IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jbusin/v2y2022i1p5-96d762807.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Organizational Complexity as a Contributing Factor to Underperformance

Author

Listed:
  • Uwe Beyer

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS, Schloss Birlinghoven, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany)

  • Oliver Ullrich

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS, Schloss Birlinghoven, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany)

Abstract

A high organizational complexity above the cognitive limits of employees and management can contribute to a business performing sub-standardly in comparison to its competitors. As businesses can grow over time into a state of high complexity, an active approach to complexity management has to be taken. This paper presents the NES classification method, aimed at facilitating the modeling and assessment of organizational complexity. Here, any system is classified as belonging to one of three classes: class N natural, class E engineered, or class S slipped systems. Operationalizing NES by applying the Tree Attribute Matrix modeling method, this paper describes exemplary observations made as part of consulting projects that demonstrated typical underperformance situations resulting from their organizations “slipping” into structures of high complexity, and includes management measures to reduce complexity and thereby improve performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Uwe Beyer & Oliver Ullrich, 2022. "Organizational Complexity as a Contributing Factor to Underperformance," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jbusin:v:2:y:2022:i:1:p:5-96:d:762807
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7116/2/1/5/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7116/2/1/5/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Petra Andries & Koenraad Debackere, 2007. "Adaptation and Performance in New Businesses: Understanding the Moderating Effects of Independence and Industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 81-99, June.
    2. Eppinger, Steven D. & Browning, Tyson R., 2012. "Design Structure Matrix Methods and Applications," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262017520, April.
    3. Luca Fraccascia & Ilaria Giannoccaro & Vito Albino, 2018. "Resilience of Complex Systems: State of the Art and Directions for Future Research," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-44, August.
    4. Yash Daultani & Mohit Goswami & Omkarprasad S. Vaidya & Sushil Kumar, 2019. "Inclusive risk modeling for manufacturing firms: a Bayesian network approach," Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Springer, vol. 30(8), pages 2789-2803, December.
    5. Randall,Alan, 2011. "Risk and Precaution," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521759199, January.
    6. Randall,Alan, 2011. "Risk and Precaution," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521766159, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gabe Mythen, 2021. "The Critical Theory of World Risk Society: A Retrospective Analysis," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 533-543, March.
    2. Pieter van Gelder & Pim Klaassen & Behnam Taebi & Bart Walhout & Ruud van Ommen & Ibo van de Poel & Zoe Robaey & Lotte Asveld & Ruud Balkenende & Frank Hollmann & Erik Jan van Kampen & Nima Khakzad & , 2021. "Safe-by-Design in Engineering: An Overview and Comparative Analysis of Engineering Disciplines," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-28, June.
    3. Alan Randall, 2020. "On Intergenerational Commitment, Weak Sustainability, and Safety," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Alan Randall, 2022. "How Strong Sustainability Became Safety," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Stephen Davies, 2021. "COVID‐19 and complexity: Hayekian economics and the world after the pandemic," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 198-210, June.
    6. Alan Randall, 2021. "Resource Scarcity and Sustainability—The Shapes Have Shifted but the Stakes Keep Rising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-16, May.
    7. CHITIGA Georgiana, 2013. "The Market Developments of Wind Energy - Accessibility, Availability and Acceptability," Anale. Seria Stiinte Economice. Timisoara, Faculty of Economics, Tibiscus University in Timisoara, vol. 0, pages 108-113, May.
    8. Dobes, Leo, 2012. "Adaptation to Climate Change: Formulating Policy under Uncertainty," Working Papers 249390, Australian National University, Centre for Climate Economics & Policy.
    9. Klepper, Gernot & Dovern, Jonas & Rickels, Wilfried & Barben, Daniel & Goeschl, Timo & Harnisch, Sebastian & Heyen, Daniel & Janich, Nina & Maas, Achim & Matzner, Nils & Scheffran, Jürgen & Uther, Ste, 2016. "Herausforderung Climate Engineering: Bewertung neuer Optionen für den Klimaschutz," Kieler Beiträge zur Wirtschaftspolitik 8, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    10. Alan Randall, 2014. "Weak sustainability, conservation and precaution," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 10, pages 160-172, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Ma, Jinrun & Wu, Yaoyao & Liang, Yongtang, 2023. "Robust investment and hedging policy with limited commitment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    12. Carla Susana A. Assuad, 2020. "Understanding Rationality in Sustainable Development Decision-Making: Unfolding the Motivations for Action," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(3), pages 1086-1119, September.
    13. Andy Stirling, 2016. "Precaution in the Governance of Technology," SPRU Working Paper Series 2016-14, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    14. Alan Randall, 2021. "Monitoring Sustainability and Targeting Interventions: Indicators, Planetary Boundaries, Benefits and Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    15. Cornelia Gabriela Piciu & Iuliana Militaru, 2013. "Economic Conceptualization Of Negative Environmental Externalities," Romanian Economic Business Review, Romanian-American University, vol. 8(3.1), pages 123-130, September.
    16. Mauerhofer, Volker, 2019. "Legal Institutions and Ecological Economics: Their Common Contribution for Achieving a Sustainable Development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 350-359.
    17. Carlo Rega & Alessandro Bonifazi, 2020. "The Rise of Resilience in Spatial Planning: A Journey through Disciplinary Boundaries and Contested Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-18, September.
    18. Morgan Dwyer & Bruce Cameron & Zoe Szajnfarber, 2015. "A Framework for Studying Cost Growth on Complex Acquisition Programs," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(6), pages 568-583, November.
    19. Félicia Saïah & Diego Vega & Harwin de Vries & Joakim Kembro, 2023. "Process modularity, supply chain responsiveness, and moderators: The Médecins Sans Frontières response to the Covid‐19 pandemic," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(5), pages 1490-1511, May.
    20. Junguang Zhang & Xiwei Song & Hongyu Chen & Ruixia (Sandy) Shi, 2016. "Determination of critical chain project buffer based on information flow interactions," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 67(9), pages 1146-1157, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jbusin:v:2:y:2022:i:1:p:5-96:d:762807. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.