Connectivity, Creativity and Chaos

Abstract

Computer and communications technologies are dramatically increasing connectivity and providing rich opportunities for organizational creativity. Most organizations would like to take advantage of this creativity, but also avoid the chaos that is possible when fundamental change becomes pervasive. The emergence of loosely-structured organizations, made possible by increased connectivity to information and people, is resulting in organizations that cannot be managed successfully using traditional approaches to planning, organization, and control. This article explores new approaches by first considering the forces that are driving organizational change in business, government, and academia. Organizational trends are then examined in terms of loosely-structured organizations, including trends and management issues for virtual organizations. These assessments provide the basis for considering the issues involved in planning, organization, and control for loosely-structured organizations, as well as how these issues are best addressed.