No Import Fees Deposit & $10.70 Shipping to Netherlands Details

Delivery Tuesday, October 24

Or fastest delivery Thursday, October 19. Order within 19 hrs 1 min

Only 1 left in stock - order soon

$$43.30 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Amazon

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

FHMENBE

Sold by

FHMENBE

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$7.99 delivery November 1 - 22. Details

Deliver to Netherlands

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by ThriftBooks-Seattle

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Add to List

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the Author

Robert Axelrod

Harnessing Complexity: Organizational Implications of a Scientific Frontier Hardcover – May 12, 2000

by Robert Axelrod (Author), Michael D Cohen (Author)

4.3 44 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$43.30

$28.54

$1.86

Paperback

"Please retry"

$17.99

$3.98

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

$34.11

$34.09

$15.72

Kindle
$9.99 Read with our Free App
Hardcover
$43.30

22 Used from $1.86 5 New from $28.54
Paperback
$13.36 - $17.99

29 Used from $3.98 9 New from $17.99
Mass Market Paperback
$15.74 - $34.11

4 Used from $15.72 3 New from $34.09

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$43.30","priceAmount":43.30,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"43","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"30","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"7KF4W1XlX%2BjA3uiQc7iDZz9XbaRAw0OLqEkRCQmheVZkXz9BsF0wnpJrzYnjBAuiBLxzH1a4MfYUFCOlAJ3IgszVnPaFR99A%2FmE0DIhhrP0L8fsG%2B53P0UPEMd%2Fw6VxiScz5FOLG5S%2FSawSpZxWitvRERC4uaiihWZ%2FUlq7RI09hehBYwdAreNfbzgUZd44C","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.66","priceAmount":8.66,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"66","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"7KF4W1XlX%2BjA3uiQc7iDZz9XbaRAw0OLbtVCBcR3cd2yFyNrZNmGZ7p7ZJTX9z9ewoaSW7lPULxnWhPApRzrlDxH8baf6EGJescYuZqB13xiDvy9koaTvhZM%2BMIYG6%2Fth7GImCKZ9q9nZqCAfalH%2BkAKUILdLcgT23%2FGcifbrA68HBktVgPbnA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Recent advances in the study of complexity have given scientists profound new insights into how natural innovation occurs and how its power can be exploited. Now two pioneers in the field, Robert Axelrod and Michael D. Cohen, provide leaders in business and government with a guide to complexity that will help them make effective decisions in a world of rapid change. Building on evolutionary biology, computer science, and social design, Axelrod and Cohen have constructed a unique framework for improving the way people work together. Their approach to management is based on the concept of the Complex Adaptive System, which can describe everything from rain forests to the human gene pool, and from automated software agents to multinational companies. The authors' framework reveals three qualities that all kinds of managers must cultivate in their organization: Variation What is the best way to manage the development of software? Should the problem be broken up into small pieces for programmers working independently, thus enhancing variation, or should there be a centralized hierarchy of programmers ruled by a chain of command? The authors show how the decentralized creation of variation combined with the centralized maintenance of standards was the key to the success of the Linux "open source software" project, which brought together thousands of volunteers in cyberspace to produce an operating system that can outperform Microsoft's. Interaction Why did northern Italy prosper while southern Italy remained poor? Recognizing the internal interactions of a Complex Adaptive System -- be it a national region, a company, or a nonprofit group -- reveals vital networks of trust. Axelrod and Cohen explain that in successful adaptive systems, rich networks of horizontal linkages foster cooperation and provide an advantage over other less cooperatively networked groups. In the case of Italy, voluntary associations created networks of trust in the Middle Ages that became northern Italy's critical advantage over the south. Selection Is a Pulitzer Prize better than a National Book Award? How can foundations and corporations design competitions that have a positive effect on the evolution of excellence? The authors' framework makes clear that the worst selection processes are mired in orthodox standards that have not adapted to a new environment. The best selection processes, on the other hand, are created and run by leaders who understand how the standards they use can transform their organization and its environment. This simple, paradigm-shifting analysis of how people work together will transform the way we think about getting things done in a group. Harnessing Complexity is the essential guide to creating wealth, power, and knowledge in the 21st

