Drift into failure : from hunting broken components to understanding complex systems / by Sidney Dekker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dekker, Sidney.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social systems.

Complex organizations.

System theory--Social aspects.

System theory.

System failures (Engineering).

Failure (Psychology).

Complexity (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (235 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Farnham, Surrey, England ; Burlington, Vt. : Ashgate, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book explores complexity theory and systems thinking to better understand how complex systems drift into failure. It studies sensitive dependence on initial conditions, unruly technology, tipping points, diversity - and finds that failure emerges opportunistically, non-randomly, from the very webs of relationships that breed success and that are supposed to protect organizations from disaster. It develops a vocabulary that allows us to harness complexity and find new ways of managing drift.

Contents:

Failure is always an option

Features of drift

The legacy of Newton and Descartes

The search for the broken component

Theorizing drift

What is complexity and systems thinking?

Managing the complexity of drift.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographic references and index.

ISBN:

1-315-25739-4

1-282-96347-3

9786612963476

1-4094-2223-2

9781315257396

OCLC:

704517795