Why do people turn to personal connections to get things done? Exploring the role of favors in social welfare systems in postwar, postsocialist Bosnia and Herzegovina, this volume provides a new theoretical angle on links between ambiguity and power. It demonstrates that favors were not an instrumental tactic of survival, nor a way to reproduce oneself as a moral person. Instead, favors enabled the insertion of personal compassion into the heart of the organization of welfare. Managing Ambiguity follows how neoliberal insistence on local community, flexibility, and self-responsibility was translated into clientelist modes of relating and back, and how this fostered a specific mode of power.

A thought-provoking guide to help you lean in to the discomfort of the unknown to turn creative opportunities into intentional design, from Stanford University's world-renowned d.school. “Navigating Ambiguity reminds us not to run from uncertainty but rather see it as a defining moment of opportunity.”—Yves Béhar, Founder and CEO, fuseproject A design process presents a series of steps, but in real life, it rarely plays out this neatly. Navigating Ambiguity underscores how the creative process isn’t formulaic. This book shows you how to surrender control by being adaptable, curious, and unbiased as well as resourceful, tenacious, and courageous. Designers and educators Andrea Small and Kelly Schmutte use humor and clear steps to help you embrace uncertainty as you approach a creative project. First, they explain how the brain works and why it defaults to certainty. Then they show you how to let go of the need for control and instead employ a flexible strategy that relies on the balance between acting and adapting, and the give-and-take between opposing approaches to make your way to your goal. Beautiful cut-paper artwork illustrations offer ways to rethink creative work without hitting the usual roadblocks. The result is a more open and satisfying journey from assignment or idea to finished product.

This book uses the case of the National Health Service to examine the management of ambiguity and change. Studies of the implementation of the Griffiths Report have identified a number of unintended consequences, but it is argued that they have not adequately theorised these outcomes in the policy implementation process. It is suggested that the process-sociological approach of Elias, and in particular his game models, enable us to better understand the complex interweaving of planned and unplanned processes which is involved in the management of change.

Academics from a number of disciplines, and several practicing executives, discuss how managers can make effective strategic decisions amidst the uncertainties and ambiguity of major transitions, be they technological, financial, regulatory, or economic. Contributors draw lessons from the experiences of actual companies, and they offer maps and models for guiding effective action. Empirical studies reveal some proven practices for innovation in the face of adversity, and a study in contrasts shows how one company successfully reframed policy in response to a drastic environmental change, and how another succeeded by holding to a constant strategic plan in a changing environment.

This new work shows that a key factor for great leadership is the ability to recognize, explore and profit from ambiguous situations. Drawing upon his own research and including compelling international cases, the author reveals how to lead others through times of uncertainty so as to create opportunity, innovation and competitive advantage.

In this book, experts discuss whether volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) represent a challenge or a business opportunity. More intense debates on global climate change, increased turbulence in financial quarters, increased job insecurity and high levels of stress at the workplace are attracting attention in the context of organization behavior and entrepreneurship. Fear and confusion have become part and parcel of business, often undermining trust, cooperation and inspiration. As a response, a new way of organizing self-management has emerged. The book combines practical wisdom from East and West, to develop integrative self-management theory and practice; provides direction to support an integrative mind-set, integrative organization and integrative leadership; and presents VUCA as an opportunity and necessity for development and growth, rather than a threat.

An illuminating look at the surprising upside of ambiguity—and how, properly harnessed, it can inspire learning, creativity, even empathy Life today feels more overwhelming and chaotic than ever. Whether it’s a confounding work problem or a faltering relationship or an unclear medical diagnosis, we face constant uncertainty. And we’re continually bombarded with information, much of it contradictory. Managing ambiguity—in our jobs, our relationships, and daily lives—is quickly becoming an essential skill. Yet most of us don’t know where to begin. As Jamie Holmes shows in Nonsense, being confused is unpleasant, so we tend to shutter our minds as we grasp for meaning and stability, especially in stressful circumstances. We’re hard-wired to resolve contradictions quickly and extinguish anomalies. This can be useful, of course. When a tiger is chasing you, you can’t be indecisive. But as Nonsense reveals, our need for closure has its own dangers. It makes us stick to our first answer, which is not always the best, and it makes us search for meaning in the wrong places. When we latch onto fast and easy truths, we lose a vital opportunity to learn something new, solve a hard problem, or see the world from another perspective. In other words, confusion—that uncomfortable mental place—has a hidden upside. We just need to know how to use it. This lively and original book points the way. Over the last few years, new insights from social psychology and cognitive science have deepened our understanding of the role of ambiguity in our lives and Holmes brings this research together for the first time, showing how we can use uncertainty to our advantage. Filled with illuminating stories—from spy games and doomsday cults to Absolut Vodka’s ad campaign and the creation of Mad Libs—Nonsense promises to transform the way we conduct business, educate our children, and make decisions. In an increasingly unpredictable, complex world, it turns out that what matters most isn’t IQ, willpower, or confidence in what we know. It’s how we deal with what we don’t understand.

The success of an organization may be dependent on limiting the potential for deviant behavior, and if necessary, reacting to deviant behavior in a positive way. Managing Organizational Deviance goes beyond questions of control to also consider ethical dimensions of conduct. As a result, it teaches students who will go on to inhabit organizations to become familiar with the ethical implications of deviant and dysfunctional behavior in addition to managing this behavior in an effective way.

This book examines volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) and addresses the need for broader knowledge and application of new concepts and frameworks to deal with unpredictable and rapid changing situations. The premises of VUCA can shape all aspects of an organization. To cover all areas, the book is divided into six sections. Section 1 acts as an introduction to VUCA and complexity. It reviews ways to manage complexity, while providing examples for tools and approaches that can be applied. The main focus of Section 2 is on leadership, strategy and planning. The chapters in this section create new approaches to handle VUCA environments pertaining to these areas including using the Tetralemma logics, tools from systemic structural constellation (SySt) approach of psychotherapy and organizational development, to provide new ideas for the management of large strategic programs in organizations. Section 3 considers how marketing and sales are affected by VUCA, from social media’s influence to customer value management. Operations and cost management are highlighted in Section 4. This section covers VUCA challenges within global supply chains and decision-oriented controlling. In Section 5 organizational structure and process management are showcased, while Section 6 is dedicated to addressing the effects of VUCA in IT, technology and data management. The VUCA forces present businesses with the need to move from linear modes of thought to problem solving with synthetic and simultaneous thinking. This book should help to provide some starting points and ideas to deal with the next era. It should not be understood as the end of the road, but as the beginning of a journey exploring and developing new concepts for a new way of management.

Every organization faces difficult decisions when managing risk and the potential consequences of its manifestation. For a more thorough outlook on risk, organizations should also evaluate and engage with its advantages. Organizational Risk Management: Managing for Uncertainty and Ambiguity covers a series of perspectives that represent both causal and interpretative frameworks. These perspectives shed light on how organizational structures and processes adapt amid a complex, dynamic organizational environment in an effort to manage and exploit the accompanying risks of that environment. This volume will oftentimes challenge the expectation for and utility of clarity in crisis situations, thereby favoring uncertainty and ambiguity as the necessary conditions to exploit organizational risk and explore opportunities that rely on interpretation, learning, and knowledge among individuals. The ultimate objective of Organizational Risk Management: Managing for Uncertainty and Ambiguity is to promote discussion among practitioners and organizational scholars who venture to understand organizational risk. Setting such a goal is to essentially practice what this volume shall inevitably preach: engage one another in order to proactively monitor and respond to risk. Strengthening ties along the bridge between practice and science will be a welcomed consequence of this volume.