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As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. Since writing my 1st article for Managing Organizational Complexity in 2004, much has happened to further our understanding of complexity in healthcare systems. The growth of new computational methods in the fields of data science and data analytics has allowed scientists to identify signals or patterns in large complex data sets (big data) that in the past were seemingly hidden. Rather than relying on historical statistical methods to infer outcomes, these advanced methods combined with increased computer processing power allow machines to learn the structure of data and create artificial intelligence (AI). In our ongoing efforts to find solutions for complex healthcare problems, AI is becoming more and more an accepted method. The purpose of this edition of Managing Organizational Complexity is to define AI and machine learning, discuss the recent resurgence of AI, and then provide examples of how AI can provide value to healthcare with an emphasis on nursing.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This article is the 5th in a series of articles that focuses on why technological complexity is increasing and strategies nurse administrators can use to successfully implement change in the face of it.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This article is the 3rd in a series of articles that focus on why technological complexity is increasing and strategies nurse administrators can use to successfully implement change in the face of it.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. This article is the 2nd in a series of articles that focuses on why technological complexity is increasing and strategies nurse administrators can use to successfully implement change in the face of it.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This article focuses on why technological complexity is increasing and strategies nurse administrators can use to successfully implement change in the face of it.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. In this edition, I begin a series of articles on the growing challenge faced by nurse administrators of finding value in the vast amounts of information collected by health systems today.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. In this article, I further discuss the concept of fragility, its impact on system behavior, and ways to reduce it.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. In this article, I discuss the Constructal Law and its impact on nurse workflow.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on the application of management strategies in health systems. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. In this article, the authors discuss the impact of complex system behavior on nurse workflow and its broader implications.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 20th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the authors discuss how nurse workflow is characteristic of complex adaptive systems and the need for caution when selecting a performance improvement method.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies on complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 18th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, I discuss methods to optimize complex healthcare processes through learning, adaptation, and evolutionary planning.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 17th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, Dr Clancy further discusses the similarity in complex system behavior observed between the financial markets and healthcare systems.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 16th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, Dr Clancy, the editor of this column, and co-author, Dr West, discuss how the collapse of global financial markets in 2008 may provide valuable insight into mechanisms of complex system behavior in healthcare. Dr West, a physicist and expert in the field of complex systems and network science, is author of a chapter in the book, On the Edge: Nursing in the Age of Complexity (Lindberg C, Nash S, Linberg C. Bordertown, NJ: Plexus Press; 2008) and his most recent book, Disrupted Networks: From Physics to Climate Change (West BJ, Scafetta N. Singapore: Disrupted Networks, World Scientific Publishing; 2010).

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 15th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the authors discuss healthcare social networks as a hierarchy of embedded complex adaptive systems. The authors further examine the use of social network analysis tools as a means to understand complex communication patterns and reduce medical errors.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 14th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. This article focuses on new theories explaining growth in healthcare complexity, its effects on providers and patients, and solutions to manage it.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 13th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. This article provides one example of how concepts taken from complex systems theory can be applied to real-world problems facing nurses today.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 12th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. This article focuses on the idea of positive deviance and how it can be applied in developing elegant solutions to complex problems.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This article is the 11th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. This article focuses on the idea of elegance and how it can be applied in solving complex problems.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the 10th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. As follow-up to the case study in this column's June 2009 article, this article highlights the interventions and outcomes of the study.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the eighth in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the author explores self-organization as it relates to self-management in complex social organizations.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on managing social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the fifth in a 5-part series on applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the concept of control is explored from a complex systems perspective.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the fourth of a 5-part series on applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the concept of coordination is explored from a complex systems perspective.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on managing in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the third in a 5-part series on applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the concept of directing is explored from a complex systems perspective.

As systems evolve, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on managing in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the second in a 5-part series on applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the concept of organizing is explored from a complex systems perspective.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on managing in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This is the first article in a 5-part series on applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. In this article, the concept of planning is explored from a complex systems' perspective.

Paperwork is a major source of frustration for hospital nurses and takes valuable time away from patient care. Studies indicate that nurses spend an estimated 13% to 28% of total shift time documenting. The growth in documentation requirements for nurses can, in part, be attributed to an exponential rise in health system complexity. Authors explore the documentation of nursing care plans from a complex adaptive system perspective and then analyze the utility of adopting a standardized nursing language. An actual case history of a nursing unit's attempt to reduce complexity, improve completion time, and increase staff satisfaction in care planning by adopting a standardized nursing language is provided to emphasize a practical application.

The recent findings emerging from the new science of complexity are altering our view of unpredicted behavior. In many cases, natural laws hidden deep within the complex processes of healthcare systems may be exerting a powerful influence over our ability to control outcomes. The author explores the concept of complexity and how nurse administrators may use these new theories to navigate through an increasingly unpredictable world.

As important as sound decision-making is, many executives neglect to utilize any formal decisionmaking process. As many executives know, making the wrong decision can be disastrous, if not career ending. In today's high-pressure, complex, and challenging healthcare environment, it makes sense to follow a tried and true process for making decisions. The author examines the traditional method of problem identification, setting objectives, listing alternatives and consequences, and selecting the best solution in the decision-making process as well as new research in this field.