Applying Complexity Theory to Aviation Management

Abstract

No less authority than Albert Einstein once noted that We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. The problems facing today’s aviation industry are unique, but they also are the product of previous ways of thinking and doing business. A possible first step in solving the problems facing today’s aviation industry might be to approach them from a new and innovative prospective. The contemporary aviation industry is a complex undertaking and requires methods of analysis and management that go beyond many of the tools and techniques currently used. The purpose of this paper is to use the relatively new conceptual lens of complex adaptive systems or complexity theory as a means of analyzing contemporary aviation policy and management. Allison and Allison and Zelikow demonstrated how the use of various conceptual frameworks can add to our understanding of a subject. Axelrod applied the lens of complexity theory to issues of competition and collaboration. Later, Axelrod and Cohen provided guidance on how the complexity framework could be used by managers and policy makers. First, this paper presents an overview of the complex adaptive systems framework. Next, the aviation industry is presented and analyzed in terms of a complex adaptive system. Finally, some conclusions are offered regarding the aviation industry management system and the value of the complex adaptive systems approach in studying aviation operations.