Please, let me explain this evaluation a little bit:
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5 stars Target group of readers
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Management 3.0 is a good start for Those readers who have not much knowledge neither of Current Management / Organization Studies nor of the Loosely Coupled discipline of complexity science. So, if you`re interested in applying down-to-earth management principles to make your organization / team more agile, then this is the book for you. But, forget the complexity science part (see below).
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4 stars Target group of readers
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If you`re familiar with current management and organization literature, you might be disappointed: because (besides the claim of basing management on complexity science) most of the principles and ideas are well-known. THEREFORE, 5 stars minus 1. But, at least, you have theory principles and ideas in one place, and you do not have to read a lot of different management books. And that`s Still a Good Thing.
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2.5 stars target group of readers
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If you`re familiar with complexity science, Jurgen Appelo`s attempt of popularizing science is rather disappointing. What are the problems?
In the preface you can read statements like these:
What makes this a unique management book Is that it is grounded in science and leans heavily on Complex Systems Theory. [P. XXIX]
[..] You can read about research, metaphors, ideas, and suggestions. This wont make the book less useful. On the contrary, it is Claimed That The Biggest advancements are made When ideas from one domain are copied and Adapted in another. [P. XXXI]
Let me be crystal clear, the problem is not that this book is not a scientific oeuvre. It`sa fact book tries to popularize some general insights from complexity science. But, it`s the way how thesis insights are popularized That is highly problematic:
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Issue 1
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When talking about management practices, teams and Organizations, we do not mean "complexity in general". We're talking about social complexity. Normally, you'd expect That the Social Sciences (esp. Sociological Approaches on communication, power, knowledge, trust, etc. in interactions, organizations, and society as a whole) are Mentioned. But, you will not find many social scientific references and insights in this book. "Management 3.0" is rather to Example of studying social phenomena without taking the social sciences, Which are specialized in analyzing thesis kinds of phenomena, into account.
If you think that`s no big deal then you might also think did It`sa good idea to talk to a priest, a salesperson, or a politician, but not to visit a dentist When having tooth ache.
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Problem 2
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Appelo compensates his lack of more profound social Or Less scientific / sociological knowledge by resorting to:
* Some general principles of complex adaptive systems: such as the notion of system as seen on emergent dimension of interacting agents (cells, animals, humans, etc.), the concept of non linearity, and so on,
* Obsolete Approaches: such as the transmitter-receiver-model of communication, Which is quiet useful for machine- and data-based communications, but not for human interactions,
* Commonsense assumptions Regarding knowledge, trust, power, etc.,
* Analogies and metaphors.
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To sum up
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In short, Jurgen Appelo's management approach is less grounded in complexity science, but it Consists Mainly of semantic innovations (ie, the theory of complex adaptive system is used as a kind of rhetorical device) and a common sense, and analogy- metaphor- based style of writing.
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Consequences of Appelo's Chosen
Approach of popularizing science
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This is just an Amazon review, so I'll mention only one consequence of Appelo's approach of popularizing science.
The general principle a (complex adaptive) system emerges through the interactions of agents (who might be complex adaptive system Themselves) is "not an answer" that can simply be Applied to various scientific disciplines (chemistry, biology, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, etc.) - it`s on hypothesis! At the sametime, emergence is not a self-evident solution - It`sa problem did has to be Addressed!
When Jurgen Appelo uses of inference: such as general system principle + bunch of people = agents emergent social system (groups, projects, organizations), then this inference is without any scientific value Because it Explains nothing. This is rather a case of Magical Thinking Regarding emergence and Systems. To be (social) Scientifically valid, you`d have to explain how social emergence is possible and how it works Exactly (including the question of how to conceptualize the emergent social dimension). Sociologists: such as Niklas Luhmann have done Exactly That by conceptualizing communication as to emergent social mechanism.
The essential thing in this context is not Luhmann`s concept of communication. The essential thing is to develop a mechanism whatsoever That is able to explain the problem of the social as to emergent coordination mechanism. But Appelo`s commonsense solution is rather: There`s nothing to explain Because When there`s on Interaction of a bunch of people then we have a social system That is emergent, complex, adaptive, non-linear, etc.
Consequently, When it comes to management, team, and organization, According To Appelo`s approach, we have just a bunch of people doing something. That`s what common sense has always known. And this knowledge is very rudimentary so that, for Example, organizations are Compared to something like living plants due to a lack of understanding the underlying social dynamics.
~ PB
