small gaps in understanding among eight players can cause repeated wipes too. How can a group find those gaps early and correct them on the next pull? This article looks at situations that commonly arise in statics. ...

The title may sound poetic, but what follows is something I have thought about quite seriously. The trigger for writing this article was an exchange with students. In the chat tool of a project (an extracurricular activity) where I serve as an advisor, someone raised the question: “Do general theories of organization really apply to student groups?” It is true that many organizational theories are written with “corporate organizations” in mind. However, I believe that student organizations operate under a set of premises that are fundamentally different from those of companies. If I add together the years I spent in student groups and the years I have watched them as an advisor, I have spent a fair amount of time observing this “gap.” ...