The purpose of this paper is to explore the human dimension of the complex interactions which are a key feature of VSM. It focusses on personal emotions, power, conversations and relationships, and the tensions between personal identity and organisational identity, particularly in periods of organisational and strategic change.
It draws on psychology, and the social sciences to provide a complementary perspective on understanding complexity, not simply as result of the variety of organisational products and services, but the variety of human beings in all their complex manifestations in organisational life. Ashby’s law of Requisite Variety applies to people as well as things.
Practical examples are included in the paper to illustrate these ideas.
