Business Commons^™

Problem-Solving In Complex Settings: Techniques For Crossing Organizational Boundaries, Adrian Wolfberg

Engaged Management ReView

Solving problems in complex organizations requires managers to successfully navigate organizational boundaries. Yet, crossing boundaries can be an extremely difficult endeavor that requires sophisticated and multifaceted skills and behaviors. In this paper, we introduce boundary permeability to expand on the available boundary crossing techniques identified by Carlile (2004). Acknowledging the messiness in organizational life, we propose a set of techniques requiring that managers consider the multiplicity of boundary conditions and, in many cases, use multiple techniques simultaneously. We describe an innovative, real-world, problem-solving program within the U.S. Department of Defense to demonstrate the practical application of the proposed techniques and …