Journal on Policy and Complex Systems • Volume 4 , Number 1 • Spring 2018
Are We Ready for Complexity ?
Cynthia F . Kurtz Independent Consultant
Abstract
This paper describes a series of explorations into scientific concepts related to complexity and chaos and how they have been translated into the world of business and organizations . In each of three cases , a story of uncertainty was rewritten into a story of certainty . The butterfly effect , which describes the impossibility of ascertaining cause and effect in complex patterns , was transformed into a story about a plucky little underdog who changes the world . The story of the keystone species , a critical ecological player defined by its apparent unimportance , was repurposed into a story about the benevolence of huge multinationals . The struggle of populations to survive in an uncertain world was converted into a story about an inevitable march to evolutionary perfection . The author investigates each of these “ second stories ” and ponders what they tell us about our readiness to benefit from the not-always-comforting insights of complexity theory . The paper ends with constructive suggestions for getting ready to understand and benefit from complexity .
Keywords : complexity , chaos , business , organizations , narrative , culture
Estamos listos para la complejidad
Resumen
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Este documento describe una serie de exploraciones de los conceptos científicos relacionados a la complejidad y al caos y cómo han sido traducidos para el mundo de los negocios y las organizadoi : 10.18278 / jpcs . 4.1.7