Managing in Complexity - Case Study Example

Complexity Perspective By Devangini Mahapatra Chauhan 1. The study of complexity perspective through the narration of a certain event, issue or situation. Complexity has been described by many as a state of mind. In this regard, through this paper I will seek to explain the nuances of complexity perspective through the narration of a particular situation where I was a key participant. This is a real life issues which will show that the major players had perspectives of their own, which were intruding upon their personal spaces in order to create the scope for complexity. From this point, the participants underwent a certain amount of change in their perspectives which they did not fully understand. (Streatfield, 2001) Considering the fact that these perspectives were a result of the variety of feelings thrown at them, these new perspectives might be described as composite. (Streatfield, 2001) Since these composite perspectives where made up of the variety of emotions that came from external factors, the participants did not fully understand these new perspectives that came from them. This led to further disillusion, arguments and a complexity in perspectives. (Stacey, 2001) Complexity in Perspectives and its Management There has been a constant flow of research into the field of human resource management owing to the fact that the human element in an organization is the most important factor of production today, especially with its allied concepts like intellectual capital and knowledge management. (Stacey, 2001) This has led to process of basing the assumptions along rational lines when carrying out planning within the organization. In this regard, there has been a subtle departure form the traditional frameworks as there is now a greater focus on the creation of scope for better communication that will do away with the various complexities in the operational sphere of the organization. (Lissack, 2002) Therefore, the current frameworks for dealing with complexity in perspectives and managing the same to contribute effectively to the arena of goal achievement within the organization, there is a more concerted effort towards following linear patterns which are mono directional. (Altmann et al, 1998) In this case, the managers have now accepted the fact that human behavior cannot be pre conditioned, nor can it be predictable. Thus, it has become important to leave room for problematic relationships for further research into case studies, whose outcomes may be applied in case of future conflicts. (Aram et al, 1999) This has also given rise to the notion that the understanding of targets through the absorption of the HR practices, policies and strategies within the organization is of vital importance to the organizational health and its performance in general. In this case, casual inferences regarding the transmission of various facts and how the same are received and responded to, form a large part of the knowledge management model followed by the particular organization in setting the tone for the ethical solving of problems relating to the responses that occur due to anxiety or conflict. (Waldorp, 1992) Thus, there is a stronger focus than ever on the relationships that thrive within the organization and the lines that they follow in their formal and informal communication patterns. This is owing to the fact that the amalgamation of these lines of communication leads to the formulation and effective application of information systems as well as knowledge management models that will promote the management of complexities that arise due to a variety of perspectives. (Shaw, 2002) These complexities must be followed through a focus on the dynamic environment that surrounds and thrives within the organization. This dynamic environment leads to changes and new perspectives. Change management is thus, an important part of managing the complexities that arise thereof. (Waldorp, 1992) The Organisation First of all, let me describe the situations as well as the various parameters that formed the perspectives within this situation. The situation was as follows. To begin with I will introduce the main participants. They are: D – (me). The creative head of the organisation. In charge of coming up with plans. R – a Manager in the marketing department. Z – a Manager in the Human Resource department. At this point, it is imperative to introduce the organisation where these three people are working. This organisation is an NGO, which deals with helping destitute women and their children as regards giving them the scope to learn and train to take up a certain vocation in life. This organisation deals with women who have left home as a result of abuse by husbands or in laws, apart from reasons like death of spouse or orphans, among others. These women basically belong to areas where poverty is rampant, and which are socially deprived. These women have in turn been found by the NGO in question through their research into areas where these women settle down. This NGO also deals with helping women in such low lying areas, break out of painful situations by giving them the scope for productivity for economic betterment in their lives. Further, the NGO trains these women and offers them jobs at a company that produces designer linen. Those with an aptitude for stitching, join this company which is a part of the group of companies owned by M. As a part of its various plans and offers, the NGO draws people in need to join events and rallies that will help raise funds for their further training, education and better accommodation. This also helps create a certain amount of awareness about the NGO in the minds of the uneducated people. A major