From Management to Adaptation: Designing an Organizational Learning Process for Strategic Renewal of Environmental Management at The City of Calgary

Abstract

Complexity in human systems is both a phenomenon to be studied in research and a process to be applied in practice. In this study, theoretical characteristics of Complex Adaptive Systems (Holland, 2012) are applied to explore the self-organizing, or learning, capacity of a large human Organization, The City of Calgary. The Design-based Research methodology for testing an organizational learning intervention evolved as initial assumptions were challenged and an understanding of the unique character of The City as a Complex Adaptive System emerged. Through a 16-month interventionist field study involving three different research scenarios, the researcher and participants worked together to ‘solve problems’ using the existing and emerging organizational processes and structures at The City. A design process was developed and tested for designing organizational structures for adaptation, a form of organizing complementary to existing systems-based environmental management. Systems-based management at The City demonstrated capacity to efficiently control environmental impacts associated with the actions of operationally closed elements (Business Units) of the system, and to mitigate in non-standard conditions. An understanding of complexity characteristics of The City was used to generate a new strategic environmental adaptation framework to coordinate environmental action across operationally closed parts, in alignment with the current strategic direction of The City. Analysis of complexity characteristics of the system informed the design, including nesting of organizational structures, signal/boundaries, dynamic interactions, and a fractal interface between The City and its natural environment. The approval of the design for implementation at The City was an indicator of its validity in the full context of the Organization. An ‘executive function’ defines processes and organizational structures to ensure consistency and alignment between the parts of an Organization and to facilitate coordination of action towards commonly defined strategic goals. A theoretical/philosophical model is presented for practitioners, leaders, and researchers seeking to enhance organizational management through the application of Complexity Theory. This study is a practical example of a dynamic research process capable of having an impact on both theory development and practice, and aims to make human Organizations more adaptive to change as they work to establish non-harmful interactions with the environment.