<p>Organizations of all kinds struggle to understand, adapt, respond and manipulate changing conditions in their internal and external environments. Approaches based on the causal, linear logic of mechanistic sciences and engineering continue to play an important role, given people’s ability to create order. But such approaches are valid only within carefully circumscribed boundaries. They become counterproductive when the same organizations display the highly reflexive, context-dependent, dynamic nature of systems in which agents learn and adapt and new patterns emerge. The rapidly expanding discussion about complex systems offers important contributions to the integration of diverse perspectives and ultimately new insights into organizational effectiveness. There is increasing interest in complexity in mainstream business education, as well as in specialist business disciplines such as knowledge management. Real world systems can’t be completely designed, controlled, understood or predicted, even by the so-called sciences of complexity, but they can be more effective when understood as complex systems. While many scientific disciplines explore complexity through mathematical models and simulations, Emergence: Complexity &amp; Organization explores the emerging understanding of human systems that is informed by this research. This 2005 Annual includes articles from Max Boisot, Ken Baskin, Robert E. Ulanowicz, Heather Höpfl, Victoria Alexander, and many more, which explore a range of complexity-related topics from philosophical concerns through to the practical application of complexity ideas, concepts and frameworks in human organizations. Also included are a series of four reproductions of classical papers in the fields of complexity and systems: “Futurology and the Future of Systems Analysis” by Ida R. Hoos (originally published in 1972) “A Form of Logic Suited for Biology” by Walter M. Elsasser (originally published in 1981) “Beyond Open Systems Models of Organization” by Louis R. Pondy (originally unpublished conference paper from 1976) “The Architecture of Complexity” by Herbert A. Simon (originally published in 1962)</p>

Emergence: Complexity & Organization (2005 Annual)

Business & Money

Kurt A. Richardson

David Snowden

Jeffrey A. Golstein

Peter M. Allen

Management & Leadership

ISCE Publishing

<p>Following the success of the previous ANZSYS conferences and “Managing the Complex” events, it was a pleasure to announce the 11th Annual ANZSYS/Managing the Complex V Conference. The conference was held in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand from 5-7 December 2005, and was co-hosted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR), New Zealand, and the Institute for the study of Coherence and Emergence (ISCE), USA. A lively forum for discussion and debate was provided for a wide range of academics and practitioners in the fields of systems thinking, complexity science and management. People from other disciplines who have an interest in the application of systems thinking and complexity approaches were also invited to participate. We brought together thinkers and practitioners in the fields of systems and complexity as it seemed to us that there has been a significant international resurgence in these areas in recent years. It would appear that this has been driven by at least four simultaneous forces: 1. people right across the public, private and voluntary sectors looking for new ways to manage or deal with increasingly complex and multi-faceted problems; 2. the obviously systemic character of many high-profile issues that transcend national boundaries, from global warming to international violence; 3. the popularization of a number of systems approaches in the mid-1990s, especially among managers and policy makers; 4. and the simultaneous popularization of complexity science, sparking major interest in new approaches to managing uncertainty. The fields of systems and complexity have many similarities, yet they are being developed by two overlapping research communities that have unique insights to bring to bear on the management of ‘wicked’ problems. We believe that, by providing forums, such as this conference, in which people working at the frontiers of complexity and systems thinking can learn from one another, significant new insights for action can emerge. At the end of the day, it is important to the vast majority of those working with complexity and systems ideas that they are able to make a positive difference in people’s lives. It is therefore vitally important that we share our insights and build a community of practitioners that can take the research agenda forward. Our aim is to bring together as many people as possible who are engaging with complex environmental, social and business issues, with the intention of promoting an intense and lively debate with real implications for systems and complexity! practice. Our hope is that this conference was a step in the right direction.</p>

Systems Thinking and Complexity Science: Insights for Action

Wendy J. Gregory

Gerald Midgley

Classic Complexity: From the Abstract to the Concrete (Exploring Complexity)

With a field so broad in both breadth and depth as that making up the contemporary study of complex systems, it is well nigh impossible to cover all the bases underlying the development of well argued, robust and relevant understanding of these systems. That is one of the reasons why the international journal Emergence: Complexity and Organization has offered a Classical Paper in each issue. Now, in this current volume we have made available in one publication venue the diverse Classical Papers that have been published so far in E:CO. These papers are offered not only to enrich our current understandings by exhibiting the historical background to many of today's leading complexity-based ideas, perspectives, and methods. They are also gathered here to help address some of the difficulties confronting not only complexity thinkers, but for that matter any thinker sincerely trying to grasp the novel situations and novel difficulties we face in modern times. CONTENTS Editorial: On the importance of Classic Papers Kurt A. Richardson & Jeffrey A. Goldstein Section 1: Complexity and Philosophy 1. Emergence Stephen C. Pepper (with an introduction by Jeffrey A. Goldstein) 2. Novelty, Indeterminism, and Emergence W. T. Stace (with an introduction by Jeffrey A. Goldstein) 3. The Philosophic Functions of Emergence Charles A. Bayliss (with an introduction by Jeffrey A. Goldstein) 4. A Form of Logic Suited for Biology Walter M. Elsasser (with an introduction by Jeffrey A. Goldstein) Section 2: Complexity and General Systems Theory 5. Principles of the Self-Organizing System W. Ross Ashby (with an introduction by Jeffrey A. Goldstein) 6. General Systems Theory: The Skeleton of Science Kenneth E. Boulding (with an introduction by Kurt A. Richardson) 7. Science and Complexity Warren Weaver (with an introduction by Ross Wirth) Section 3: Complexity and Organization 8. The Architecture of Complexity Herbert Simon (with an introduction by Paul Cilliers) 9. Futurology a

Jeffrey Goldstein

Science & Math

The role of, and the means to achieve, resilience (the capacity to be sustainable through the impact of multitudinous future changes in a connected, dynamic environment) are increasingly the focus of corporate strategy departments and government think tanks. The increasing volatility in economic markets, the natural environment and society generally require new tools to think about, and take meaningful action towards, the achievement and maintenance of resilient policies and practices. The field of Complexity Thinking arguably has a significant role to play in both informing and assisting our organizations in achieving resilience in this context. This workshop aimed to explore the nature of this role and the ways in which Complexity Science may be combined with other disciplines to increase resilience in many areas of human endeavor. We hope that the papers offers here represent a broad basis from which to begin such an exploratory discussion.

Building and Sustaining Resilience in Complex Organizations

Robert Kay

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