part of the NGO’s operational sphere includes the children of these destitute women who are put into schools on a scholarship basis and are made to undergo training for vocational practices later in life. These children are a big part of the NGO’s operations. Situation: This brings us to the actual situation at hand. D had been asked to draw up certain plan for the upcoming children festival in the area. The projections of this festival were as follows: The attendance of over 3000 children from socially deprived and economically backward areas. A focus on grabbing the interest of children by teaching them about vocational training. The identification of issues and areas where these children are suffering. Bringing these children in touch with the NGOs. Bringing these children’s parents to attend counselling in these NGOs. Raise funds through the marketing of the event to enhance the attendance of various important people. To get NGOs to participate in this event through activities and mini events sponsored by these NGOs through out the week long festival. The plan that was required to be drawn up was to cater for all of the above points and enhance the scope of the same. This required a certain amount of innovation, ideation and the meeting of several goals. (Shaw, 2002) Since complexity in perspective is the main issue that one deals with in the process of meeting such goals and carrying out such activities, it was deemed fit to first draw up a draft plan, which will basically explain the initiation of the NGO as regards the projections of the festival and how this can enhance the goal achievement program of the NGO. Elements of the Plan: To begin with the plan focussed on the individual elements within the organisation. Based on their capacity, there was the evolution of the elements of the plan. In this case, the employee in the marketing department was R and the employee in the Human Resource department was Z. Both of them needed to work in coordination for the plan to be successful. R was in charge of making sure that the marketing took place effectively through a process of research, whereas Z was in charge of mobilising the human resource element within the organisation in order to make sure that the plan was carried out and implemented properly in a phase wise fashion. The paradox: To begin with, R and Z were two paradoxes. While R was always in control of the situation, Z was always at the losing end as far as his subordinates were concerned. To a great extent, this was crippling the environment for creative thinking within the organisation as there was a constant play of conflict in all operations. This conflict came from Z who was constantly making efforts to get his subordinates to do their work properly. In this case, R was always able to stay ahead of the plan. But this was of no use because without the contribution of the human element, there can be no success for any plan, from any department. Thus the relationship between R and Z was problematic, because R felt that Z was not being able to motivate the subordinates in the proper way. This was leading to a stagnation of growth and development within the organisation. In this regard, there needed to be better channels of formal as well as informal communication between the following parties: Informal communication between Z and the employees in the Human resource department, for the enhancement of training and communication through the use of creativity in laying down certain norms and communicating the elements of the plan – date of goal achievement, phases – and others such details. (Gibson, 1999) This would make the subordinates feel like a part of the organisation and they would be motivated to give the plan their best efforts. In this case, there was a need to enhance communication by learning about the weakness of every employee of the HR department as far as understanding the goals and plans were concerned. This would help Z treat the handicap. For these measures, informal communication is the best tool as it helps demonstrate the personal aspirations of the individual besides reaching out to him or her on a personal level. Complexity in perspectives arises basically when there is a clash in goals. Thus, to treat this problem informal communication may be used for the integration of the personal and organisational goals. In this way, Z would be able to place the right man for the right job. (Shaw, 2002) Formal Communication between R and Z: the need for formal communication for the development of a congenial working relationship within the organisation. This would also promote the scope for both to understand the weaknesses of each other’s departments and notify the higher ups about the same. (Gibson, 1999) As a creative director, D was to preside over these meetings that would involve a formal analysis of the needs of both departments – both individually, and in respect of each other’s sphere of activities. This would promote a better understanding the factual and real time problems that have caused the relationship between R and Z to be problematic. This would also enhance the scope to learn and grow. Through this, both R and Z can come to terms with the fact that they have a lot to learn. This in turn, will kick start a model of knowledge management and its application within the organisation. (Elroy, 2003) In this regard, the most notable feature that has come to the fore in terms of the management of complexity in perspectives is the fact that a model of knowledge management is required to take care of the information flow and transmission so as to detect any deviation from the path set by the organisation. (Altmann et al, 1998) Since complexity management deals essentially with