The Paradox of Control in Organizations

The Paradox of Control in Organizations PDF Author: Philip Streatfield
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134577044
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Business leaders are expected to be 'in control' of the situation in which their businesses find themselves. But how can organizational leaders and managers control matters entirely out of their hands; such as the next action a competitor takes, or the next law a government may pass? In this book, Philip Streatfield reflects on his own experience as a manager to explore the question: who, or what is 'in control' in an organization? Adopting the perspective of complex responsive processes developed in the first two volumes of this series, the author takes self-organization and emergence as central themes in thinking about life in organizations. He focuses on the tension between spontaneously forming patterns of conversation and intentional actions arguing that the order of organizations emerges through a combination of collective interaction and individual intentions. The argument is developed by considering the day-to-day experiences of life in a large pharmaceutical organization, SmithKline Beecham. In today's organization, managers find that they have to live with the paradox of being 'in control' and 'not in control' simultaneously. It is this capacity to live with paradox, and to continue to participate creatively in spite of 'not being in control', that constitutes effective management.

The Paradox of Control in Organizations

The Paradox of Control in Organizations PDF Author: Philip Streatfield
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134577044
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Get Book Here

Book Description
Business leaders are expected to be 'in control' of the situation in which their businesses find themselves. But how can organizational leaders and managers control matters entirely out of their hands; such as the next action a competitor takes, or the next law a government may pass? In this book, Philip Streatfield reflects on his own experience as a manager to explore the question: who, or what is 'in control' in an organization? Adopting the perspective of complex responsive processes developed in the first two volumes of this series, the author takes self-organization and emergence as central themes in thinking about life in organizations. He focuses on the tension between spontaneously forming patterns of conversation and intentional actions arguing that the order of organizations emerges through a combination of collective interaction and individual intentions. The argument is developed by considering the day-to-day experiences of life in a large pharmaceutical organization, SmithKline Beecham. In today's organization, managers find that they have to live with the paradox of being 'in control' and 'not in control' simultaneously. It is this capacity to live with paradox, and to continue to participate creatively in spite of 'not being in control', that constitutes effective management.

Structural Complexity Management

Structural Complexity Management PDF Author: Udo Lindemann
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540878890
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Product design is characterized by a steady increase in complexity. The main focus of this book is a structural approach on complexity management. This means, system structures are considered in order to address the challenge of complexity in all aspects of product design. Structures arise from the complex dependencies of system elements. Thus, the identification of system structures provides access to the understanding of system behavior in practical applications. The book presents a methodology that enables the analysis, control and optimization of complex structures, and the applicability of domain-spanning problems. The methodology allows significant improvements on handling system complexity by creating improved system understanding on the one hand and optimizing product design that is robust for system adaptations on the other hand. Developers can thereby enhance project coordination and improve communication between team members and as a result shorten development time. The practical application of the methodology is described by means of two detailed examples.

Complexity and Control in Team Sports

Complexity and Control in Team Sports PDF Author: Felix Lebed
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415672880
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
Complexity and Control in Team Sports is the first book to apply complex systems theory to 'soccer-like' team games (including basketball, handball and hockey) and to present a framework for understanding and managing the elite sports team as a multi-level complex system. It analyzes behaviour across five inter-connected levels: the team as a 'managed institution'; coaching staff controlling players via cybernetic flows; the team as a playing unit; the individual player as a complex dynamic system expressed through behaviour; and a player's complex physiological/biological system. Drawing these together, the book throws fascinating new light on the elite sports team and will be useful reading for all students, researchers or professionals with an interest in sport psychology, sport management, sport coaching, sport performance analysis or complex systems theory.

Complexity and Control

Complexity and Control PDF Author: Vladimir G. Ivancevic
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company Incorporated
ISBN: 9789814635868
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 589

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Book Description
The book Complexity and Control: Towards a Rigorous Behavioral Theory of Complex Dynamical Systems is a graduate-level monographic textbook, intended to be a novel and rigorous contribution to modern Complexity Theory.This book contains 11 chapters and is designed as a one-semester course for engineers, applied and pure mathematicians, theoretical and experimental physicists, computer and economic scientists, theoretical chemists and biologists, as well as all mathematically educated scientists and students, both in industry and academia, interested in predicting and controlling complex dynamical systems of arbitrary nature.

