Organisational climate change is here: memory curators in the digital age

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-336
Author(s):  
Andrew James McFadzean
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Transactive Memory ◽  
Peer Production ◽  
Archival Appraisal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complex Adaptive

Purpose This paper aims to describe two themes of information and knowledge management in building corporate memory through curation in complex systems. The first theme describes the skillsets of new memory curators: curation; appraisal; strategist and manager. The second theme describes four concepts that support information management in complex systems: David Snowden’s just-in-time process; Polanyi’s personal knowing; Wenger’s transactive memory system; and David Snowden’s ASHEN database schema. Design/methodology/approach Academic journals and professional publications were analysed for educational requirements for information professionals in complex adaptive systems. Findings The skills described should be readily applied and useful in a complex adaptive system with the four concepts described. The four concepts displayed features indicating each separate concept could be aligned and integrated with the other concepts to create an information sharing model based on synergy between reasoning and computing. Research limitations/implications Research is needed into the capability and potential of folksonomies using recordkeeping metadata and archival appraisal to support peer production information and communication systems. Originality/value The author has not found any research that links archival appraisal, user-generated metadata tagging, folksonomies and transactive memory systems governance policy to support digital online, co-innovation peer production.

The complexity continuum, part 2: modelling harmony

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 1626-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Yolles
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Agency Theory ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Viable Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Viable System

PurposeComplex systems adapt to survive, but little comparative literature exists on various approaches. Adaptive complex systems are generic, this referring to propositions concerning their bounded instability, adaptability and viability. Two classes of adaptive complex system theories exist: hard and soft. Hard complexity theories include Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and Viability Theory, and softer theories, which we refer to as Viable Systems Theories (VSTs), that includes Management Cybernetics at one extreme and Humanism at the other. This paper has a dual purpose distributed across two parts. In part 1 the purpose was to identify the conditions for the complementarity of the two classes of theory. In part 2 the two the purpose is to explore (in part using Agency Theory) the two classes of theory and their proposed complexity continuum.Design/methodology/approachExplanation is provided for the anticipation of behaviour cross-disciplinary fields of theory dealing with adaptive complex systems. A comparative exploration of the theories is undertaken to elicit concepts relevant to a complexity continuum. These explain how agency behaviour can be anticipated under uncertainty. Also included is a philosophical exploration of the complexity continuum, expressing it in terms of a graduated set of philosophical positions that are differentiated in terms of objects and subjects. These are then related to hard and softer theories in the continuum. Agency theory is then introduced as a framework able to comparatively connect the theories on this continuum, from theories of complexity to viable system theories, and how harmony theories can develop.FindingsAnticipation is explained in terms of an agency’s meso-space occupied by a regulatory framework, and it is shown that hard and softer theory are equivalent in this. From a philosophical perspective, the hard-soft continuum is definable in terms of objectivity and subjectivity, but there are equivalences to the external and internal worlds of an agency. A fifth philosophical position of critical realism is shown to be representative of harmony theory in which internal and external worlds can be related. Agency theory is also shown to be able to operate as a harmony paradigm, as it can explore external behaviour of an agent using a hard theory perspective together with an agent’s internal cultural and cognitive-affect causes.Originality/valueThere are very few comparative explorations of the relationship between hard and soft approaches in the field of complexity and even fewer that draw in the notion of harmony. There is also little pragmatic illustration of a harmony paradigm in action within the context of complexity.

The complexity continuum, Part 1: hard and soft theories

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1330-1354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Yolles
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Viable Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Complexity Theories

PurposeComplex systems adapt to survive, but little comparative literature exists on various approaches. Adaptive complex systems are generic, this referring to propositions concerning their bounded instability, adaptability and viability. Two classes of adaptive complex system theories exist: hard and soft. Hard complexity theories include Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and Viability Theory, and softer theories, which we refer to as Viable Systems Theories (VSTs), that include Management Cybernetics at one extreme and Humanism at the other. This paper has a dual purpose distributed across two parts. In Part 1, the purpose of this paper is to identify the conditions for the complementarity of the two classes of theory. In Part 2, the purpose is to explore (in part using Agency Theory) the two classes of theory and their proposed complexity continuum.Design/methodology/approachA detailed analysis of the literature permits a distinction between hard and softer approaches towards modelling complex social systems. Hard theories are human-incommensurable, while soft ones are human-commensurable, therefore more closely related to the human condition. The characteristics that differentiate between hard and soft approaches are identified.FindingsHard theories are more restrictive than the softer theories. The latter can embrace degrees of “softness” and it is explained how hard and soft approaches can be mixed, sometimes creating Harmony.Originality/valueThere are very few explorations of the relationship between hard and soft approaches to complexity theory, and even fewer that draw in the notion of harmony.

