Complex Adaptive System
Morning Star and St Luke has this image of a company that
has clear processes for the people and for the policies, technology systems
that are flexible, yet solid in their development processes (Oblolensky, 2014).
This vision of an organizational structure is called a Complex Adaptive System
(CAS). Within this type of organization, employees will have increased
responsibility with less management, which will give the employees the freedoms
to collaborate, communicate, and be more innovated since creativity is in
encouraged.
One company that embodies these characteristics would be
REI, the outdoor clothing and gear store. REI attributes the success of their
company to their “employees giving life to their purpose” (Patel, 2015, par.
8). REI allows their employees to test out the gear and even have a chance to
win some through challenges. The leaders of REI hold regular meetings where
employees have the chance to get questions answered and to voice their opinions
and ideas. The management listens and then address the concerns.
While the company I work for does have some aspects this
idea, there is a lot of room for improvement. Weekly meetings are held so that everyone
has a pulse on the organization. It would appear that it was originally created
for the purpose of collaborating and sharing ideas, but has somehow fallen short
of that expectation. Most often the purpose and the objectives seem to get lost
in the details of the day. There is also a very segregated mentality, even
though the office space is an open concept. People seem to take on a “that’s
not my area” mentality when trying to collaborate about an issue.
If this company is going to move forward, the first that
needs to happen is to get everyone on the same page and clear about what the
main objective is and then get them talking about what they can do to help get
us going in that direction.
References:
Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing
paradox and uncertainty. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Growler
Patel, 2015. 10 Examples of Companies With Fantastic
Cultures. Retrieved from : https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249174
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