Developing “Complicated” Understanding in Administrators

Abstract

This paper develops Weick's (1979) notion of "complicated" understanding by linking it with concepts of complementarity, cognitive complexity, and adult development. The paper describes a rationale for, and design elements of, management education programs aimed at increasing complicated understanding in administrators, primarily by fostering differentiation and integration of perspectives on organizational problems. It suggests several outcomes of complicated understanding and indicates ways in which these outcomes, as well as programs aimed at producing them, can be assessed.