The Edge of Organization: Chaos and Complexity Theories of Formal Social Systems

375 Pages·1999·25.148 MB·English

by  Russ Marion

The Edge of
Organization

The Edge of
Organization
Chaos and
Complexity
Theories
of Formal
Social
Systems
Russ Marion
® SAGE Publications
International Educational and Professional Publisher
Thousand Oaks London New Delhi
Copyright © 1999 by Sage Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher.
For information:
SAGE Publications, Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91320
E-mail: [email protected]
SAGE Publications Ltd.
6 Bonhill Street
London EC2A 4PU
United Kingdom
SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
M-32 Market
Greater Kailash I
New Delhi 110 048 India
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Marion, Russ.
The edge of organization: Chaos and complexity theories of
formal social systems / by Russ Marion.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7619-1265-7 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 0-7619-1266-5 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Social systems. 2. Complex organizations. 3. Chaotic behavior
in systems. 4. Complexity (Philosophy) I. Title.
HM131 .M3355 1999
910'.2'02—dc21 98-40063
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
99 00 01 02 03 04 05 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acquisition Editor: Harry Briggs
Editorial Assistant: Anna Howland
Production Editor: Astrid Virding
Editorial Assistant: Nevair Kabakian
Designer/Typesetter: Marion Warren/Lynn Miyata
Indexer: Teri Greenberg
This book is dedicated to the people in my past—
my father and grandparents—
whose presence in this work is indelible;
and to my wife Gail, daughter Cathy, and mother Lois,
whose presence in this labor was indispensable.

Contents
Preface xi
1. The Edge of Organization 1
Einstein's Island 2
A Brief Overview of Chaos and Complexity 5
Implications 8
2. Chaos and Organization 11
The Blind Scientists 13
An Alternative Explanation of Complex Behavior:
Chaos Theory 14
3. Organization at the Edge 23
Complexity and Chaos 23
4. Shifting Historical Premises to the Edge of Chaos 39
God of the Gaps 39
Pervasive Problems: Order, Randomness, and Causality 40
The First of Newton's Legacies: Social Physics 42
Kant and Teleology 44
Darwin, Spencer, Social Darwinism 49
Structural Functionalism and Homeostasis 55
Nonlinear History 61
5. A Nonlinear Redaction of Open Systems 63
Holistic Systems 64
Systems and Environment:
Interaction and Energy Transfer 70
Feedback 74
Living Social Systems 79
A Model of Complex Systems 80
Structural Contingency Theory:
Differentiation and Awareness 83
Structural Contingency Theory 84
Differentiation in Organizations 88
Formalization and Integration 95
Criticisms of SCT 97
Footprints of Complexity: The Nature of Order 99
Size and Structure at the Edge of Chaos 99
Order From Disorder 100
Social Systems and the Square Root Principle 105
Resource Dependency: The Emergence of Order 113
Organizations and Daisies 113
Controlling the Organizational Environment 116
Complex Alliances 122
Complex Natural Teleology and Deliberate Behavior 130
Intermission 135
Organizations in Wonderland: Enacted Environment 137
Organizations in Wonderland 138
Interaction and Causality 143
Irrational Humans and Complex Structures 150
Coupling at the Edge 153
Loose Coupling at the Edge 153
Decisions in a Garbage Can 170
Organizational Learning 173
Darwin and Organizations, Goats and Monkeys 177
PEO and Environment 180
Natural Selection 182
The Three Sides of Evolution 184
Refining the Order 189
PEO and Complexity 195
12. Pushing the Envelope: Limiting Organizational Expansion 197
Organizational Growth 198
Carrying Capacity and Structure:
Generalists Versus Specialists 208
13. Changing Complex Organizations 211
Star Trek and Change 211
From Paint Jobs to Core Technology 212
Do We Change Events or Do Events Change Us? 215
14. Stability and Change at the Edge 235
The Wild Side of Change 235
Change That Doesn't Change and Change That Does 236
The Mechanics of Change: Complexity in a Sandbox 240
Organizations at the Edge: The Microcomputer Industry 251
Change and Networks 258
Organizational Structure and Patches 265
Change and Star Trek 269
15. Researching Social Chaos and Complexity 273
Growth in Organizational Populations: A Chaotic Model 273
Finding the Order: First We Need a Map 277
Organizational Growth (Revisited): Competition Model 284
Testing Social Systems for Chaos 294
Complexity Analysis: Counting the Groups in a System 303
Research on Chaos and Complexity 307
16. Epilogue on Einstein's Island 309
Complex Systems Theory 313
Other Puzzles 314
Notes 317
Annotated Bibliography of Books and Articles 319
References 329
Name Index 343
Subject Index 347
About the Author 357