Theories of non-linear systems : a paradigm for organizational thinking

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The advent of the computer age has seen many fundamental changes in theeconomics. The ease with which organisations can store and transmit information inunprecedented quantities and speeds has changed the face of the economy as wellas the way in which organisations conduct their day to day operations. Informationhas become the primary resource for organisational competitiveness and this hasseen an increasing drive for efficient information generation and management in aneconomy that is interconnected on a global scale. The demand for better informationmanagement practices is driven by the realisation that the global economy issusceptible to sudden and unpredictable changes that can potentially have globalconsequences. The more information organisations have at their disposal, the bettertheir chances are of remaining competitive and relevant in the global economy. Theinformational economy confronts organisations with two very significant problems,the first is information overload due to the sheer volume of information that isavailable to them. The second problem is that despite the volume of availableinformation organisations still are not privy to all the information that is required tolessen the impact of uncertainty that is so characteristic of the global economy.Organisations therefore always run the' risk of becoming irrelevant if they do notchange constantly. This drive for continuous change and the dependence oninformation has led some organisational theorists and economists to compare theglobal economy and organisations to nonlinear systems found in nature. Examples ofnonlinear systems are living organisms, ecologies and solar systems. All of thesesystems are characterised by high levels of interconnectedness and interdependenceamong individual units within a shared environment, which they co-create. Nonlinearsystems are of particular interest to organisational theorists because these systemsprocess information about the environment to adapt in an unpredictable way tounpredictable changes. Such systems are incredibly resilient because they are ableto learn and adapt to different conditions. Another notable aspect of nonlinearsystems is the clear structured and complex organisation that they exhibit in theabsence of centralised control mechanisms. Every unit has the liberty to experimentwith new designs and from the success of individual units an organised and stablesystem emerges with a strong link between the success of individuals and the wholesystem. The order that exists within nonlinear systems is known as self-organisationbecause it is not superimposed but emerges instead in a spontaneous manner.Nonlinear systems are therefore more than just the sum of their parts. The notion ofnonlinear systems and self-organisation has seen authors such as Stacey, Wheatleyand Senge develop new ideas about organisational development, leadership andorganisational strategic thinking. Their ideas are based on what is popularly knownas 'The New Science'. These ideas attempt to encourage organisations realise thatthe global economy functions as a nonlinear system and that organisations stand abetter chance of success if they learn to understand the principles of nonlinearsystems and to utilise the inherent creative and organising characteristics of suchsystems.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University