Managing Chaos and Complexity in Government

Book excerpt: To keep government operating smoothly, changes in public managementpolicy and strategy usually follow the old rule of change--that itmust evolve in a systematic and incremental fashion. But in today'sunpredictable world of shrinking budgets, demands for betterservice, and greater accountability, playing by the old rules justdoesn't make sense. In this book, L. Douglas Kiel presents a framework that addressesthe new chaotic reality of public management and the need forresponsive change and innovation. By acknowledging the potentialfor positive change and renewal that can arise from uncertainty andinstability, Kiel offers managers a paradigm for transforminggovernment performance. In easy to understand terms, the author offers an overview of theconcepts of chaos theory and the science of complexity and hedemonstrates how public administrators can apply these concepts tocreate a new vision of organizational change. The book presents arange of both traditional and innovative managementtechniquesshaping organizational cultures, flattening hierarchies,and re-engineering work--and evaluates their capacity to alloworganizational systems to respond to change. Written for public administrators and the faculty and students ofpublic management, this book describes the importance of disorder,instability, and change and examines how new chaos theories areapplied to public management. Drawing on data from the author'scase studies, the book is filled with charts, graphs, and practicalcomputer spreadsheet exercises designed to give public managers andstudents of public management hands-on experience to meet thechallenges of organizational change.