Detail and Dynamic Complexity

In a world where faster, more powerful technology is being introduced daily, it has become increasingly difficult for organizations to stay relevant. It is not uncommon in the business world for a seemingly successful company to suddenly begin to falter in sales for no apparent reason. In this week's resource, When Growth Stalls, the authors purport that a majority of "stall factors" stem from poor strategy or organizational design and are controllable by management. By using a systems approach, the possible root causes of the declines are more easily identifiable. The authors also offer advice on avoiding root causes of growth stalls.

Read the following quote and then respond to questions below:

"Complex situations are often partly or wholly unobservable, that is, measurement is noisy or unachievable (e.g., any attempt may destroy the integrity of the system)," (Flood & Carson, 1978).

Please answer questions 1-3:

1) If a complex situation is unobservable, then how can it be managed? How can chaos be a positive element in systems thinking?

2) Compare and contrast detail complexity with dynamic complexity. How do these two types of complexity relate to stall factors? Which do you think is most difficult to manage? Why?

3) As a manager, what do you think is the most important element of complexity that you should be familiar with? Why?