Welcome to the Discussion of Complex Adaptive Systems in Organizations. This space provides a container for people with inquiring minds who wish to explore the application of concepts from complexity to the dynamics of organizations and leadership. Strategenis, an Ottawa based change facilitation consultancy http://www.strategenis.com provides an introduction to complex adaptive systems in it Genesis newsletter, as well as a list of links and books related to CAS in organizations.

I think that many of the concepts of CAS can be applied to small and medium organizations too.

Having the ability to identify an early stage of a change or potential change will allow the leader or consultant to forsee its impact.

The challenge with complexity and businesses small or large is that it is difficult to predict the outcome which comes from a small change , due to the sensitivity to initial condidtions aspects of complex systems. However, I agree that complexity sience applies to small and medium businesses. They both exhibit the characteristics of a complex adaptive system in which the businesses are agents of a larger system(s)--eg. the industry they are in, the community in which they are situated, the supply chain of which they are part etc. The challenge then is to recognize how they are interacting within the system, recogize those interactions that are meaningful and choose strategies which enhance the "fit" they have.