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Complexity Theory

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Complexity Theory
The words “complexity” and “complex” have been used in the context of management. While the word “complex” suggests dynamics rising from the interaction between elements, factors, parts, it results in nonlinear and ongoing changes in the parts. The word “complexity” is used different ways in many organization systems. The different uses of this word is dependent on the systems being chartered and organized. Nowadays, complexity theory is at the center of what systems are today and it is attached with the concept that a system is more than a set of machines. Regarding complexity theory, Margarita Mayoral (2012) stated that “Complexity theory enables the identification, characterization, and comparison of the structure and dynamics of many types of natural and artificial systems, and it is being widely adopted in disciplines ranging from economics and social policy to biology and physics.” Meanwhile, Rosen and Mikulecky (1996) considered complexity as “the property of a real world system that is manifest in the inability of any one formalism being adequate to capture all its properties”. This basic observations was summarized through the consideration of complex system by using computer simulation and the mathematics of non-linearity. Complexity theory has a large scope of definition and meaning in the organization’s applications. According to Wikipedia, “Complexity theory has been used in the fields of strategic management and organizational studies. Application areas include understanding how organization or firms adapt to their environments and how they cope with conditions of uncertainty. The theory treats organizations and firms as collections of strategies and structures. The structure is complex; in that they are dynamic networks of interactions, and their relationships are not aggregations of the individual static entities.” It is obviously seen that, complexity theory is utilized in organizations or firms in order to adapt and cope with conditions of


References: Buchanan, M. (2002). Ubiquity: The science of history, or, why the world is simpler than we think. London: Phoenix Cilliers, P. (1998). Complexity and postmodernism. London: Routledge. Complexity theory and management practice by Johnathan Rosenhead. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.human-nature.com/science-as-culture/rosenhead.html Complexity and emergence. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bendov.info/eng/langton.htm Complexity Theory Study Guide & Homework Help - Reference - eNotes.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/complexity-theory-reference/complexity-theory

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