What a Mess! Participation as a Simple Managerial Rule to “Complexify” Organizations

Authors

Donde Ashmos Plowman, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Dennis Duchon, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Reuben R. McDaniel Jr., University of Texas at AustinFollow
John W. Huonker, Oswego State University, New YorkFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2002

Citation

Journal of Management Studies, Volume 39, Issue 2 (March 2002), pages 189–206; doi: 10.1111/1467-6486.00288

Comments

Copyright © 2002 Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Used by permission.

Abstract

This paper adopts a view of organizations as complex adaptive systems and makes a case for making organizations more complex internally through the use of a fairly simple managerial rule—using participative decision making. Participation in decision making enhances connectivity in organizations, which in turn, gives the organization the opportunity to self-organize and co-evolve in more effective ways than when there is minimal connectivity (i.e., autocracy). The paper uses a specific body of research to support the arguments about why participation can benefit the practice of management in modern organizations.