The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition, 4th Edition

5.2. An Overview of Resource Description

We describe resources so that we can refer to them, distinguish among them, search for them, manage access to them, preserve them, and make predictions about what might happen to them or what they might do. Each purpose may require different resource descriptions. We use resource descriptions in every communication and conversation; they are the enablers of organizing systems.

5.2.1. Naming {and, or, vs.} Describing

Chapter 4 discussed how to decide what things should be treated as resources and how names and identifiers distinguish one resource from another. Names can suggest the properties and principles an organizing system uses to arrange its resources. We can see how societies organize their people by noting that among the most common surnames in English are descriptions of occupations (Smith, Miller, Taylor), descriptions of kinship relations (Johnson, Wilson, Anderson), and descriptions of appearance (Brown, White).230[Ling]

In many cultures, one spouse or the other takes a name that describes their marital relationship. In many parts of the English-speaking world, married women have often referred to themselves using their husband’s name.231[Ling]

Similarly, many other kinds of resources have names that are property descriptions, including buildings (Pentagon, White House), geographical locations (North America, Red Sea), and cities (Grand Forks, Baton Rouge).

Every resource can be given a name or identifier. Identifiers are especially ...