Fred Emery

"A main problem in the study of organizational change is that the environmental contexts in which organizations exist are themselves changing, at an increasing rate and towards increasing complexity. T…"

"There are reasons to believe that the world economy is once again in the throes of a phase change. There are also reasons to believe that this phase change, like the preceding ones, will involve a par…"

"A great deal of the thinking here has been influenced by cybernetics and information theory, though this has been used as much to extend the scope of as to improve the sophistication of formulations. …"

"We have now isolated four "ideal types" of causal texture, approximations to which may be thought of as existing simultaneously in the "real world" of most organizations--though, of course, their weig…"

"The simplest type of environmental texture is that in which goals and noxiants are relatively unchanging in themselves and randomly distributed. This may be called the placid, randomized environment."

"In a general way it may be said that to think in terms of systems seems the most appropriate conceptual response so far available when the phenomena under study--at any level and in any domain--displa…"

"I am inclined to agree with Max Bom, the German physicist, who reckoned that the acceptance of a new quantum theory would occur only with the passing away of the old physics professors... the acceptan…"

"The next level of causal texturing we have called the disturbed reactive environment. It may be compared with Ashby's ultra-stable system or the economists' oligopolic market."