"Managing the Complex" 

An Annual Colloquium on Complex Systems and the Management of Organizations 

 

Joseph L. Rotman School of Management

Toronto, Canada 

 

April 3-5, 1998 


Sponsored by: 

     New England Complex Systems Institute 

     Complex-M discussion group 

     Joseph L. Rotman School of Management 

 

Tentative Program
Call for Papers and Participants 

"Managing the Complex" will be a unique event ö 3 days of discussions about the relationships between managing organizations and the science of complex systems.  Our emphasis will be on discussions, but there 
will be speakers, papers and a proceedings volume. 

Our aim is to be learning together. We will have four or five invited speakers.  The bulk of our time will be spent in informal discussion sessions involving self-organized working groups. 

"Managing the Complex" will attract managers, academics, consultants, and others interested in the possibility of applying the insights of the science of complex systems to day-to-day management problems. 
Attendance will be limited to 75 in order to keep the size of groups at the level optimal for discussion. 
Two forms of participation are possible: 

 1) Presenters. ö All accepted papers will be presented at two poster sessions early in the colloquium in order to facilitate the self-organization of working groups among participants with similar interests. In  addition, all accepted papers will eligible to be included in the proceedings volume to be published by Addison Wesley. 

 To submit a paper, please send a not more than 1000 word abstract by February 1, 1998. Acceptance notices will be distributed by email by February 15, 1998. 

 Paper topics may include (but will not be limited to): 

     1. complex systems implications for business process and strategy 
     2. the development of new organizational forms 
     3. the development of new patterns of work 
     4. managerial cognition 
     5. knowledge management 
     6. organizational learning 
     7. case studies 
     8. other applications of complex systems concepts. 

Given the variety of attendees expected, authors are encouraged to use a more qualitative or narrative form for presentation rather than explicit mathematical treatments. 

 2) Discussants. ö Paper submission is not a prerequisite for attendance. 
 All potential participants who do not submit paper proposals are requested to submit a one page outline of what they would like to learn at the colloquium by February 15, 1998. Acceptance notices will be distributed by email by February 22, 1998. 

Both accepted abstracts and one-page outlines will be posted on the colloquiumâs website as will full text versions of the accepted papers. 
Summary of Dates: 

February 1, 1998       Paper Submissions Due 
February 15, 1998     Discussant Outlines of Interests Due 
February 15, 1998     Paper Acceptance Notifications 
February 22, 1998     Discussant Acceptance Notifications 
March 1, 1998           Early Bird Registration Deadline