Ever the twain shall meet

Abstract

PurposeTo explore how selected principles of Chinese philosophy and complexity theory can be synthesized into a model for human and organizational behavior that is more accurate and appropriate to global markets than either traditional eastern or western models.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a model of human and organizational behavior based on similarities between elements of Chinese philosophy and complexity theory.FindingsSeveral of the respective principles of Chinese philosophy and complexity theory – the Chinese transformational cycle and complexity's cycle of attractors, for instance – are strikingly similar, suggesting that their commonalities are universals of human experience resting underneath their surface differences. By playing those similar principles off against each other, one can develop a model of human and organizational behavior that transcends both east and west, a model highly valuable to business people operating in global markets.Practical implicationsThis model provides a new way for both eastern and western business people to think about their organizations and markets that seems highly accurate to current conditions.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to explore a possible synthesis of strikingly similar principles from Chinese philosophy and complexity theory and how such a synthesis could be applied as a model of human and organizational behavior.