Orientation and adaptation case studies toward chaotic systems in an economic downturn
by Alan D. Smith
International Journal of Procurement Management (IJPM), Vol. 4, No. 1, 2011

Abstract: The basic concepts of complexity/chaos theories allows an organisation to focus on the ability of people to self-organise to handle problems and changes in the organisation; if control is relinquished and autonomy is spread to all employees. The goal of this paper is to inspect how different organisations are reacting to the recent economic crisis perhaps, while looking at their decisions through a chaotic/complexity theoretical viewpoint. The companies chosen represent a relative wide range of service organisations in the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area that allow for contrasting comparisons, from a large global power management company, Eaton Corporation, a large sporting goods company, Dick's Sporting Goods, and a small independent grocery store chain, McGinnis Sisters Specialty Food Stores. To understand the basis for the present case study, a description what constitutes chaos theory in relationship to the companies studied, or what being on the edge of chaos means, and provide an overview of their current financial crisis as it relates to the operations in the chosen organisations, followed by a discussion of the practical applications of lessons learned from the case studies.

Online publication date: Sat, 31-Jan-2015

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