Complexity does not appear without any reason. There are signs and forces, such as the pace of changes (Far from equilibrium) that can indicate and explain how complexity created.
The goal of this series of posts is to explain in plain business English (well, in my English :-)) how complexity arises from very stable and order organizations. I hope that this series will help you to understand this phenomenon and to be able to better deal with it. Each one of these posts explains one driving force to complexity as defines by chaos theory.
Pace of stage changes – Far from equilibrium
An organization can be in a stable stage. In this stage, the organization does not change between different states and its properties hardly change either. This sounds a preferred state, but this state will eventually cause entropy.
However, external forces will cause the organization to constantly create new capabilities and structure and therefore change its states (entering new markets, develop new competitive advantage or increase efficiencies).
Any external force or matter that flows into or through organizations can potentially alter the rate of changes increase in dynamics. This influence will increase the complexity of a system. External forces that can impact organizations can be new technologies, socio-economic changes, political changes, and many more. A good example of a matter can be money.