This project orients the practitioners within the Decision, Risk, and Management Science (DRMS) and the Innovation and Organizational Change (IOC) research communitites to the emerging developments critical to strategic management, organizational design, and decision making in today's turbulent organizational environment. In its fifth year, the Organization Science Winter Conference (OSWC -- a 50 person "think tank" style conference) has resulted in the identification of new research agendas through interdisciplinary approaches. The conference has become known for engaging leading theoretical ideas, as well as a way for research to be informed by practicing managers.
The 1999 OSWC topic is "Negotiating the Shoals of Chaotic Environments." Both the academic and popular press suggest that organizational strategies and forms whose roots originate in the Industrial Age may no longer be appropriate as we transition into a new era -- Post-Industrial, Knowledge-based. The pace of the resulting competitive landscape has clearly increased, but even more important has been the rise in volatility and environmental uncertainty. Many believe that the organizational playing field has moved from a complex but predictable environment, to a field more aptly described as chaotic. If this is the case, then current knowledge in strategic and organizational theory is out of date. The challenge facing the DRMS and IOC community and practitioners involves the development of new theories, models and methodologies more appropriate for chaotic uncertainty. At this year's conference we anticipate explorations of the theme from a wide spectrum of perspectives--strategy, decision making, managerial and organization cognition, leadership, organization learning, complexity theory and chaos, information technology, knowledge and knowing, ecology, political economy, etc. Specific topics likely to be included are quantifying and measuring chaotic environments, strategic responses and organizational forms for turbulent situations, and managerial implications.
The grant provides funding for two new conference initiatives: (1) sponsorship for one leading scholar from Europe and one from Asia who would otherwise not be able to attend, and (2) support related to the development and writing of a 'perspective' paper to be published in Organization Science.
