The Chaos Frontier

Preface 1 Introduction Who this Book is Addressed to Mixed Success in Coping with Turbulent Change Defective Understanding of Business Dynamics The Importance of Explanatory Models for Action What Managers Say About Strategic Choice The Problem with Visions and Plans Thinking About the Strategy Process Outline of the Following ChaptersPart One The Concerns of Dynamic Management 2 Goals, Behavior and Change The Future is a Combination of Change Situations Open-Ended Change, Ambiguous Goals, Confusion and Anxiety Unpredictability and Recognizable Patterns Conclusion: What a Dynamic Model Should Explain About Change 3 Relationship Between Control form and Change Situation Short Interval Control for Closed Change Long Term Planning for Contained Change What Form for Open-Ended Change? Simultaneous Application of Different Control Forms Conclusion: What a Dynamic Model Should Explain About Control 4 The Mechanisms Driving Business Development Business Organizations are Feedback Mechanisms The Dynamic of Business Feedback Mechanisms The Dynamic of the Decision-Making Process Conclusion: What a Dynamic Model Should Explain About Business DevelopmentPart Two Today's Most Prominent Management Models 101 5 Rational Planning, Entrepreneurial Enthusiasm and Political Power Rational Explanations of Management and Organization: The Mechanistic Approach Entrepreneurial Explanations of Management and Organization: The Organic Approach Political Explanations of Management and Organization: The Power Approach Conclusion: Today's Models Focus on Machine-Like Order 6 Today's Models: A Limited Understanding of Management Dynamics Feedback, Small Changes, Virtuous and Vicious Circles Operation in Non-Equilibrium States What Organizations do when they do not Know what they are Doing The Dynamic of Organizational Politics Organizations Learn About the Process of Learning Conclusion: What Managers Actually DoPart Three Scientific Chaos and Dynamic Management 7 What Scientific Chaos Means for Managers Nature of Scientific Chaos Principal Features of Scientific Chaos Chaos: A More Useful Model of Business Dynamics Conclusion: Explaining Intertwined Order and Disorder 8 Implications of Chaos for Controlling and Developing a Business The Techniques Break Down and Planning Fails in Openended Change Visions of the Future may be Dangerous Fantasies Trial-and-Error Action Cannot Secure Stability Building Strategic Issue Agendas is the Key to Strategic 'Control' New Models for Each New Situation Conclusion: Rethinking the Approach to Strategic 'Control' 9 Strategic 'Control' is Organizational Learning Thinking and Learning Step-by-Step to a Goal Chaos Provides another Perspective Thinking and Learning in Closed Situations Thinking and Learning in open-Ended Situations Organizational Learning Takes Place in Groups Organizational Learning: Personality Composition and Group Dynamics Strongly Shared Cultures Block Group Learning Learning to Learn in Real Time Conclusion: Innovative Strategic Choice Depends on Group Learning 10 Strategic 'Control' is Spontaneous Political Choice Power Form and Group Dynamic Political Interactions as Feedback Loops Business Political Systems and Chaos Unpredictable Political Choices Recognizable Patterns in Political Choices Structure and the Distribution of Power Conclusion: Strategic Choice Depends on Political Context 11 Strategic 'Control' is Creative Exploration Detecting and Selecting Open-Ended Issues Amplifying Issues and Breaking Symmetries: Champions and Special Interest Groups Amplifying Issues and Breaking Symmetries: Experimenting with Open-Ended Issues Fragile State of Consensus and Commitment Conclusion: How Organizations Proceed when they do not Know what they are DoingPart Four Dynamic Management Choice and Action 12 Chaos: A Different Perspective for Action A Chaos Explanation of Managing and Organising Explanations of Strategic Choice Compared The Model Determines the Action Conclusion: A Different Model for Designing Action 13 Management Intervention and Strategic 'Control' Changing the Models for Designing Action Moving from Managing Outcomes to Managing Process Managers and Strategic 'Control' Management Intervention The Message for Managers Conclusion: Establishing Conditions for Effective Strategic ControlAppendices A Scientific Chaos: A New Way of Thinking About Dynamics Problem of Turbulence Traditional Approach to Explaining Turbulence New Approach to Turbulence: Chaos Chaos is not a Mathematical or Philosophical Curiosity Why Scientific Chaos is a Revolution in the Way we Think B The Simple Mathematics and Exciting Geometry of Chaos Simple Relationships and Decision Rules can Yield Random Behavior The Order within the Disorder of Chaos: Fractal Geometry The Order within the Disorder of Chaos: Self-Similarity The Mandelbrot Set: Algorithms and Undecidability The Mandelbrot set: The Boundary Between an Organization and its Environment C Order from Chaos D The language of Chaos: A Glossary of TermsIndex