Complexity and Creativity in Organizations

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Organizations are adaptive structures that respond creatively to changing circumstances. This responsive evolution takes place on an official, surface level, and also on a deeper, personal level composed of interactions between people. So says Ralph D. Stacey, who combines insights from psychoanalysis, behavioral research, the new science of complexity and other disciplines to suggest ways for your organization to become better at learning and adapting. While the basic concepts of complexity theory presented in this book are steadily gaining popularity, the actual complexity of the book's content might make it difficult for non-experts to follow. Although the book's tight organization keeps chaos at bay, some of the language might leave you at "the edge of disintegration." Nevertheless, we at [...] strongly recommend this book to executives and managers looking to build a theoretical foundation for their organizational approach, in addition to the many academics who will appreciate its systematic explanation of the organizational consequences of systems thinking.


Rating:
Summary: Great application of chaos theory to organizations
Review: Stacey did a good job applying chaos theory to business in this book. He develops a very convincing and interesting conceptual framework for organizations in the future. Although the book mainly focuses on theory, he does provide some practical guidelines and case studies. He repeats the theories quite often and thus, the book is especially appropriate for students who really want to get the jist of the theory. If you read it for fun, all these repetitions might become tedious. All in all, a great book!

Rating:
Summary: Save your money...
Review: While the content should have some value, the cost to the reader to extract the information is so high that the author should pay the reader to read his book. In the first 25 pages of "At Home in the Universe", Stuart Kauffman sucessfully introduces more than Stacey stumbled over in 282 pages. If it's an organizational perspective you want, buy Margaret Wheatley's stuff.