75Richardson Systems theory and complexity: Part 1

The motivation for this multi-part series is solely my observation that much of the writing on complexity theory seems to have arbitrarily ig-nored the vast systems theory literature. I don’t know whether this omission is deliberate (i.e., motivated by the political need to differentiate and promote one set of topical boundaries from another; a situation unfor-tunately driven by a reductionist funding process) or simply the result of ignorance. Indeed, Phelan (1999) readily admits that he was “both surprised and embar-UDVVHGWRìQGVXFKDQH[WHQVLYHERG\RIOLWHUDWXUH>UH ferring to systems theory] virtually unacknowledged in the complexity literature. ” I am going to assume the best of the complexity community and suggest that the reason systems theory seems to have been forgotten is ignorance, and I hope this, and subsequent, articles will familiarize complexity thinkers with some aspects of systems theory; enough to demonstrate a legitimate need to pay more attention to this particular community and its associated body of literature. The upcoming 11th Annual ANZSYS Conference/Manag-ing the Complex V Systems Thinking and Complex-ity Science: Insights for Action (a calling notice for which can be found in the “Event Notices ” section of this issue) is a deliberate attempt to forge a more open and collaborative relationship between systems and complexity theorists. There are undoubtedly differences between the two communities, some of which are analyzed by 3KHODQ 6L[\HDUVRQIURP3KHODQpVDUWLFOH,ìQG that some of the differences he discusses have dissolved somewhat, if not entirely. For example, he proposes that systems theory is preoccupied with “problem VROYLQJrRU FRQìUPDWRU\DQDO\VLV DQGKDVD FULWLFDO interpretivist bent to it, whereas complexity theory is exploratory and positivist. Given the explosion in the management science literature concerning the appli-cation of complexity to organizational management I would argue that the complexity community as a whole LVUDWKHUPRUHLQFOLQHGWRFRQìUPDWRU\DQDO\VLVWKDQLW might have been in 1999. I think that part of Phelan’