A Tool for Assessing Organizational Vitality in an Era of Complexity

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change 2000-05, Vol.64 (1), p.101-113
• Main Authors: Vicenzi, Richard, Adkins, Gary
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Economic Change; Evaluation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Effectiveness; Organizational Power; Organizational Structure; Postindustrial Societies
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/S0040-1625(99)00074-8

The evolution toward a post-industrial, or knowledge-based, economy brings previously unrecognized predicators of organizational health into focus. The authors integrate concepts from complexity theory, post-modern organizational theory, and “Knowledge Management” as a source for innovation into a diagnostic tool to measure the comparative health of an organization in terms of successfully competing in the emerging 21st century economy. Factors such as the character of leadership and trust evident in the organization, the relative influence of expertise over “position power,” the level of connectivity between work groups and people allowing for the meaningful exchange and flow of information, the amount of cultural and cognitive diversity among agents in the work system, and the degree to which anxiety and stress are contained to positively impact performance levels are included in the assessment. The diagnostic tool is outlined and a case study described where the tool is used to identify appropriate interventions in different organizations that are attempting to adapt to their changing market places.