Ackoff Center Weblog

Engaging with complexity

Experiencing Complexity as Mess or Difficulty!

The ideas of mess and difficulty are examined in the context of complexity. Determination is made on how these ideas are connected, how significant the connections are and what the differences illuminate. This work draws on the ideas of three writers: Schön, whose central theme is practice (e.g. Schön, 1983; 1987); Ackoff, who explores the characteristics of mess; and Rosenhead, who shows how different approaches to practice may be contrasted in terms that illuminate the distinction between difficulty and mess.

To read this blog post, click on: Engaging with complexity

The Devil is Not in the Details!

Presented by John Pourdehnad at In2:InThinking Network 2007 Forum,
Los Angeles, April 14, 2007

The cliché "the devil is in the details” means that it is easy to talk about the current reality but difficult to arrive at. With the world characterized by complexity, chaos and discontinues changes, such admonitions no longer stand the test of times. To arrive at the “current reality,” with the world that is dynamically and globally interconnected, management scientists and practitioners are increasingly turning to approaches that are holistic in nature. A familiar proverb: “a picture is worth a thousand words” that refers to the idea that complex stories can be told with just a single still image, is touted as a thought process to untangling complexities. An approach that would help us to visualize where substantial amounts of data and information must be absorbed quickly in order to arrive at innovative strategies. To address the above challenges, we need to develop a thinking that is distinct from conventional management thinking. “System thinking” as an alternative world view to conventional thinking will be introduced and the implications for management will be discussed.

To see the presentation, click on the link: The Devil is Not in the Details!

 

'complexity' publications from ISCE Publishing

1. Complex Systems Leadership Theory: New Perspectives from Complexity Science on Social and Organizational Effectiveness - Edited by James K. Hazy, Jeffrey A. Goldstein and Benyamin B. Lichtenstein - 550pp + index - ISBN 978-0-9791688-6-4. Click here for detailed contents, editorial and comprehensive index; and here to order with a 20% discount;

2. Thinking Complexity: Complexity and Philosophy Volume 1 - Edited by Paul Cilliers - 250pp + index - ISBN 978-0-9791688-7-1. Click here for for detailed contents, editorial and comprehensive index;  and here to order with a 20% discount;

3. Sustaining Our Social and Natural Capital: Proceedings of the 12th ANZSYS Conference - Edited by Roger Attwater & John Merson - 576pp - ISBN 978-0-9791688-8-8. Click here for detailed contents and editorial; and here to order with a 20% discount;

4. New issue of the international peer-reviewed journal Emergence: Complexity & Organization (Issue 9.3). Current subscribers can download the current issue from here. The print version will be sent out to subscribers who have requested the complementary print version will be sent out in a couple of weeks time. To order a subscription to Volume 9 of E:CO please visit here. Issue 9.3 includes:

Editorial: The Complexity of Change and Adaptation
Peter Allen
General Papers
Academic
Understanding Change in Organizations in a Far-from-Equilibrium World
Bob Hodge & Gabriela Coronado
The Dark Side of Knowledge
David Seidl
Practitioner
Assessing Organizational Capacity to Adapt
Eleanor D. Glor
Complexity Science Conflict Analysis of Power and Protest
L. Deborah Sword
Complexity and Philosophy
Approaching “Complexity” in Anthropology and Complexity Studies: The Principles of Socio-Political Organization and the Prospects for Bridging the Interdisciplinary Gap
Dmitri M. Bondarenko
Classic Complexity
The Philosophy of the Present
George Herbert Mead (with an introduction by Jeffrey A. Goldstein)
Forum
Rolling Complex Rocks Up Social Service Hills: A Personal Commentary
Michael Agar
Adjacent Opportunities: Ordinary Magic
Ron Schultz
Book Reviews
A Review of “Socioeconomic Democracy: An Advanced Socioeconomic system”
William P. Hall
A Review of “Complexity in World Politics: Concepts and Methods of a New Paradigm”
Ken Baskin
If you have any questions concerning ISCE Publishing's new or existing titles please contact Kurt Richardson at [email protected].