the sphere of learning something new, the knowledge management model also adheres to it in the sense that it brings people and information face to face with each other to show them their flaws and ways in which the same may be rectified in lieu of the information upon which they are supposed to act accordingly. (Elroy, 2003) In this way, the plan drawn up by D with the above mentioned elements of formal and informal communication would help make sure that the two managers, R and Z, would operate along the lines of the linear principles based on the Newtonian Laws, in a mono directional way. This would promote the need to understand each other’s perspective better which would lead to further success in the operational sphere of the organizations. Through the lines of communication followed in the plan etched out above, the two managers would manage to follow the linear lines of communication through the relevant model of knowledge management. (Elroy, 2003) While this is a difficult task to carry out in lieu of the fact that the dynamic environment in which any organization operates, is full if changes and complexities, it would help the two managers operate successfully in a mono directional manner right across the non linear lines of communication that crisscross any and every organization. These lines would be embedded into the knowledge management model, through an emphasis on informal communication systems. (Altmann et al, 1998) In this way, the strategic plan of D was to create awareness and educate the managers regarding the various elements that can be made use of in order to study and apply the fundamental laws of learning to enhance quality through a systematic flow of the learning – teaching process in the informal communication element of the knowledge management system. Thus, the complexities in the operations would be dealt with adequately with the use of relevant tools through an emphasis on the outcomes of practice in the real time operations of the organization. This will also set the tone for the work culture that will be unique to the NGO in terms of its ethical environment. In this regard, the manager who is faced with the challenge of showing ambiguity even when there is anxiety will be encouraged to show a certain personal touch in the way he carries out the process of informal communication for solving problems. Through their respective subordinates, R and Z will therefore strike a balance and enjoy a harmonious relationship which will free Z of all his anxieties through the shared learning process in the formal communication process in the knowledge management system. (Altmann et al, 1998) Goal Achievement and Management: In context of goal achievement and management in terms of the linear patterns of managing complexities, the following challenges laid down by Stacey R D, Griffin D and Shaw P in the work titled Complexity and Management, hold good for dealing with change management and goal achievement. The pattern set for relationships within the organisations will follow the directions laid down by the following issues and concerns within the organisation: (Stacey et al, 2000) Paradoxical nature of life in organisations; Significant constraints on predictability and individual choice; Self-organizing relating between people in which the power politics and conflicts of ordinary, everyday life are at the middle of cooperative and competitive organizational processes through which joint action is taken; Importance of difference, spontaneity, and diversity; and Close connection between creation and destruction. (Source: Stacey et al, 2000) Here, it is important to understand that the issues enumerated above have a strong role to play in the goal management and goal achievement area of the organisation’s operations. This has a strong nexus with change management, which in turn dictates the course taken by the organisation in general. (Allison et al, 2006) Through the use of creativity in context of creation, differences and diversity, one will find the perfect model that will manage change and help the organisation absorb the same without any hiccups. This has to be done in a mono directional pattern as discussed above so as to avoid any conflict in the way the goals have been understood. In this way, the changes taking place will be communicated along linear lines to replicate a model of knowledge management which has the elements of shared learning strongly embedded into its basic framework. Thus, through an awareness of the paradoxical nature of the organisation and its goals, one will understand how the changes happening within the organisation will affect it. In this regard, there was a need to focus on two courses of action. These are as follows: The first is the double loop learning which comes from a state of acknowledging the information within which one is currently functioning. This has been called double loop due to the fact that it promotes the process of fundamental change through the process of ensuring that both parties understand each other’s diverse goals, roles and disparities between both. (Argyris and Schon, 1978) In this way, both R and Z can bridge the gaps in the performance of their departments through a process of double loop learning which will help them learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how the same may be used to further the organisational goal. The second course of action is the bounded instability strategy. Since this strategy depends on the amount of positive feedback, it also focuses on finding ways to get the individual hooked onto the constant flow for this positive feedback. (Argyris and Schon, 1978) This will motivate the individual to do his or her best within the operational