The Application of Systemic and Complexity Thinking in Organizational Development - Essay Example

?(Insert The Complexity and Nexus of Leadership In general, when systemic and complexity thinking are applied in organizational development, there are very slim chances that it will achieve its full potential. The article by Stevenson examines how members of an organization interact in a complex, emergent and adaptive manner. The evidence that has been produced in this article suggests that modern day managers, both in the private and public sector, have stuck to their old conventional ways of viewing things in an old fashioned way that is largely mechanistic. The author’s further examination reveals that some leaders embrace and easily adapt to a liberal manner of thought in which new concepts and ideas are developed while others are stuck to a conservative way of thought or liberal thinking. The organizational leaders that are stuck to the conservative way of thought have no interest in understanding the systemic and complexity of thinking. This lack of interest prevents them from adopting the thinking strategy and consequentially, they cannot be able to enjoy the benefits of liberal thinking since they are stuck to making decisions which are on the basis of conventional linear thinking. If a person wants to adopt the systemic and complex way of thinking, they need to ask themselves some several questions. Some of the questions that the author has presented as very important in asking oneself in order to help a client or person to appreciate the limitations of linear mechanistic thinking are; how does the organization view itself within its existing environment?; what is its purpose; what are its challenges?; how are its relationships with others?; what is being done and what is not being done?; among others that will be pointed out later in the essay. It is also important that clients not only understand what systemic and complex thinking entails, but also get to possess the necessary knowledge and skills to help them practice this skill even with the absence of a consultant. Analysis of Opinions The author emphasizes on the need of understanding organizational development and its work and how systemic and complexity thinking can be applied in real terms. The consulting work of organizational development creates an opportunity for applying systemic and complexity thinking to practical issues. Consultants describe their work as giving help to people that work in organization in order to achieve the results that they are all aiming for. However, this is only but a theoretical definition. Learning and personal development processes can be established through effective organizational development efforts. Organizational development is therefore aimed at implementing change through a better understanding of how complex, adaptive systems operate. The relation of this to leadership is that for a leader to initiate change, they first have to take into consideration the reactions of the organization and members of the organization as a whole. This is because change has the capability of enhancing the performance of an organization in either a positive or a negative way. This therefore leads to changes in the cultural behaviors of people within the organization. Process consultation is a branch of work in organizational development. Through this process, a client is able to understand the process activities that are taking place in their environment and get to know how to act upon them. This process as part of systemic and complexity thinking helps the client and the organization to have a better relationship with each other. It also helps the client to get in to a place of reflective learning and personal discovery. Therefore, in essence, the leadership, through process consultation, is able to build the client and also build their organization. They build the client since they give the client a chance to provoke their thinking to one of complexity.As pointed out earlier, this helps in improving the consultant-client relationship. When the bond between these two is strengthened, then there is a possibility that systemic and complex thinking will be sustained rather than be short lived. This will help the client to be more liberal minded when faced with a situation rather than be confined to liner and mechanical way of thought. For a leader or client to grow and sustain an adaptive and complex system of thought, then there must be an existent relationship between the individual capacity of the client to develop and the environment in which the client or leader operates in. If there is no inter-relationship that is existent between these two elements, then it becomes difficult for the leader to practice systemic and complex thinking and consequently more difficult to be able to sustain it and make it grow at any level in an organization. It is therefore important for a leader to ensure that the environment in which they operate in is conducive enough and supports the growth, development, and exercising of complex thinking for them as a leader and for all the other members of the organization. Creating a conducive environment is the same as creating a foundation that is effective enough to apply systemic and complexity thinking. The first step is an assessment of the leader himself. This helps the leader determine whether they are capable of entering in to a consultant-client relationship in which they can apply systemic and complex thinking or if they are not. To gain an understanding of the client or leader, then the consultant must first get to understand the culture and nature of the organization that the client operates in and the various systemic aspects and issues that are associated with the client’s organization and culture. There are questions that a consultant needs to put forward to the client so that s/he can be able to appreciate the shortcomings of a linear and mechanistic way of thinking. The questions include: What is the organizations view of itself within the existing environment?; What is the purpose of the environment?; What are the challenges of the organization?; What is the nature of its relationships?; How is accountability handled in the organization?; What work is being done or neglected?; What learning takes place?; and What are the existent structures that influence the actions of the organization and its members? These questions are beneficial to the client (leader) in several ways. First of all, they help the leader to determine their capacity to use systemic and complexity thinking. Secondly, the leader is able to identify existing problems that have not been brought to light. These questions also help in initiating systemic and complex thinking within the client as they now have an understanding of how they ought to evaluate a problem in order to come up with a solution. Finally, the client is able to know the essentials of building an effective foundation for applying and sustaining systemic and complex thinking. The organizational development process is initiated at various and different levels. The first level of interaction is the facilitation of the client-consultant contract by the client sponsor. At this level, the consultant works with the leadership in two ways. First of all, the consultant is helps in facilitation of the process. Secondly, the consultant helps in the management by becoming part of a change process that requires them to have an understanding of the organization and its culture before they take any further steps to work with the organization and its members. This has the impact of strengthening the consultant-client relationship and the client can therefore easily gain an understanding of how they can implement the process and get to understand the process itself in a more elaborate way. The second level of interaction is at the operational level where the client gets to interact with the main person that has been mandated to address the issue that an organization is facing. At this level, the client is able to gain more knowledge of the issues that the organization is facing. The third and final level of interaction is the level of interaction between the consultant and the members of the organization as a whole. This is the project level. All this levels of interaction held the leader be able to set favorable ground to initiate the systemic and complexity thinking at all levels in the organization. Therefore the leader does not have to necessarily go to the organizational members to initiate the way of thought. The author has also suggested areas in which systemic and complexity thinking can be applied in future to help leaders to build the capacity to be able to use the tools.First, it is important to arrange for one on one sessions. It is also necessary for the consultant to ensure that the process is not hastened because a slow approach ensures a faster building of relationships in the systems perspective. Conclusion In conclusion, the main point that the author emphasizes on is that for systemic and complex thinking to be initiated by and in a client, the client must first of all have the desire to break their ties with the linear and mechanical way of thinking. It is also important for a client to create a conducive environment in which the approach can be implemented, developed, and sustained. Work Cited Stevenson, B., W. Applications of Systemic and Complexity Thinking in Organizational Development. E:CO Issue Vol. 14 No. 2 (2012) pp. 86-99. Print. Read More