Citation

Clancy TR. J. Nurs. Adm. 2009; 39(12): 507-510.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/NNA.0b013e3181c180af

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

At many intersections in the Dutch city of Drachten, there are no traffic signals or stop signs, just a few, if any, directional arrows painted on the road to point the way. As many as 22,000 vehicles, as well as pedestrians, cross these busy intersections daily and rarely is there an accident or traffic jam. All safely coexist in this unusual shared space.

As systems evolve over time, their natural tendency is to become increasingly more complex. Studies in the field of complex systems have generated new perspectives on management in social organizations such as hospitals. Much of this research appears as a natural extension of the cross-disciplinary field of systems theory. This article is the 11th in a series of articles applying complex systems science to the traditional management concepts of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling. This article focuses on the idea of elegance and how it can be applied in solving complex problems.