sphere of the organisation apart from ensuring that R and Z work in perfect tandem to make sure that the activities in one department get rewarded in the other. This will create ample space for creativity apart from making sure that there is constant flow of information which converts into serious activity within the organisation. In this way, R and Z can make sure that the goals of their departments are met through an amalgamation of the motivational efforts of both the organisations. (Allison et al, 2006) The other side of these strategies is to control the responses of the employees and subordinates by studying the same under controlled environments where the parameters are set. In such an environment, there is always room for paradoxes as the underlying assumption in this case is that there are paradoxes in every relationship. Thus, there will be paradoxes in the way R and Z act and react, in the sense that they may not always come up with the same notions about particular behavioural patterns that emanate from particular employees. (Altmann, 1998) This might lead to a case of conflict as far as reactions to the same are concerned. What needs to be done in this case is to leave room for creativity and give each other the space to carry out an individualistic thought process regarding each other’s departments and the actions and reactions that direct the work culture within it. (Lissack, 2002) D needs to oversee these activities and make sure that there is some point where the two departments meet in order to form a common work culture or environment within the organisation. This is important in order to do away with complexities and make sure that the knowledge management model thrives successfully within the organisation. (Aram, 1999) 2. Analysis of a conversation. This incident took place in the course of a meeting between the creative head of the NGO (D) and the human resources manager (Z). D had scheduled the meeting to discuss the need for various human resource deployment areas during the children’s festival. While Z showed initial enthusiasm, there was a different note in his tone after D mentioned the fact that they would need people who could identify with these children and their families on a personal level. Suddenly Z became indifferent and seemed lost in a world of his own. He would smile nervously once in a while but it was apparent that he was trying to make an effort. D tried to understand what it meant and realised that she had touched a raw nerve. Z’s department had many employees who had started with the NGO as volunteers. These volunteers had come from various socially backward areas and they had joined the NGO basically as a means to support themselves and their families. It was apparent that Z had derived the wrong meaning of D’s words following which D simply changed her words to talk about how she would like the volunteers to gain more first hand experience in dealing with these children. In this regard, what had surprised D was the fact that she had had to make a colossal effort to subtly change what she meant without admitting to a subordinate that she had made an insensitive remark. (Grunendahl, 2006) She needed Z to know that he could count on her when it came to understanding the plight of the people working in his department, without consciously reminding him or them that they were from an area that they had left a long time for the social standing and economic stability they had attained at the NGO where D was the creative head. This shows that sometimes, a conversation, with perfectly innocent remarks, can throw things out of gear. In this regard, D immediately got rid of most of the authority that she had been using in her tone earlier. She was forced to be more compassionate in what she was saying to immediately lay the lines for an informal communication state where Z could tell her what was on his mind. (Grunendahl, 2006) This could have either led to conflict or a solution, but either ways, but by changing her authoritative tone and actual meaning of her remarks, D managed to salvage the situation. This brought her face to face with the complexity in the organisation as far as personal identities were concerned and D was promoted to make a metal note of motivating the employees accordingly. (Lane, 2004) References: 1. Stacey, R.D. (2001) Complex Responsive Processes in Organisation “Learning and Knowledge Creation” London: Routledge. 2. Stacey R D, Griffin D and Shaw P, (2000) Complexity and Management, London: Routledge. 3. Altmann G. and Koch W A (eds), (1998). Systems: New Paradigms for the Human Sciences. New York: Walter de Gruyter. 4. Waldorp M M (1992). Complexity: the New Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos. London: Viking 5. Aram E and Noble D, (1999). Educating Prospective Managers in the Complexity of Organisational Life. Management Learning, 30(3): 321-342 6. Argyris and Schon, (1978) Complexity Theory. 7. Lissack, M R (2002) The Interaction of Complexity and Management. Quorum/Greendwoord. 8. Grunendahl, R T; Peter, H; Will, L (2006) Beyond Compliance: 10 Practical Actions on Regulation, Risk and IT Management. Springer. 9. Lane, H W (2004) The Blackwell Handbook of Global Management: A guide to managing complexity. Blackwell Publishing. 10. Allison, H E; Hobbs, R J (2006) Science and Policy in Natural Resource Management: Understanding system complexity. Cambridge University Press. 11. Elroy, M W (2003) The New Knowledge Management: complexity, learning and sustainable innovation. Elsevier. 12. Gibson, R (1999) Rethinking the Future. Nicolas Blearey Publishing. 13. Shaw, P (May, 2002) Changing the Conversation in Organisations: Change from a complexity perspective. Routledge. 14. Read More