The application of chaos theory to the management of change in organizations:
A theory of humility: Metaphor or reality? [Elaine Scott, ISSS 1998 Paper
Session, July 22/98]
These notes are a rough transcription,
prepared as each individual presenter and/or commentator spoke at the ISSS
1998 conference. Gaps and errors have likely occurred. For more accurate
citations, please consult the original presenters. These notes have been
contributed to the ISSS by David Ing, of the IBM Advanced Business Institute
(sabi@systemicbusiness.org).
[Paper session, July 22/98, 2:20 p.m.]
Elaine Scott, first year Ph.D. student at City University Business School,
London
Interested in chaos theory, first needs to figure out if chaos theory
applies.
Mechanistic thinking leads to failure, then often change in management.
Stacey claims that changes in business performance may be unstable not
only due to the environment, but possibly the structure, which produces
feedback.
Theory of humility:
-
Appreciate that it's not within out power to control everything (i.e. the
future).
-
The Simpler Way, Margaret Wheatley
-
Find something that works, not optimal.
Previous uses of metaphor:
-
May need to maintain instability to continually be creative.
-
Without instability, trapped repeating same behaviour
-
Aristotle's definition of metaphor.
-
Morgan (1983) definition
-
Nonaka's definition.
-
The ontology of metaphor: how it's used greatly defines it.
-
Realist ontology: there is an objective reality, and metaphor's value is
in how well it can explain the reality.
-
Subjectivists: social reality, which is constructed, and then open to interpretation.
Is chaos theory a metaphor, or real?
-
Supposes the subjectivist view: multiple realities.
Ecological process focuses on evolutionary perspective, Darwinism.
-
Successive adaptation.
-
Survival depends on adaptation.
Other metaphors include playing games, organisms.
Chaos as natural system, applied to organizations.
-
Oberman (1996) presumes only as a metaphor.
-
Johnson (1995) applied metaphor to metaphor: attractors, with marble as
a slate.
Epistemological perspective:
-
Positivist search for knowledge and regularities, avoid metaphors.
-
Interpretists and relativists claim search for multiple truths.
-
Morgan says that absolute metaphors or organizations are unrealistic.
Conclusion: both metaphorical and literal.
Question
Know of any companies who are using this?
-
Want to do a case study, are considering British Airways and Virgin.
...
-
Leadership idea of creating space: allowing the shadow organization to
function.
-
Allows vision for self-organization (e.g. hot-desking)
-
(Mike Jackson is doubtful on this)
Navigate ...
... to the 1998 ISSS Conference (Rough) Transcription
Main Page
... to the ISSS home page at www.isss.org.