In the modern age where business is spread globally the challenges in front of an organization are highly complex as the competition intensifies. Due to the complexity in the organizational management the older system methodology seems to become less relevant and sparingly less useful in these situations. These issues led to the introduction of complexity paradigm (Amagoh, 2008). Complexity theory was derived from the chaos and systems theory to show how a system is not confined in its boundaries and the growth or fall of an organization or a system depends upon how it is able to adapt and change to various situations. Complexity in an organization can be defined as the heterogeneity or diversity in the internal environment factors like that of departments, customers, socio-political etc. (Mason, 2007:10). The complexity theory focuses on the affects of how parts at a micro-level can lead to major changes at the macro level (McElroy, 2000: 198; McKenzie and James, 2004: 35). The complexity of a system increases as the time goes by which in turn leads to much more changes within the system (Chakravarthy, 1997: 74). This change in systems makes it much more difficult to adapt to the changes. According to Rhee (2000: 488) the complex systems arises due to the interaction between the environment and the systems involved. In recent studies and researches done it was found that systems on the edge or on the near end of the threshold of instability usually tend to be more creative and adaptive to changes and lot of innovative behavioral approaches are produced. (Price, 2004: 44; Styhre, 2002: 347) In short we can compare complex systems to the nature around us. Just like you can't force a plant to grow you can just provide the things... ... middle of paper ... ...one. Shadow area of an organization is where people from different parts of the organization may get together to vent out ideas or talk about the organization itself. The thoughts that come out in the shadow area can be used for the positive effect. For example in a health care institute one of the executive once entered a cafeteria where doctors, nurses and some other employees were hanging out and was surprised with ideas that were produced on various matters. A true leader does not need to be threatened by the shadow system but in turn he can use the shadow area to build upon new ideas and feel the general opinion and morale of the crowd. Complexity theory is a science that is still on the grow and is not fully explored in the broad sense. Even then the adaptation to the various complexities is important for every organization at every step of its progress.
complex. It has a big history and is useful today. It takes much to even describe this
Teams thrive on complexity; however, if a task or process is simple an organisation can cope without teamwork
Achieving organizational change that produces real results is not just a managerial challenge; it is also a cognitive challenge. As Peter Senge stated in an article on leadership "deep organizational change requires a change in people. Redrawing the lines and boxes in your org chart without addressing the way people within the organization interact may be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" (1996). Leaders find it easier to address tasks rather than the complex dynamics of human interactions. The outcome of which is a focus on the short-term and local not the longer-term and global results from change.
Animal and plant husbandry due to human growth has transformed into factories that pump out foodstuffs in higher quantities than imaginable centuries in the past. This is done through the use of monocultures, which produce one single crop in high quantities, and factory farming, compact animal lots that grow the animal as quickly as possible for slaughter. The shift to monoculture farming and factory farming was due to the rapid increase in population and advancements in farming technology, for example pesticides. In recent years the focus has shifted to escaping factory farming through organic farming. Organic farming produces foodstuffs without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or any other artificial factors. Organic farming focuses on natural development of organisms. Author Michael Pollan in his essay “The Animals: Practicing Complexity” describes his time at an organic farm and describes Polyface Farm as profitable, efficient, cheap,
Change is a fundamental element of individuals, groups and all sorts of organizations. As it is the case for individuals, groups and societies, where change is a continuous process, composed of an indefinite amount of smaller sub-changes that vary in effect and length, and is affected by all sorts of aspects and events, many of which cyclic are anticipated ones. It is also the case for organizations, where change occurs repeatedly during the life cycle of organizations. Yet change in organizations is not as anticipated nor as predictable, with unexpected internal and external variables and political forces that can further complicate the management of change (Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson, 2009), which is by itself, the focus of many scholars in their pursuit to shed light on and facilitate the change process (Kotter 1996; Levin 1947; et al).
The emergent approach is also not without some benefits when it comes to managing an organization as well as getting support from stakeholders. For instance, it provides a high degree of responsiveness and flexibility. It is therefore possible to adjust patterns according to realized outcomes associated with present actions. Its adoption thus offers the stakeholders with the required flexibility to fine-tune their behavioural patterns as dictated by the feedback obtained from different courses of action. The less rigid approach goes a long way in legitimizing the participant’s actions as they take pleasure in the advantage of experimenting with different courses of action with an aim of establishing the one that that may lead to the realization of anticipated objectives (Bodwell & Chermack,
What is identity? Identity is an unbound formation which is created by racial construction and gender construction within an individual’s society even though it is often seen as a controlled piece of oneself. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’, Tatum asserts that identity is formed by “individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 105). Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’” creates a better understanding of how major obstacles such as racism and sexism shape our self identity.
Leaders are the individuals who help to create options and opportunities. They help in identifying the choices and solve the problems. They build commitment and coalitions. Leaders do this by inspiring others and working along with them to construct the shared vision of the possibilities and commitments of a better group, organization or community. They engage the followers in such a way that most of the followers become leaders in their own right. The variety of demands of an increasingly complex world very often require that leadership be shared by most of the members of an organization, in appropriate ways for different situations. A leader is the on...
S represents Systemic - complexity and interconnectedness of situations means it is essential to be inclusive and acknowledge relationships in a system approach, to deal with the situation as a whole system rather than as parts.
Conklin, J. (2001). “Wicked Problems and Social Complexity.” CogNexus Institute. [Online]. Available from the World Wide Web: http://cognexus.org/wpf/wickedproblems.pdf
Looking at the world where we live everything in someway is connected. Our world is not simple and in fact consists of multiple complex systems. Some everyday examples of complex systems are the brain, immune system, insect colonies, and even social networks such as Facebook and twitter. So what exactly do all these have in common in order to be a complex system? First is the fact that each one has a large amount of simple components that work together by communication through signals without being under leadership. But not all systems are exactly the same so we can break it down further into chaotic systems, complex adaptive systems, and nonlinear systems. Chaotic systems differ in that they are non-linear and are sensitive to initial conditions. Therefore any uncertainty in the system will not produce an outcome that can be predicted later on. A good example of a chaotic system would be the stock market because the prediction of its outcome is unknown due to its sensitivity to initial conditions. Complex adaptive systems are just like they sound. They are capable of adapting to the environment such as the immune system. It’s white blood cells work together to recognize foreign bodies and create antibodies for future encounters.
Greiner’s model of organizational growth describes the five distinct phases that organizations go through (Jones, 2010). Each stage is composed of a period of relatively stable growth, followed by a crisis that must be overcome in order to move on to the next stage.
... and incentives to implement strategy. The importance of structure persists even in the face of the growth of the internet, globalization, and changing demographics of the workforce.
The main factors are: objectives, structure, tasks, technology and people. Changing one of them to a certain extent affect the others. The success of the organization also depends on the external environment of the organization, which is not possible without the life cycle of any organization.
Bureaucracy is the response to the problem posed by larger and more complex formal organization because an extensive organization will need a form of order of the ranks or chain of command to coordinate the activities of its members. Bureaucracy provides a hierarchical authority structure that is supposed to operate under certain rules and procedures. Understanding bureaucracy is the key to the analysis of formal organizations. The word “bureaucracy” connotes negative images in everyday speech. It usually brings to mind images of, “red tape” or “buck passing” where the organization requires forms in triplicate; files are often lost, incorrect statements of accounts, and the ...