Embracing Complexity

The book describes what it means to say the world is complex and explores what that means for managers, policy makers and individuals.The first part of the book is about the theory and ideas of complexity. This is explained in a way that is thorough but not mathematical. It compares differing approaches, and also provides a historical perspective, showing how such thinking has been around since the beginning of civilisation. It emphasises thedifference between a complexity worldview and the dominant mechanical worldview that underpins much of current management practice. It defines the complexity worldview as recognising the world isinterconnected, shaped by history and the particularities of context. The comparison of the differing approaches to modelling complexity is unique in its depth and accessibility. The second part of the book uses this lens of complexity to explore issues in the fields of management, strategy, economics, and international development. It also explores how to facilitate others to recognise the implications of adopting a complex rather than a mechanical worldview and suggestsmethods of research to explore systemic, path-dependent emergent aspects of situations. The authors of this book span both science and management, academia and practice, thus theexplanations of science are authoritative and yet the examples of changing how you live and work in the world are real and accessible. The aim of the book is to bring alive what complexity is all about and to illustrate the importance of loosening the grip of a modernist worldview with its hope for prediction, certainty and control.

“An important contribution to our understanding of complexity science and its relevance for tackling the problems being faced in todays world.”

Gareth Morgan, author of Images of Organization
Enjoyable, thought provoking, and insightful. A superb introduction to complexity science for all readers! W. Brian Arthur, author of Complexity and the Economy and Recipient of the Lagrange Prize in Complexity Science
In the social and physical sciences, complexity is everywhere, changing how we think and act. But how? This book provides an excellent overview both of the underlying concepts and also their implications for how we think about changein economics, organizations and international development. Highly recommended. Duncan Green, Strategic Adviser, Oxfam GB
Embracing Complexity takes a critical stance in relation to dominant ways of thinking about the social world. It presents complexity thinking as a way of understanding how the world works, and challenges the dominant expectation that leaders can control the evolution of the social and the organisational world. Those willing to take a critical approach will _ nd this an important book. Ralph Stacey, Complexity and Management Group, Hertfordshire Business School

Jean Boulton is a director, strategy consultant and part-time academic at both Bath and Cranfield universities. She teaches, consults, researches and writes about the implications of complexity thinking to management, research and policy development. She has been Chair of Sustain Ltd, Chair of Social Action for Health, a non-executive director of IOPP and Head of Engineering Operations for BAe Commercial Aircraft. She was previously a Senior Lecturer at CranfieldSchool of Management. She has consulted many blue chip companies and charities including Carillion, RBS, ICI, Lloyds TSB and Oxfam. Her background in theoretical physics coupled with her practicalengagement in the fields of management and social research - both through academia, consulting, hands-on management and working as a director and trustee - give her a multi-faceted, informed and practical perspective on the implications of embracing complexity.Peter Allen developed and ran the Complex Systems Research Centre in the School of Management at Cranfield University since the late 1990s. He has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics and from 1970 to 1987 worked with Professor Ilya Prigogine at the Université Libre de Bruxelles on research that led on to the development of Complexity Science. He is an Editor in Chief of the Journal, Emergence: Complexity and Organization. He has written and edited several books in the field of complexity andsocio-economic modelling and published well over 200 articles in a range of fields including ecology, social science, urban and regional science, economics, systems theory, and physics. In 2011 he co-editedthe Sage Handbook on Complexity and Management. He has been a consultant to DERA, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Department of Trade and Industry, the Canadian Fishing Industry, Elf Aquitaine, the United Nations University, the European Commission and the Asian Development Bank. Cliff Bowman's research interests focus on the creation and capture of value, complexity, strategy processes and the development and leveraging of strategic assets. He has undertaken consulting assignments for awide range of organizations and is the author of ten books and sixty articles. Cliff is a past Chairman of the European Case Clearing House, was Faculty Dean of Cranfield School of Management from 1998to 2006, and holds two non-executive director positions.

The book describes what it means to say the world is complex and explores what that means for managers, policy makers and individuals.The first part of the book is about the theory and ideas of complexity. This is explained in a way that is thorough but not mathematical. It compares differing approaches, and also provides a historical perspective, showing how such thinking has been around since the beginning of civilisation. It emphasises the difference between a complexity worldview and the dominant mechanical worldview that underpins much of current management practice. It defines the complexity worldview as recognising the world is interconnected, shaped by history and the particularities of context. The comparison of the differing approaches to modelling complexity is unique in its depth and accessibility. The second part of the book uses this lens of complexity to explore issues in the fields of management, strategy, economics, and international development. It also explores how to facilitate others to recognise the implications of adopting a complex rather than a mechanical worldview and suggests methods of research to explore systemic, path-dependent emergent aspects of situations. The authors of this book span both science and management, academia and practice, thus the explanations of science are authoritative and yet the examples of changing how you live and work in the world are real and accessible. The aim of the book is to bring alive what complexity is all about and to illustrate the importance of loosening the grip of a modernist worldview with its hope for prediction, certainty and control.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.