Underestimating Complexity: IL Creativity in Loose Systems


 

“My worry when executives say, 'keep it simple, stupid,' is that they're underestimating the complexity of their own organizations and environments" --Karl Weick, (Coutu, 2003, p. 86). 

 


 

When we say, "keep it simple, stupid" are we guaranteeing that we remain stupid? Can we learn from and preserve the complexity of our organizations? This session presents the "loosely coupled system" model of organizations and applies it to information literacy in libraries. This model provides a way to understand how grassroots innovation can spread across organizations and how organizational members can learn from each other. The audience will be asked to discuss how their own libraries act like or do not act like loosely coupled systems. 

 

- Use driving as an example of a coordinated system, aspects: 1) easy communications, 2) simple rules, 3) oversight to keep rules (I could ask audience why driving works?)

 

-discuss the nature of innovation: adaptability, adaptation, development

-Describe development and how that impacts creativity 

-define a loosely coupled system: 

-define systems that are not loosely coupled