Human Systems Management - Volume 23, issue 2

Authors: Liang, Thow Yick

Article Type: Editorial

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23201

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 69-70, 2004

Authors: Robertson, Duncan A.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: We discuss the notion of complexity as applied to firms and corporations. We introduce the background to complex adaptive systems, and discuss whether this presents an appropriate model or metaphor to be used within management science. We consider whether a corporation should be thought of as a complex system, and conclude that a firm within an industry can be defined as a complex system within a complex system. Whether we can say that the use of complexity research will fundamentally improve firm performance will depend on the effect on success derived from its application.

Keywords: Complexity, complex adaptive system, emergence, agent-based models

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23202

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 71-78, 2004

Authors: Carr, Adrian | Durant, Rita | Downs, Alexis

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This paper proceeds from the widespread assumption – apparently, a truism – that the longevity of corporations is very much beholden to the success in their processes of strategic planning and the manner in which they learn from, and adapt to, those processes. The predominant strategic paradigm used in corporations, that of the rational planning school, assumes that language is transparent and time is linear. Such assumptions don't hold up in a complex world. Emergent strategy [8,50,63] has the potential to address the current challenges of organizations by shifting the language and talk about strategizing. Rather than talk about the …challenges faced by top managers [14,25], emergent strategizing, for example, talks of “communicative interaction” and “focusing attention on what [is] going on now” [64, p. 158]. Mintzberg's disdain for the divination techniques of the Delphi Oracle [51, p. 238] notwithstanding, we suggest that characteristics of the Delphic Oracle [52] mirror many of those of both emergence and strategy and, therefore, may offer insight into the effective development of emergent strategies at lower and middle levels of the organization. Our method for understanding emergence is abduction, as developed by Charles Franklin Peirce and the pragmatists. A playful reinterpretation of the Delphic Oracle can provide a way to imagine the roles of organizational actors in strategic emergence. Show more

Keywords: Strategic management, oracle, abduction, pragmatism

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23203

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 79-91, 2004

Authors: Ng, Pak Tee

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Nowadays, many organisations launch initiatives with lofty aims to develop themselves into “learning organisations” and “innovative organisations”. This article reviews the literature on the concepts of “learning organisation” and “innovative organisation” and argues that the innovative organisation can be developed from the foundation of the learning organisation. The five disciplines of learning organisation are fundamental to effective innovation. The spirit of innovation is an exercise in personal mastery. Thinking out of the box is an exercise in challenging mental models. To develop a truly innovative organisation, people should share the same vision for innovation. They should work closely and find …synergy in teams because a team is more powerful than the sum of the individuals. Systems thinking allows the organisation to innovate in the areas where the highest payoff can be reaped and develop the platform to sustain innovation. Show more

Keywords: Learning organisation, innovation, change, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, systems thinking

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23204

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 93-100, 2004

Authors: Draman, Rexford H.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Like a growing number of individuals, the author believes that business is facing the same bifurcation point physics was facing before the development of quantum mechanics – trying to fit a Newtonian explanation onto a non-Newtonian problem. Given that perspective business needs a system-based model not more research and development on its Newtonian practices and beliefs. The focus of this paper focuses is on the development of such a framework. This paper draws on science to identify the necessary requirements for a living system and converts that into a three-entity framework. Through the conversion of this living-system framework the necessary …requirements for a living business system are identified. With that, an assortment of currently available system-based business tools and techniques that fulfill most of the requirements of a living business system, are introduced. An approach to implementing these tools and techniques as well as remaining open for the incorporation of other systems-based practices is presented. Show more

Keywords: Systems-based, living systems, business systems, theory of constraints, requisite organization, Knowledge Management

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23205

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 101-110, 2004

Authors: Ng, Desmond

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Inherent to the dynamics of social networks is a paradoxical trade-off between closed networks that promote cooperation and efficiency and diverse networks that are flexible to new resources and ideas. Since actors cannot simultaneously maximize both facets of a network, this has created a sharp debate on the social capital performance of closed and diverse network relationships. Research on this social capital debate has often focused on these described network affects without explaining the origins and dynamics of network performance. This paper advances a cognitive diversity approach that is based upon the subjective and alert behaviors of Austrian entrepreneurs. These …are key causal drivers to this paper's theoretical model of social dynamics and performance of closed and diverse networks. Such network behavior is subsequently modeled as a Complex Adaptive system. Using agent-based simulation, an agent-based model of entrepreneurship and social network dynamics is constructed to test the relationships described by the proposed theoretical model. The simulation results support the described hypothesized relationships. These findings also suggest the benefits of closed and diverse networks are logically distinct and, thus, should not be viewed as an either-or phenomenon. Agent-based simulation results show entrepreneurs can construct a balanced network of closed and diverse networks to optimize the benefits of both networks. Show more

Keywords: Network performance, entrepreneurship, knowledge

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23206

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 111-122, 2004

Authors: Evers, Hans-Dieter | Menkhoff, Thomas

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In the emerging globalised knowledge society/economy, a group of professionals, namely experts and consultants gain in importance. The paper discusses the following issues: Who are these experts and consultants? Why is this group of knowledge workers strategically important and why is their importance – socially in terms of number of persons and economically in terms of output or turnover – growing? How can we explain the increasing professionalisation of consultants? How do they gain their expertise and which role does academic knowledge play in professional attainment? How do consultants package and apply expert knowledge? What are the challenges experts and …consultants are facing in the new economy? Data from a survey of local consultancy firms are used to construct a profile of the Singapore consulting industry, their staff and their professional organisations. International consultants are more aggressive in advertising and selling their expertise than local consultants. They tend to distance themselves from academics as the producers of innovative knowledge, but stress their own experience. Finally we discuss the new situation under which consultants have to operate in the new economy. Show more

Keywords: Knowledge economy, experts and consultants, development, new economy, Asia, Singapore

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23207

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 123-135, 2004

Authors: Liang, Thow Yick

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In the knowledge economy, the human minds are the most vital center of analysis. They are the complex adaptive systems capable of processing information, establishing knowledge structure, conceptualizing idea, and making decision. The intrinsic intelligence of the individual minds, as well as the organizational/collective intelligence, drives the dynamic of all human systems. Primarily, the local self-enrichment processes of the interacting agents are autopoietic. In addition, global forces are also present in all human organizations. The global forces are constructive only if they support the elementary processes. The global forces originate from the orgmind of the organization. A complex relationship exists …between the interacting agents and their systems. Traditionally, the decision-making dynamic of the human thinking systems has been dealt with in economics concepts such as the “economic” man that focuses on perfect rational decision, and Herbert Simon's “administrative” man that incorporates the idea of bounded rationality. In this study, the dynamic of an “intelligent” person is introduced. An intelligent person does not concentrate on optimality at all times. Instead, such a person adopts the intelligence strategy. An intelligent person is mindful and contributes continuously towards the collective intelligence of the system. The mindset of an intelligent person encompasses continual fast learning, longer-term survival, exploitation of the butterfly effect, and co-evolution with his/her system. In this respect, an intelligent person is a rather dissimilar interacting agent. Show more

Keywords: Complexity, adaptive, orgmind, collective intelligence, autopoiesis, self-organizing, evolution, co-evolution, human organization, self-enrichment process, global force, intelligent person

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-2004-23208

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 137-149, 2004