| Unpredictable events affect every corporation. For telecommunication carriers, unpredictable events such as terrorist acts, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and cascading network failures are a microcosm of possible influences to the climate of daily operations. The current paradigm for maintaining business during a crisis involves complicated cause and effect procedures. Often interpreted as precise response tactics, they can leave an organization crippled from too much detail and too little adaptation during a disaster. The alternative is to develop an underlying framework that shifts the paradigm to be more adaptable and emergent to today's threats. Since the early 1990s, complexity theory has grown as an accepted explanation for systems that do not fit a traditional linear model. In fields such as biology and biochemistry, a more specialized theory called irreducible complexity theory offers a mode of inquiry that adds an interesting perspective on systems that not only adapt to the environment but also are self-sustainable. This dissertation examines irreducible complexity theory and business continuity for their combined ability to support a new framework for understanding how companies maintain their existence in a turbulent world. |
