| Definition of Complexity A Roundtable Discussion
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
For purposes of the roundtable, the following definition as offered by Professor Sussman (1999) will be used:
"A system is complex when it is composed of a group of related units (subsystems), for which the degree and nature of the relationships is imperfectly known. Its overall emergent behavior is difficult to predict, even when subsystem behavior is readily predictable. The time-scales of various subsystems may be very different (as we can see in transportation--land-use changes, for example, vs. operating decisions). Behavior in the long-term and short-term may be markedly different and small changes in inputs or parameters may produce large changes in behavior."
In terms of management implications, the following findings from Stacy (1993) will be considered: that organisations do not only adapt to their environments, but help to create them that organisational success can come from contradiction as well as consistency, that success may stem from being part of a self-reinforcing cycle, rather than from an explicit 'vision,' that revolutionary as well as incremental changes may lie on the route to organisational success. This leads to the central point by Rosenhead (2002), that the need for continious learing of the environment and rapid recalibration of plans and styles in light of changing circumstances is critical. |
