Background
Viewing a chimp as a complex system in itself, and magnifying the interactional effects of primates and waves to reflect the interactions of different elements making up a complex system, such as an organization, assists us in seeing parallels between chaos theory and organizational relationships. What must be pointed out, however, is that these "parallels" between organizations and the sub-atomic particles exist largely in terms of analogy (metaphorically) between two very different domains of activity; the interactional effects of sub-atomic particles, in quantum mechanics, are expressed in terms of math; bringing these theories into the domain of human activity can be seen as problematical. Although these parallels are easily witnessed in regard to complex organizational systems, it is difficult to see evidence of irrational quantum-effects in everyday life. If you roll a ball forward, it rolls forward in the general direction intended. As a whole, Newtonian principles of interaction stand solidly within the bounds of macrophysics. But at the sub-atomic level, things do not act as expected. "At the subatomic level, the objectivity found in classical physics is replaced by quantum subjectivity." (Shelton, 2003) The introduction of chaos theory brings the principles of quantum physics to the pragmatic world. These complex systems have a rather random appearance and, until recently, have been labeled and discarded as chaotic and unintelligible. With the advent of computer systems and powerful processors, it has become easier to map chaotic behavior and find interesting underpinnings of order. The newly discovered underlying order to chaos sparked new interest and inspired more research in the field of chaos theory. The recent focus of most of the research on chaos theory is primarily rooted in these underlying patterns found in an otherwise chaotic environment, more specifically, concepts such as self-organization, bifurcation, and self-similarity.
Read more about this topic: Chaos Theory In Organizational Development
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