Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

Such efforts have lead to suggestions for managers that very closely mirror those of Boydand it pays to briefly discuss some ways complexity theory has been applied to managementtheory. What complexity science metaphors do for an organization is give its membersaccess to both new words and new possibilities for action. Word choice are part of mentalmodels which shape and create contexts and when managers use them they affectorganizational reality. Managers who can make use of the metaphors of complexity see theircompanies in a different light than those who do not and, in a sense, are competing in adifferent world. Moreover, both complexity science and organization science have acommon problem (together with Boyd) they wish to address: uncertainty 101 .An early and renowned study was published by Charles Perrow. He examined thedynamics of complex systems in two influential books in the 1980s while a large number ofstudies appeared in the 1990s applying the concepts of CAS to businesses thus making theshift from open systems theory to chaoplexity theory. Perrow introduced the idea thatorganizations can be categorized as either simple or complex systems, and they consist ofprocesses that are either linear or non-linear. Linear interactions are those in expected andfamiliar production or maintenance sequence, and those that are quite visible even ifunplanned, whereas non-linear interactions are those of unfamiliar sequences, or unplannedand unexpected sequence, and either not visible or not immediately comprehensible.Complex as well as simple systems can have tight and/or loose coupling among subsystemsand sub-processes. Tight coupling is a mechanical term meaning there is no slack orbuffer between two items. What happens in one directly affects what happens in the other 102 .Loose coupling is the opposite. There still is a connection but because there is slack or abuffer, what happens in the one item may not affect the other, until the buffer has beenexceeded. Unexpected demands, or lack of resources can be handled. Loosely coupledsystems tend to have ambiguous or perhaps flexible performance 103 . Processes are notnecessarily optimized for efficiency. Loose coupling allows certain parts of the system toexpress themselves to their own logic or interests. It is possible to allow some parts latitude.Tight coupling restricts this. Loosely coupled systems can incorporate shocks and failuresand pressures for change without destabilization. Tightly coupled systems will respond morequickly to these perturbations, but the effects may well prove disastrous due to the rapidonset of non foreseeable non linear effects.Tightly coupled systems have more time-dependent processes. They cannot wait orstand by until attended to. For instance, storage room may not be available, so productsmust move through constantly. Reactions, as in chemical plants, are almost instantaneousand cannot be delayed or extended. In loosely coupled systems, delays are possible, processescan remain in a standby mode; partially finished products will not change much while waitingand buffers will allow sub-processes to continue for a while despite lack of raw materialsupply. Also the sequence in tightly coupled systems are more invariant. B must follow A,because that is the only way to make the product. Y depends upon X having beenperformed. Tightly coupled systems have little slack. Quantities must be precise, resourcescannot be substituted for one another. In loosely coupled systems supplies, equipment andmanpower can be wasted to some extend without serious impact on the process. Somethingcan be done twice if it is not correct the first time or one can temporarily get by with lowerquality in supplies or products ion the production line. Additionally, in tightly coupled101 Ibid, pp.117-21.102 Charles Perrow, Normal Accidents (Princeton, 1999), p.90.103 Ibid, p.91.148