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Public Organization Review

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03-08-2019

Complex Thinking and Computing Organization Facing Contingent Problems

Authors: Laura Carmouze, Alan Sandry

Published in: Public Organization Review | Issue 2/2020

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Abstract

Facing the reflexive modernity, social wealth production is systematically correlated with the production of social and technical problems. Due to the complexity paradigm and contingent approach, public organizations are conflicting with a “one best way” slant. Indeed, they are understood as computing ones and so they can adapt to a changing environment. The purpose of this paper is to understand how public managers deal with contingent problem solving and so to characterize computing organization. Through a qualitative methodology, this paper sheds light on an integrative model of computing organization able to solve contingent problems, with five dimensions.

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In this case, local public organizations are understood as decentralized organizations and their groups as municipalities, departments, metropolises and regions.

The term capability doesn’t refer to dynamic capabilities research. The dynamic capabilities’ goal is to understand how firms can sustain a competitive advantage through the analysis of different domains of strategy process and content (Helfat and Peteraf 2009). In this research, the goal is to understand how manager deal with contingent problem solving, neither sustaining a competitive advantage, nor in a strategic way.

This case study was carried out during an internship (from January to March 2017) for the master’s degree.

This person is a public manager who makes territorial management, which encompasses all the managerial processes used to implement and adapt the strategy of a local public organization (Hernandez 2018).

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Title: Complex Thinking and Computing Organization Facing Contingent Problems
Authors: Laura Carmouze
Alan Sandry
Publication date: 03-08-2019
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Public Organization Review / Issue 2/2020
Print ISSN: 1566-7170
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7098
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-019-00449-1

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