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Free Press
Publication date

May 12, 2000
Dimensions

5.82 x 0.78 x 8.64 inches
ISBN-10

0684867176
ISBN-13

978-0684867175
See all details

Robert Axelrod
353
Paperback
$16.69
$10.13 shipping
Robert Axelrod
32
Paperback
$50.54
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Oct 25
$10.89 shipping
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Melanie Mitchell
588
Paperback
$23.89
$11.79 shipping
M. Mitchell Waldrop
566
Paperback
$12.59
$10.56 shipping
Edgar Morin
32
Perfect Paperback
$23.95
$10.11 shipping
Only 14 left in stock (more on the way).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a world where companies are forced to adapt to an ever more quickly changing marketplace, where people from diverse backgrounds must work together in order to solve problems rapidly and the future is hard to predict, wouldn't it be wonderful if all this complexity could work to your advantage? Axelrod (The Evolution of the Corporation) and Cohen (a consultant to the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center), both professors at the University of Michigan, aim to draw on the principles of evolutionary biology, computer science and social design to explain the functioning of "complex adaptive systems" (specifically businesses), and how to improve them. They explore such abstract issues as whether to encourage variation in a rapidly changing situation (whether it refers to a diversity of products or problem-solving approaches, variety is defined as "the raw material for adaptation"); the impact of manipulating interactions (with respect to time as well as both physical and conceptual space) in an organization; and how to select and support the most viable individuals, teams, systems or business strategies that emerge. Although their schematic approach and well-drawn anecdotal examples yield pragmatic insights, Axelrod and Cohen rely on somewhat idiosyncratic terminology to make their key points: "Agents of a variety of types use their strategies in patterned interaction, with each other and with artifacts" (authors' emphasis). While most managers are aware of complexity theory and are eager to learn how to adapt it to their organizations, some may be put off by the convoluted language used here. Agent, Raphael Sagalyn. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Management theorists are increasingly turning to complexity science in their search for answers to questions about organizational behavior. Axelrod and Cohen are professors of public policy. Their perspective on complexity is on building effective teams from complex groups of individuals. Axelrod is the author of the groundbreaking The Evolution of Cooperation (1984) and its follow-up, The Complexity of Cooperation (1997). Cohen has served on the external faculty at the Santa Fe Institute, a leading research facility in the field of complexity. Drawing on their research done for a report on national information policy by the Highlands Forum under the aegis of the Department of Defense, the authors offer numerous business, political, and cultural applications for their model of complex adaptive systems. Clarifying the differences between complexity and chaos theories, they trace the principles of complex adaptive systems to evolutionary biology, computer science, and social design; and they outline three key processes of such systems: variation, interaction, and selection. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Hal Varian Dean, School of Information & Management Systems, University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor of Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy You can't control complex systems, but you can influence them. Harnessing Complexity shows how. It is the first book to show how to make complexity work for you. -- Review

From the Inside Flap

Advance praise for Harnessing Complexity:

Harnessing Complexity distills the managerial essence of current research in complexity. Any manager confronted with disruptive change will find that Axelrod and Cohen have made a very valuable contribution to the emerging theory of competition and competitive advantage.

--C. K. Prahalad, University of Michigan, coauthor of Competing for the Future

A brilliant exposition that demystifies both the theory and use of complex adaptive systems.

--John Seely Brown, Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation, and Director, Palo Alto Research Center

Insightful and refreshingly honest, Axelrod and Cohen have created a major contribution to complexity literature.

--Ellen H. Goldberg, President, Santa Fe Institute

There has always been a fairly wide gap between theoretical work on complex adaptive systems and its application to real world problems confronting business and public policy. Harnessing Complexity builds a highly practical bridge between these worlds, drawing on the deep insights of two thinkers who were there at the beginning of the complexity revolution.

--Francis Fukuyama, author of The Great Disruption and The End of History

You can't control complex systems, but you can influence them. Harnessing Complexity shows how. It is the first book to show how to make complexity work for you.

--Hal Varian, Dean School of Information & Management Systems, University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor of Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy

Very very impressive! Enables readers to sense the power of the concepts. Useful for people who want an introduction to complex adaptive systems and how Axelrod and Cohen's framework might be applied.

