Communicating on the edge of chaos : a transformation and change management perspective

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dc.contributor.author Rensburg, Ronel S.
dc.contributor.author Ströh, Ursula
dc.date.accessioned 2008-05-23T08:58:03Z
dc.date.available 2008-05-23T08:58:03Z
dc.date.issued 1998
dc.description.abstract 'What is chaos, that we should be mindful of it?' (Josepth Ford). Chaos will always be a mystery. Perhaps the ultimate, allencompassing mystery. To paraphrase Churchill's famous remark, it is a paradox hidden inside a puzzle shrouded by an enigma. It is visible proof of existence and uniqueness without predictability. In the Greco-Roman tradition philosophers used logic and introspection to impose mental order on the universe. Newton, Francis Bacon and the scientists of the Renaissance chose a different path when attempting to find truth and understanding nature. In the twentieth century Einstein, Bohr and others (with quantum physics and mechanics) changed the path again, making reality even more subtle and complicated. Then, in the past twenty years, along came chaos theory. This theory, and the ways that natural processes move between order and disorder, brings us closer to understanding the planetary orbits, the shape of clouds, that phenomena never repeat themselves exactly, and even the complexity of changing and learning organisations. It is the insights and extensions of chaos theory that could carry us technologically, philosophically, socially and individually into the Age of Aquarius and possibly through our own African Renaissance. Most managers are naturally susceptible to wishful thinking. They believe what they want to believe in spite of obvious evidence to the contrary. They try to forcefully manage and control to create balance and order in the workplace. The time has arrived for South African business leaders, managers and corporate communicators to buy into the notion that a butterfly stirring the air in Johannesburg can create a twister in New York! This article describes chaos theory and examines how it can be utilised to provide insights into managing and communicating during times of change in chaotic organisations. en
dc.format.extent 262317 bytes
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation Rensburg, R & Ströh, U 1998, 'Communicating on the edge of chaos: a transformation and change management perspective', Communicatio: South African Journal of Communication Theory and Research / Communicatio: Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Kommunikasieteorie en -navorsing, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 52 - 64. [http://www.informaworld.com/RCSA or http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_commu.html] en
dc.identifier.issn 0250-0167
dc.identifier.other 10.1080/02500169808537890
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/5482
dc.language.iso en en
dc.publisher Unisa Press and Taylor & Francis en
dc.rights Unisa Press and Taylor & Francis en
dc.subject Strategic management en
dc.subject South Africa en
dc.subject Management en
dc.subject Butterfly effect en
dc.subject Chaos theory en
dc.subject Conflict management en
dc.subject Corporate communication en
dc.subject Organisations en
dc.subject Public relations en
dc.subject Relationships en
dc.subject.lcsh Communication en
dc.subject.lcsh Chaotic behavior in systems en
dc.title Communicating on the edge of chaos : a transformation and change management perspective en
dc.type Postprint Article en


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