by Mary Haggard
Michael Finley essay was written to inform us of how Master Forum Speaker Meg Wheatley shows how a healthy does of chaos can help shape and structure today's organizations.
Finley uses anecdote to grab the reader's attention at the start of his essay to set the seen of " Let's take this organization down the path of total chaos." With Chaos theory being the theme of changing today's typical geometric symmetry organizations.
Chaos theory shows us " the discovery of patterns and rhythms within even the most random forms of nature, and analogous recurring rhythms in our social structure and our economic cycles." (1) Through the use of logos Finley takes us along the path of the "modern view of the world by 17 th century scientist --- of pure circles, perfect squares, and absolute straight lines. To the 20 th century correcting this not so scientific out look, through the illuminating quantum mechanics of paradoxes, and riddles of behavior of matter and energy on a small scale." (1)
This all sets the stage for what Meg Wheatley's 1992 study Leadership and the New Science was to show. This though took a slightly different turn for Wheatley chose to focus not on subatomic particles but on living biological systems. " The way in which they embody the emerging theory of chaos and the importance of management to model their organizations not on the Euclidean shapes flowcharts, but on the naturally occurring structures of living things. Finley goes on to show Wheatley's insight of what organizations are about and how they need to be deegineered and be more human like.
As Finley goes on to tell of Wheatley's explanation of chaos and nature the reader is left at a lost. For every example of nature's grand chaos structures, good examples of organizations that have embraced the Chaos Theory would have greatly influenced the reader and those who attended the Master Forum Session.
Wheatley goes back to what she chose not to lecture on at this session when she shows the slides of what typical "organization Euclidean ideal would be their flowcharts. She then shows a diagram of a chemical reaction."(3) Trying to capture people into this theory with this slide of "dynamic action and bust of energy."(3) Then leaves this thought and goes back to nature's show of chaos communities by insects.
In an effort to save face and give credibleness to Wheatley, Finley goes on to inform us of Wheatley's consulting for the Army in the area of innovation. In her findings she shows how each soldier depends on the life of one another to survive. I ask you my self in an organizations flowchart are they not also showing the need and dependency on each other to meet the final goal. When Finley says that people got up and left during Wheatley's talks there is good reason. What I have gotten out of this essay Chaos may have good merits somewhere but this essay does not show it. There was not enough fact-based information to support the Chaos Theory in organizations. I and I'm sure others would have liked to heard quotes from the "chaologist" of their thoughts and theories besides the triangle game. Meg Wheatley being well respected as an author, consultant, and an academic advisor was not truly showed in a most favorable light in this essay. Findley goes on to describe Wheatley admittance of the difficulty of being credible with her new idea.
Finally we are given in the essay an organization the Semco Company who has adopted the self-organizing organization. But still no great details on how they went about it only that the CEO "wake up one day and realizes the people working for him are adults."(5) Finley admites there is not literature on organizations having embraced this new thought of structure and maybe Wheatley will change this one-day. This in its-self could possible scare off any CEO interested in benchmarking this idea. There is a definite need of evidence or on going efforts to implement this theory in an organization.
Finley attempts to clarify his essay of Wheatley's chaos theory of what assumptions would be made about self-organizing organizations and quotes Wheatley " to understand chaos is to surrender to one's own nature, requiring trust and imagination above and beyond what any conventional organizational is accustomed to or permit."(7)
This essay of Wheatley's talks would be fine for a self motivation tour but for the white collared CEOs this is a little bit much to take in without any tangible evidence of the great out come this Chaos Theory will achieve.