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The Emerging Idea: The “Fractal

Organization”

What is the Fractal Organization?

Fractals are patterns that repeat themselves on different scales
driven by the same (simple) rules.

The term fractal was originated by Benoit Mandelbrot studying
geometric patterns that are self-similar on different scales. The term is
now worming its way into business thinking to support discussion of
organizational responses to Complexity and (borderline) chaos.
State of Play

Few discussions of the use of the fractal construct as a metaphor in the
discussion of business system structures are, as yet, truly coherent.
Such discussions are rarely easy to understand as authors seek to
translate abstract mathematical ideas into business terms. Part of the
reason, we believe is that fractalness is being considered as a feature of
an organization; we believe that that is the wrong focus.
What are the Rules?

We believe the focus should be on the context. The fractal 'rules' that
will drive the business context for the next generation(s) are the
phenomena of complexity including emergence & diffusion through
stigmergic action, the resultant nonlinearity through feedback, upward
& downward causation, connectivity for interaction through networks,
co-evolution, and self-organization.

These rules apply at all levels of contextual integration. New political
constructs can emerge at the highest levels and rise or fall based on
nonlinear popularity. New functionality can be found in multi-agent
distribution systems; example, the introduction and diffusion of
logistics software.
These simple "Rules" underpin the dynamics at ALL scales within the
context (that is the phenomenon of fractalness).

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