Strategy in the era of “swans”: the role of strategic leadership under uncertainty and unpredictability

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Adobor ◽  
William Phanuel Kofi Darbi ◽  
Obi Berko O. Damoah
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Strategic Leadership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complexity Leadership ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Strategic Leaders ◽  
Impact Events

PurposeThe purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore the role of strategic leadership under conditions of uncertainty and unpredictability. The authors argue that highly improbable, but high-impact events require the upper echelons of management, traditionally the custodians of strategy formulation to offer a new kind of strategic leadership focused on new mindsets, organizational capabilities, more in tune with high uncertainty and unpredictability.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on strategic leadership, and complexity leadership theory, the authors review the literature and present a conceptual framework for exploring the nature of strategic leadership under uncertainty. The authors conceptualize organizations as complex adaptive systems and discuss the imperatives for developing new mental models for emergent leadership.FindingsStrategic leaders have a key role to play in preparing their organizations for episodic disruptions. These include developing their adaptive capabilities and building resilient organizations to ensure their organizations cannot only bounce back after a disruption but have the capacity for transformation to new fitness levels when necessary. Strategic leaders must engage with complexity leadership by seeing their organizations as complex adaptive systems, reconfigure their leadership approaches and organizations to build strategic adaptive capability.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a conceptual paper and the authors cannot make any claims of causality.Practical implicationsOrganizational leaders need to reconfigure their mental models and leadership approaches to reflect the new normal of uncertainty and unpredictability. Developing the strategic adaptive capability of organizations should prepare them for dealing with high impact events. To assure business continuity in the face of disruptions requires building flexible, adaptable business models.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on how managers can offer strategic leadership for a new normal that challenges some of our most cherished leadership and strategic management paradigms. The authors explore the new mental models and leadership models in an era of great uncertainty.

Complex Adaptive Systems Thinking Approach to Enterprise Architecture

2016 ◽  
pp. 339-389
Author(s):  
Marc Rabaey
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Enterprise Architecture ◽  
Time Dynamic ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Unstable Environment ◽  
Systems Thinking Approach ◽  
High Degree

Complex systems interact with an environment where a high degree of uncertainty exists. To reduce uncertainty, enterprises (should) create intelligence. This chapter shows that intelligence has two purposes: first, to increase and to assess (thus to correct) existing knowledge, and second, to support decision making by reducing uncertainty. The chapter discusses complex adaptive systems. Enterprises are not only complex systems; they are also most of the time dynamic because they have to adapt their goals, means, and structure to survive in the fast evolving (and thus unstable) environment. Crucial for enterprises is to know the context/ecology in which they act and operate. The Cynefin framework makes the organization and/or its parts aware of the possible contexts of the organization and/or its parts: simple, complicated, complex, chaotic, or disordered. It is crucial for the success of implementing and using EA that EA is adapted to function in an environment of perpetual change. To realize this, the chapter proposes and elaborates a new concept of EA, namely Complex Adaptive Systems Thinking – Enterprise Architecture (CAST-EA).

Modularity and Complex Adaptive Systems

2008 ◽  
pp. 75-104
Author(s):  
David Cornforth ◽  
David G. Green
Keyword(s):  
Fault Tolerance ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Single Unit ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Critical Phase ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Different Levels

Modularity is ubiquitous in complex adaptive systems. Modules are clusters of components that interact with their environment as a single unit. They provide the most widespread means of coping with complexity, in both natural and artificial systems. When modules occur at several different levels, they form a hierarchy. The effects of modules and hierarchies can be understood using network theory, which makes predictions about certain properties of systems such as the effects of critical phase changes in connectivity. Modular and hierarchic structures simplify complex systems by reducing long-range connections, thus constraining groups of components to act as a single component. In both plants and animals, the organisation of development includes modules, such as branches and organs. In artificial systems, modularity is used to simplify design, provide fault tolerance, and solve difficult problems by decomposition.

scholarly journals Smallholder value chains as complex adaptive systems: a conceptual framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair Orr ◽  
Jason Donovan ◽  
Dietmar Stoian
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complex Adaptive

