Dima Koyfman
MSOD 618 – Complexity Theory
Complexity Theory Concepts – Emergence and “Edge of Chaos”
Emergence is the idea that actions, decisions, and structure in organizations
happen through interactions within the organization. Shaw describes emergence in
the scope of conversations, learning, networks, and self-organizing. As relationships
develop and more conversations occur, the structure of an organization is created
from the bottom up as opposed from the top down.
The “Edge of Chaos” is described and an area between chaotic and ordered
systems that creates the best environment for processing information. Staying on
the edge of chaos helps prevent stagnation in an environment that is too predictable
and explosion in complete chaos.
Application - Training
Historically, mandatory on-going training execution has been a bit of a
polarizing topic in our organization. On one side of the coin, there are team
members who prescribe a very formal “check-list” strategy to ensure each team
member completes training. You schedule time, plan for each team member, and
keep track of completion with an employee list. On the other side, we have team
members who prefer a more organic, conversational strategy where we complete
training when we have had “enough” conversations. In the scope of Complexity
Theory, this is an “emergent” strategy. Throughout a business day, you get a sense
of slower times, deliver “in the moment” training and constantly inform the team in
terms of who has completed the training and who has not. In the spirit of
complexity theory, the second strategy aligns better. Shaw writes, “[that] The
transformative potential of conversation may be blocked by demands for early
clarity and closure”. About a month ago, we went through our latest training and
this dichotomy reared it’s ugly head once again. In reflection, I learned an important
lesson in the benefits of an emergent strategy for training. A colleague and I got into
a pretty heated discussion about how to best complete this training. I was in the
“formal, organized” boat and she was in the “emergent” boat. She made a statement
that really stuck with me. She said, “wouldn’t it be great if we trusted each other
enough to not need a checklist to get through this training?” In hindsight, this was a
very powerful statement. One of the insights from the Griffin, Shaw, and Stacey
article states, “Relationships dictate actions”. If we assume that to be true, what does
this say about the relationships on our team? Do we trust each other? How does this
manifest in other actions? These are questions that will now act as filters in the
future.
Application – Launch
The concept of “Edge of Chaos” applies to new product launches in our
organization. The saying, “We are at our best when we are our busiest” is a popular
idea in our organization. Outside of the convenient alliteration, I had not put a ton of
thought into why this saying came up so often. Shaw talks about the Edge of Chaos
as “conditions in which a complex network paradoxically experiences both stability
and instability”. Although there is a lot we can plan for in launches, inevitably there
will always be unpredictable events. In our most recent launch, the demand was
absolutely insane. There was no way we could have had enough resources to meet
the demand. In the same vain, there were no specific instructions that could have
solved the “chaos”. Although our team was experiencing a lot of new situations, we
were able to maintain stability through values. Dolan describes the evolution of MBI
(Managing by Instruction) to MBV (Managing by Values). This was a strategy we
used to maintain our position on the “Edge of Chaos”. Our values were the constant
that could not change no matter what ambiguity we faced. Based on the MBV
strategy, we were able to adjust through out the day and make a key adjustment to
how we were handling our lines of customers.
References:
Shaw, Patricia (2002). Changing Conversations in Organizations: A complexity
approach to change. New York, New York: Routledge.
Griffin, D., Shaw, P., & Stacey, R. (1999). Knowing and Acting in Conditions of
Uncertainty: A Complexity Perspective. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 12, 3,
295-309.
Dolan S.L., Garcia S., & Auerbach A. (2003). Understating Chaos in
Oganisations.International Journal of Management. Vol. 20 No. 1.