Complexity, simplicity, simplexity

e. Cunha Miguel Pina, Arménio Rego*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

"In the midst of order, there is chaos; but in the midst of chaos, there is order", John Gribbin wrote in his book Deep Simplicity (p. 76). In this dialectical spirit, we discuss the generative tension between complexity and simplicity in the theory and practice of management and organization. Complexity theory suggests that the relationship between complex environments and complex organizations advanced by the well-known Ashby's law, may be reconsidered: only simple organization provides enough space for individual agency to match environmental turbulence in the form of complex organizational responses. We suggest that complex organizing may be paradoxically facilitated by a simple infrastructure, and that the theory of organizations may be viewed as resulting from the dialectical interplay between simplicity and complexity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)85-94
Number of pages10
JournalEuropean Management Journal
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2010

Keywords

  • Complexity
  • Dialectics
  • Organization
  • Simplexity
  • Simplicity

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