Navigating Through Changing Times Knowledge Work in Complex Environments Routledge Advances in Management and Business Studies Series

Complexity theory including the concepts of chaos and emergence has been considered one of the most revolutionary products of the 20th century having influence on science, technology and economics among others. Any complex systems, such as organisms, societies, stock market or the Internet, have emergent properties that cannot be reduced to the mere properties of their parts. The theory has been used in organizational studies and strategic management where it offers an alternative way to look at organizations. The theory rejects the idea of organizations seen as machines and a planned approach to organizational change.

Instead, the theory underlines understanding on how organizations adapt to their environments. Complexity theory suggests that organizations tend to self-organize themselves to a state where they regulate themselves. Complexity theory would advocate for approaches that focus on flatter, more flexible organizations. It shifts focus from management control to self-organization and individual interrelations between different people.

The aim of Navigating through Changing Times:Knowledge Work in Complex Environment is to give insights on how complexity has changed the environment of many business organizations. The book aims at identifying and discussing special features of business organizations performing knowledge work in a knowledge-oriented economy. Navigating through Changing Times:Knowledge Work in Complex Environment will be vital reading for those scholar and researchers in the fields of knowledge and wisdom management as well as organizational behavior and communication, HRM, strategy, culture, change and development and other related disciplines.

Part 1: New Ways of Working and Leading

1. Knowledge Work and New Ways of Working

Anne Eskola

2. Leading a Specialist

Pia Heilmann

3. Ethical Solutions to Ethical Problems in Knowledge Work

Minna-Maaria Hiekkataipale

4. The Necessity of Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination

Frank Martela and Tuukka Kostamo

5. Tensions, Spaces of Self-organization and Resilience

Mika Nieminen and Heli Talja

Part 2: Lessons Learned from Forerunners

6. Lessons Learned from Traditional and "new-age" Leadership

Tommi Auvinen, Elina Riivari, and Pasi Sajasalo

7. Value Co-creation through Digitalization

Katja Rantala and Heikki Karjaluoto

8. Informal Human Resource Principles and Practices as a Key to Growth

Minna Janhonen and Tiina Taipale

9. Agile Ways of Working

Liinamaaria Hakola

10. Organizing at the Edge of Chaos

Sami Jantunen, Tapio Koivisto, Anne Eskola, and Pia Heilmann

11. Participative Strategy Work

Elli Antikainen, Tommi Auvinen, and Pasi Sajasalo

Part 3: Practical Guidelines for Changing Times

12. Classroom as Organization - an Educational Strategy for Emergent Learning

Anne Herbert and Elyssebeth Leigh

13. Shared Understanding of Business Purpose as a Structure of Organizing Work

Marianne Ekonen and Heidi Forsström-Tuominen

14. Supporting Prospective Organizational Sensemaking with Collaborative Methods

Sami Jantunen and Tapio Koivisto

15. Navigating in Turbulent Environments: How to Keep Staying in the Game?

Dr Anne Eskola is a Principal Lecturer at the School of Business, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Finland.