Purpose Smallholder value chains are dynamic, changing over time in sudden, unpredictable ways as they adapt to shocks. Understanding these dynamics and adaptation is essential for these chains to remain competitive in turbulent markets. Many guides to value chain development, though they focus welcome attention on snapshots of current structure and performance, pay limited attention to the dynamic forces affecting these chains or to adaptation. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops an expanded conceptual framework to understand value chain performance based on the theory of complex adaptive systems. The framework combines seven common properties of complex systems: time, uncertainty, sensitivity to initial conditions, endogenous shocks, sudden change, interacting agents and adaptation. Findings The authors outline how the framework can be used to ask new research questions and analyze case studies in order to improve our understanding of the development of smallholder value chains and their capacity for adaptation. Research limitations/implications The framework highlights the need for greater attention to value chain dynamics. Originality/value The framework offers a new perspective on the dynamics of smallholder value chains.

How can a municipal government continue operations during megadisasters? An analysis of preparedness using complex adaptive systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 779-792
Author(s):  
Masahiko Haraguchi
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Continuity Planning ◽  
Complex Adaptive

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how government continuity planning contributes to strengthening the public sector's emergency preparedness, resulting in enhanced resilience of the public sector. Government continuity plans (GCPs) are a recently focused concept in disaster preparedness, compared to business continuity plans (BCPs) in the private sector. The need for BCPs was widely recognized after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and the 2011 Thailand Floods. However, recent disasters, such as the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake in Japan, have revealed that local governments without effective GCPs were severely affected by disasters, preventing them from quickly responding to or recovering from disasters. When the GEJE occurred in 2011, only 11% of municipal governments in Japan had GCPs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes basic principles of government continuity planning using complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory while summarizing recent developments in theory and practice of government continuity planning.FindingsThis research investigates the Japanese experience of GCPs using self-organization, one of the concepts of CAS. A GCP will complement regional disaster plans, which often focus on what governments should do to protect citizens during emergencies but fail to outline how governments should prepare for an emergency operation. The study concludes that GCPs contribute to increased resilience among the public sector in terms of robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness and rapidity.Practical implicationsThis paper includes implications for the development and improvement of a GCP's operational guideline.Originality/valueThis research fulfills an identified need to investigate the effectiveness of a GCP for resilience in the public sector and how to improve its operation using concepts of CAS.

scholarly journals The viable decision maker for CAS survival: how to change and adapt through fitting process

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1006-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Carrubbo ◽  
Francesca Iandolo ◽  
Valentina Pitardi ◽  
Mario Calabrese
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Organizational Design ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
General Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complex Adaptive

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the decision-making process in the management of the complex adaptive systems (CAS), particularly focusing on the dimensions that affect the individual decision maker (DM) when passing from decision to behavior in fitting processes. Although the importance of the general process of fitting in terms of organizational design has been highlighted in earlier studies, a closer focus on the DM perspective is required. Design/methodology/approach Starting from the theoretical frameworks of viable systems approach (vSa) and addressing the evolving concepts of change and adaptation in CAS, the work takes the DM perspective and investigates the dimensions involved in the paths that lead complex decisions into behaviors, when referring to fitting processes. The paper reviews the vSa and the concept of CAS, deepening the decision making in fitting processes. Then, the paper proceeds to discuss the schemes and the categories that affect, at different levels, the decision and behavioral choices by proposing an interpretative framework. Findings The paper proposes a general framework useful to recognize/identify which are the elements/dimensions that have to be considered when organizations change in pursuing survival. The findings of the paper also show how adopting a vSa as a meta-model can be insightful to the understanding of service systems and useful in fully comprehending decision-making processes and behavior in complex adaptive system. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in exploring the decision making process in CAS, adopting a closer perspective on the single DM through the lens of the vSa.

1. Complex systems

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Tropical Rainforest ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Physical Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Distinctive Property ◽  
Adaptive Interaction

What is complexity? A complex system, such as a tropical rainforest, is a tangled web of interactions and exhibits a distinctive property called ‘emergence’, roughly described by ‘the action of the whole is more than the sum of the actions of the parts’. This chapter explains that the interactions of interest are non-linear and thus hierarchical organization is closely tied to emergence. Complex systems explains several kinds of telltale behaviour: emergent behaviour, self-organization, chaotic behaviour, ‘fat-tailed behaviour’, and adaptive interaction. The field of complexity studies has split into two subfields that examine two different kinds of emergence: complex physical systems and complex adaptive systems.

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