--Dr. Bruce Abell, a managing director of the Santa Fe Center for Emergent Strategies

About the Author

Robert Axelrod is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. The author of The Evolution of Cooperation. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press; First Edition (May 12, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0684867176
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684867175
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.82 x 0.78 x 8.64 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #481,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #185 in Management Science
- #3,224 in Business Processes & Infrastructure
- #23,577 in Science & Math (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 44 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Robert Axelrod

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

44 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Diogenes

A good contribution that straddles theory and practice adequately

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

It is always a challenge to write for both academics and practitioners. This book does an adequate job, but could go further into both.
As a guide for practitioners it remains a little abstract and good benefit from more prescriptive guidance. It could also benefit from using the Minto Pyramid Principle: Provide the framework first (conclusion as introduction) and then go into detail into the how with the chapters that follow.

As such, practitioners may benefit from reading the conclusion first.

From an academic perspective the authors would contribute more if they stressed how their approach changes the paradigm of complexity research.

In terms of the paradigm, the authors could focus more on the importance of different resolutions / levels within a complex adaptive system and the importance of the level at which abstraction is appropriate for the analysis in question.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Pancho

Good change through directed evolution

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2014

Verified Purchase

Complexity is all around us. How can we use it to our advantage? The authors present a framework that allow "agents" (individuals, organizations, programs, etc.) or systems (interacting collections of agents) learn from their environment and thereby take advantage of complexity to grow, profit or reproduce.

The framework involves the continual improvement of "strategies" (instructions). This improvement happens through variation and selection. Some agents and systems allow modification of individual strategies, while others only allow change to agents, and implicitly, their package of strategies.

The framework clearly works. Examples include evolution by natural selection, the Deming cycle, and wikis. All these bring about good change through the framework described here, even if not explicitly.

Helpful

Eric Perez

... fan of Axelrod's work & (Cohen) these men are brilliant although I differ in my geo-politic as well as ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2017

Verified Purchase

I am a fan of Axelrod's work & (Cohen) these men are brilliant although I differ in my geo-politic as well as cultural ideology. I suppose myself a diehard ultra-conservative less-than liberal.

Helpful

Mehrdad Khakparaghi

A framework for understanding and harnessing the power of complexity

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2023

"Harnessing Complexity" by Robert Axelrod is a captivating exploration of complex adaptive systems and the principles that underlie their behavior. Drawing upon his extensive research in the fields of game theory, computer simulations, and social dynamics, Axelrod presents a comprehensive framework for understanding and harnessing the power of complexity in various domains.

Understanding Complexity:
Axelrod begins by elucidating the nature of complex systems and their inherent properties. He emphasizes the interplay between local interactions and global behavior, illustrating how simple rules governing individual components can give rise to emergent collective phenomena. Through diverse examples, including biological systems, social networks, and economic markets, Axelrod demonstrates the ubiquity and significance of complexity in our world.

Adaptive Systems and Evolutionary Dynamics:
A central theme in "Harnessing Complexity" is the concept of adaptive systems and their ability to evolve and adapt in response to changing environments. Axelrod explores the dynamics of these systems, employing tools from game theory and evolutionary biology to uncover the strategies and mechanisms that drive their evolution. He showcases how cooperation, competition, and the interplay between them shape the dynamics of adaptive systems, highlighting the role of feedback loops and learning processes in fostering adaptive behavior.

Exploring Case Studies:
Throughout the book, Axelrod provides a rich collection of case studies that showcase the practical applications of harnessing complexity. From the emergence of cooperation in social dilemmas to the dynamics of political coalitions and the spread of innovations, these case studies offer valuable insights into understanding and managing complex systems. Axelrod's analysis is grounded in empirical evidence, mathematical models, and computer simulations, providing a rigorous and nuanced perspective on the dynamics of complexity.

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

Excellent book

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Jim Scott

Harnessing Complexity by Axelrod and Cohen

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2013

Verified Purchase

A very helpful and clear insight into Complexity Theory and its uses. Defines basic terms in a simple and concise manner. Useful illustrations and a strong final summary.

One person found this helpful

See more reviews

Price		$43.30
AmazonGlobal Shipping		$10.70
Estimated Import Fees Deposit		$0.00

Total		$54.00

Shipping & Fee Details

Image Unavailable

Follow the Author