Trust, Complexity and Control

Trust, Complexity and Control PDF Author: Piotr Cofta
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780470517840
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
An increasing reliance on the Internet and mobile communication has deprived us of our usual means of assessing another party’s trustworthiness. This is increasingly forcing us to rely on control. Yet the notion of trust and trustworthiness is essential to the continued development of a technology-enabled society. Trust, Complexity and Control offers readers a single, consistent explanation of how the sociological concept of ‘trust’ can be applied to a broad spectrum of technology-related areas; convergent communication, automated agents, digital security, semantic web, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, e-government, privacy etc. It presents a model of confidence in which trust and control are driven and limited by complexity in one explanatory framework and demonstrates how that framework can be applied to different research and application areas. Starting with the individual’s assessment of trust, the book shows the reader how application of the framework can clarify misunderstandings and offer solutions to complex problems. The uniqueness of Trust, Complexity and Control is its interdisciplinary treatment of a variety of diverse areas using a single framework. Sections featured include: Trust and distrust in the digital world. The impact of convergent communication and networks on trust. Trust, economy and commerce. Trust-enhancing technologies. Trust, Complexity and Control is an invaluable source of reference for both researchers and practitioners within the Trust community. It will also be of benefit to students and lecturers in the fields of information technology, social sciences and computer engineering.

Management Control Systems in Complex Settings: Emerging Research and Opportunities

Management Control Systems in Complex Settings: Emerging Research and Opportunities PDF Author: Zanin, Filippo
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1522539883
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Organizations are constantly creating original initiatives, product lines, or implementing new workflows to remain competitive in the contemporary business world. Employing optimum methods for efficient performance and timely completion of tasks is vital to the success of a business. Management Control Systems in Complex Settings: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a noteworthy reference work for the latest academic research on business management and the complexity involved in decision-making, direction, measurement, and the evaluation of a company. Containing broad commentary on an assortment of relevant views and issues, such as customer loyalty and reputation, effective manufacturing processes, and strategic issues in complex firms, this book is optimally intended for business professionals, managers, and aspiring entrepreneurs as well as students and academics looking for groundbreaking analysis on the Three Vs model of inventory management and value creation.

The SAGE Handbook of Complexity and Management

The SAGE Handbook of Complexity and Management PDF Author: Peter Allen
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1847875696
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 665

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Book Description
This is the substantive scholarly work to provide a map of the state of art research in the growing field emerging at the intersection of complexity science and management studies.

Complexity and Organizational Reality

Complexity and Organizational Reality PDF Author: Ralph D. Stacey
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135188661
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 695

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Book Description
Approaches to leadership and management are still dominated by prescriptions – usually claimed as scientific – for top executives to choose the future direction of their organization. The global financial recession and the collapse of investment capitalism (surely not planned by anyone) make it quite clear that top executives are simply not able to choose future directions. Despite this, current management literature mostly continues to avoid the obvious – management’s inability to predict or control what will happen in the future. The key question now must be how we are to think about management if we take the uncertainty of organizational life seriously. Ralph Stacey has turned to the sciences of uncertainty and complexity to develop an understanding of leadership and management as the ordinary politics of daily organizational life. In presenting organizations as a series of complex responsive processes, Stacey’s new book helps us to see organizational reality for what it actually is – human beings engaged in many, many local conversational interactions and power relations in which they negotiate their ideologically based choices. Organizational continuity and change emerge unpredictably, rather than as a result of any overall plan. This is a radically different picture from the one painted by most of the management literature, which explains "organizational continuity and change" as the realization of the global plans and choices of a few powerful executives within an organization. Providing a new foundation for understanding complexity and management, this important book is required reading for managers and leaders wanting to understand the reality of complexity in organizations, including those engaged in postgraduate studies in leadership, organizational behaviour and change management.

Complexity Theory and Project Management

Complexity Theory and Project Management PDF Author: Wanda Curlee
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470769742
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 470

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Book Description
An insightful view on how to use the power of complexity theory to manage projects more successfully Current management practices require adherence to rigid, global responses unsuitable for addressing the changing needs of most projects. Complexity Theory and Project Management shifts this paradigm to create opportunities for expanding the decision-making process in ways that promote flexibility—and increase effectiveness. It informs readers on the managerial challenges of juggling project requirements, and offers them a clear roadmap on how to revise perspectives and reassess priorities to excel despite having an unpredictable workflow. One of the first books covering the subject of complexity theory for project management, this useful guide: Explains the relationship of complexity theory to virtual project management Supplies techniques, tips, and suggestions for building effective and successful teams in the virtual environment Presents current information about best practices and relevant proactive tools Makes a strong case for including complexity theory in PMI®'s PMBOK® Guide Complexity Theory and Project Management gives a firsthand view on the future of complexity theory as a driving force in the management field, and allows project managers to get a head start in applying its principles immediately to produce more favorable outcomes. (PMI and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)

Chaos Under Control

Chaos Under Control PDF Author: David Peak
Publisher: W H Freeman & Company
ISBN: 9780716724292
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Presents an introduction to the dynamics of order and chaos, fractals, and complexity.