Harnessing complexity: organizational implications of a scientific frontier PDF
Preview Harnessing complexity: organizational implications of a scientific frontier
US $16.00 / $19.50 CAN ISBN-13: 978-0-465-00550-5 ISBN-10: 0-465-00550-0 HARNESSING COMPLEXITY Organizational Implications of a Scientific Frontier Robert Axelrod and Michael D. Cohen A Member of the Perseus Books Group Copyright © 2000 by Robert Axelrod and Michael D. Cohen Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group Originally published by The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc., in 2000. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Axelrod, Robert M. Harnessing complexity : organizational implications of a scientific fron- tier / Robert Axelrod and Michael D. Cohen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Complex organizations. 2. System analysis. I. Cohen, Michael D. II. Title. HM131 .A897 2000 302.3'5–dc21 99-058063 ISBN 0-465-00550-0 To the BACH Group Contents Preface xi I. Introduction 1 Introduction to the Framework 3 The Difficulty of Prediction 11 Complexity Research 15 The Design of Organizations and Strategies 20 The Information Revolution 23 Complexity and Information 25 Adaptation and Information 27 Complexity as a Way of Thinking 28 II. Variation 32 The Role of Variation 32 Altering the Frequency of Types 38 Copying With Error 38 Endogenous Copying Mechanisms 40 Recombining Mechanisms 41 viii Contents Exploration Versus Exploitation 43 Example: Military Personnel Systems 45 Whether to Encourage Variety 50 Example: Linux Software Development 52 Extinction—The Vanishing of Types 58 III. Interaction 62 The Importance of Interaction 62 Example: Social Capital 64 How Interaction Works 68 Proximity and Activation 68 Spaces: Physical and Conceptual 73 Example: Combating the AIDS Virus, Part 1 75 External Methods of Changing Interaction Patterns 78 Barriers to Movement in Time and Physical Space 78 Barriers to Movement in Conceptual Spaces 80 Semi-permeable Barriers 81 Example: Combating the AIDS Virus, Part 2 83 Activation in Sequence or in Parallel 84 Internal Methods of Changing Interaction Patterns 86 Following Another Agent 86 Following a Signal 93 Example: Tags in the Prisoner’s Dilemma 95 Forming Boundaries 101 Separating Time Scales 103 Redistributing Stress 104 Example: Modes of Failure in Information Systems 106 Organizing Routines 113 Restructuring of Physical and Conceptual Spaces 115 IV. Selection 117 Defining Criteria of Success 119 Example: Prize Competitions 124 Contents ix Determining the Level of Selection 128 Selection of Agents 128 Selection of Strategies 131 Attributing Credit for Success and Failure 136 Example: Military Simulation 143 Creating New Agents or Strategies 145 The Key Role of Copying 146 Detailed Differences Among Generic Copying Processes 147 Exercising Visible Leadership 148 V. Conclusion 152 The Central Elements of the Framework 152 How the Elements Form a Coherent Framework 153 What a User of the Framework Asks 154 What a User of the Framework Can Do 155 What May Come of This Approach 158 References 161 Index 173
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