Managing Organizational Complexity:
Philosophy, Theory and Application

Edited by Kurt A. Richardson

ISBN 1593113196 (cloth) 1593113188 (paper)

CONTENTS

Series Introducion
Michael R. Lissack & Kurt A. Richardson (PDF)

Volume Introduction
Kurt A. Richardson (PDF)

Section 1: Philosophy

Section Introduction: Why Philosophy?
Kurt A. Richardson (PDF)

1. Knowing Complex Systems
Paul Cilliers (Abstract)

2. “To Be or Not to Be? That is [NOT] the Question”: Complexity Theory and the Need for Critical Thinking
Kurt A. Richardson (Abstract)

3. How Can We Think Complex?
Carlos Gershenson & Francis Heylighen (Abstract)

4. Emergence, Creative Process, and Self-Transcending Constructions
Jeffrey Goldstein (Abstract)

5. Causality in Organized Complexity: The Role of Management
Stanley E. Salthe (Abstract)

6. Advancing Complexity Theory into the Human Domain
Barbara Simpson (Abstract)

Section 2: Theory

Section Introduction: Pluralism in Management Science
Kurt A. Richardson (PDF)

7. From Excellence to Emergence: The Evolution of Management Thinking and the Influence of Complexity
Buck Lawrimore (Abstract)

8. Unresolved Issues in Process-Centric Business Analysis: A Cathartic Role for Complexity
James Falconer (Abstract)

9. The Use of Bytes to Analyze Complex Organizations
Shann Turnbull (Abstract)

10. Chaos-Based Principles of Forecasting
Lui Hong & Kurt A. Richardson (Abstract)

11. Predicting the Human Weather: How Differentiation and Contextual Complexity Affect Behavior Prediction
Robert G. Jones & Gowri Parameswaran (Abstract)

12. Dealing with Complexity in Organizational Control Processes: Drawing Lessons for the Human Brain
Rajaram Veliyath & K. Sathian (Abstract)

13. Theory of Integral Complex Organization
Ronald C. Murray (Abstract)

14. Self-Reproduction of the Enterprise: Von Neumann’s Model Applied
Pavel O. Luksha (Abstract)

15. The Observation, Inquiry, and Measurement Challenges Surfaced by Complexity Theory
Eric B. Dent (Abstract)

16. An Intersubjective Measure of Organizational Complexity: A New Approach
Mihnea Moldoveanu (Abstract)

17. Imagining Complex Partnerships
Will P. Medd (Abstract)

18. The Improvised-Orchestration Model of Organizational Evolution
Tadahiko Kawai (Abstract)

19. Storytelling and the Complex Epistemology of Organizations
Ken Baskin (Abstract)

20. Ancient Insights into the Modern Organization
Julie Richardson (Abstract)

21. Machines or Gardens... Or Both?
Patrick E. Connor & Carole S. Napolitano (Abstract)

22. A Complexity-Based Scrutiny of Learning from Organizational Crises
Dawn R. Gilpin (Abstract)

Section 3: Application

Section Introduction: Applying Complexity Thinking
Kurt A. Richardson (PDF)

23. The Implications of Complexity for Business Process and Strategy
Peter M. Allen, Jean Boulton, Mark Strathern & James Baldwin (Abstract)

24. Agent-Based Models to Manage the Complex
Duncan A. Robertson (Abstract)

25. The Coherent Management of Complex Project and the Potential Role of Group Decision Support Systems
Kurt A. Richardson, Andrew Tait, Johan Roos & Michael R. Lissack (Abstract)

26. The Complexity of Complex Systems Conferences: Reflexivity and Walking the Talk
Michael R. Lissack (Abstract)

27. Parameters for Sustained Orderly Growth in Learning Organizations
James K. Horn (Abstract)

28. Complexity and Spatiality: Regions, Networks and Fluids in Sustainable Water Management
Will P. Medd & Simon Marvin (Abstract)

29. Encouraging Strategic Change by Using Complexity-Based Principles: A Case Study of the Open University, UK
Elizabeth McMillan (Abstract)

30. Provoking Chaordic Change in a Dutch Manufacturing Firm
Frans van Eijnatten & Maarten van Galen (Abstract)

Postscript
Andrew Wilson (PDF)

About the Contributors
(PDF)