Insights from complexity for organisations

Abstract

Discussing complexity is, well...complex. Complexity science is a broad term used by a field of study that attempts to explain the behaviour of complex adaptive systems such as ecosystems, cities, living organisms, organisations, and more. It embraces the topics of chaos and emergence, which in turn further comprise subjects such as fractal dimensions, bifurcation, and the non-linear effects of simple local rules, game theory, networks, and evolution. The intention of this paper is, by way of various examples of complex behaviour, to gain important insights from what can loosely be called complexity and apply them to the current organisational environment.