The nature of change, or, The law of unintended consequences : an introductory text to designing complex systems and managing change

This absorbing book provides a broad introduction to the surprising nature of change, and explains how the Law of Unintended Consequences arises from the waves of change following one simple change. Change is a constant topic of discussion, whether be it on climate, politics, technology, or any of the many other changes in our lives. However, does anyone truly understand what change is? Over time, mankind has deliberately built social and technology based systems that are goal-directed - there are goals to achieve and requirements to be met. Building such systems is man's way of planning for the future, and these plans are based on predicting the behavior of the system and its environment, at specified times in the future. Unfortunately, in a truly complex social or technical environment, this planned predictability can break down into a morass of surprising and unexpected consequences. Such unpredictability stems from the propagation of the effects of change through the influence of one event on another. The Nature of Change explains in detail the mechanism of change and will serve as an introduction to complex systems, or as complementary reading for systems engineering. This textbook will be especially useful to professionals in system building or business change management, and to students studying systems in a variety of fields such as information technology, business, law and society Change is a constant topic for conversation. This absorbing book provides a broad introduction to the surprising nature of change, and explains how the Law of Unintended Consequences arises from the waves of change that follow one simple change. Over time, mankind has deliberately built social and technology-based systems where there are goals to achieve and requirements to be met. Building such systems is man's way of planning for the future, and these plans are based on predicting the future behaviour of the system and its environment. Unfortunately, in a truly complex social or technical environment, this planned predictability can break down into a morass of surprising and unexpected consequences. The Nature of Change or the Law of Unintended Consequences explains how change works and serves as an introduction to complex systems and as complementary reading for systems engineers. Professionals in system building or business change management will find this book especially useful, as would students studying systems in a variety of fields such as biology, information technology, business, law and society. --Back Cover Presents an introduction to the surprising nature of change and explains how the Law of Unintended Consequences arises from the waves of change following one simple change. This book is suitable for professionals in system building or business change management, and to students studying systems in a variety of fields.