BOOK REVIEW

CHAOS - The Amazing Science of the Unpredictable

         by James Gleick; Pages 352 ;  Price£ 9.99    

           

                                                                                            

Is management art or science? This has been a topic for talks, debates, books, journals and research papers. The two aspects of science that drove this relentless pursuit were the rationale of 'cause and effect' and the 'scientific laws'. 

The basic  idea  this pursuit is to avoid 'chaos' and have a straight decision making process; the secondary objectives are saving time and attaining unanimity in the team.

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the dramatic developments of digitalisation, cloud competing, big data, blockchain, IoT/IIoT, 3D Xeroxing, cryptocurrency and other aspects have created chaos, upheaval and disruption all around. Some of the old established business management  'laws and models' are gone with the revolutionary whirlwind.

To add to the discomfort the very idea of following the scientific path is itself in disarray. The scientists have become aware of the "special ignorance about disorder in the atmosphere, in the turbulent sea, in the fluctuations of wildlife population, oscillations of the heart and the brain----when chaos begins, classical science stops" says the authour.

The scientists have not thrown up their hands .."Chaos has become a shorthand name for a fast growing movement----chaos conferences and chaos journals abound-----at every major university--theorists ally themselves first with chaos and only second with their nominal specialities' observes Geleick. (Emphasis added)

One more significant development Gleick lauds is that the 'crisis of increasing specialisation has reversed because of chaos. Now, "mathematicians , physicists, biologists, chemists and others are all seeking connections between different kinds of irregularity"

The book is a brilliant guide for (i)recognising that chaos is the new normal in all fields more so in management and (ii) adopting a holistic approach in coordinated efforts to thrive in chaos.