Complexity science refers to the study of adaptive systems, those that can absorb information, learn and then evolve in response to environmental changes. It is a model which charts the movement from chaos to order, and can be used to improve our understanding of how business organizations develop according to the cultural and economic pressures that they work within.

Complexity, Management and the Dynamics of Change succeeds in making the main tenets of complexity science accessible to students of business and management. It illustrates how different kinds of organizations can become more effective, democratic and sustainable by using knowledge of complexity science principles. Understanding complexity can help managers cope more effectively with the waves of uncertainty and change that the twenty first century is sure to bring, and that these concepts are of more than metaphorical value to organizations.

Using key case studies to illustrate the powerful applicability of these ideas, this book is an important introduction to the role of complexity science in the organizational context. It will prove fascinating reading for students and practicing managers alike.

Complexity science has seriously challenged long-held views in the scientific community about how the world works. These ideas, particularly about the living world, also have radical and profound implications for organizations and society as a whole. Complexity, Organizations and Change, available in paperback for the first time, describes and considers ideas and insights from complexity science and examines their use in organizations, especially in bringing about major organizational change. This key book explores how organizations, their design, the way they operate and, importantly, the people who co-create them, are thought of. Explaining the history and development of complexity science in an accessible way for the non-scientific reader, this outstanding book describes key concepts and their use in theory and practice. Illustrated with real-life examples from organizations in the UK, Europe and the USA, the book includes an in-depth case study of an organization which used complexity principles as part of a strategic change intervention. From this, useful models for introducing a complexity-based change process are derived. Complexity, Organizations and Change will appeal to academics, researchers and advanced students who are interested in complexity science and what it means for strategy, organization and management theory and organizational change.

Contents:
1. Introduction 2. Introducing Complexity 3. Organizations and the Long Shadow of Scientific Tradition 4. Le Plus Ca Change...The More it Stays the Same? 5. Transforming Organizations using Complexity 6. Changing the Open University: A Case-Study 7. Complexity in Action 8. Future Possibilities, Future Choices

In this profoundly important text, Elizabeth McMillan shows how the insights of complexity science can allow today's managers to embrace the challenges and uncertainty of the twenty-first century, and successfully oversee organizational change and development. Complexity science refers to the study of complex adaptive systems. These can absorb information, learn and then intelligently adapt in response to environmental changes. This book brings these ideas into an important new arena by: outlining the historical relationship between science and organizations; reviewing current perspectives on organizational change and best practice; citing real-life examples of the use of complexity science ideas; and discussing issues which may arise when using ideas from complexity.Written in an accessible style to bridge the gap from scientific theory to commercial applicability, this ground breaking text shows how organizations can become more effective, democratic and sustainable through complexity science. It is a key text for all students of business and management, and all practitioners working in the field.

This is a new release of the original 1959 edition.

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!