As illustrated in Figure 11.6, “System transformation and production of macroscopic order.”, if organisations can be successfully transformed, they become more sophisticated and their ability to survive and prosper in a more demanding environment is enhanced. A successful transformation means that organisations can self-organise into another form that is more complex and sophisticated. We propose that the increase in capability can be interpreted in a more concrete way as follows:

Figure 11.6, “System transformation and production of macroscopic order.” can be displayed in another form as Figure 11.9, “Bifurcation diagrams showing (a) the possibility of successful or unsuccessful change, and (b) change, entropy and self-organisation.” – a bifurcation diagram.

As the level of environmental contingency and turbulence increases, adaptation becomes less effective in coping with the change. If this situation continues until a critical point, which is called a bifurcation point (point B in Figure 11.9, “Bifurcation diagrams showing (a) the possibility of successful or unsuccessful change, and (b) change, entropy and self-organisation.” (a)), is reached and the system is either radically changed to a more complex and sophisticated form with higher capability and capacity for survival (see also Figure 11.6, “System transformation and production of macroscopic order.”, which displays only successful changes) or it fails to make a successful change and experiences a decline. The change displayed in diagram Figure 11.9, “Bifurcation diagrams showing (a) the possibility of successful or unsuccessful change, and (b) change, entropy and self-organisation.” (a) represents only a simple version of organisational change using a bifurcation diagram. A more elaborate version, which explains change in organisation in detail, can be found in Guastello (1995, 2002).

Figure 11.9, “Bifurcation diagrams showing (a) the possibility of successful or unsuccessful change, and (b) change, entropy and self-organisation.” (b) displays the relationship between the change in entropy level and the organisation change process. The distance between the y-axis and the vertical line C, which is represented by P, is the entropy build-up zone. An increase in entropy is necessary to bring the system to a far-from-equilibrium state. The area behind line C (represented by Q) is a chaotic zone in which self-organisation takes place and the system experiences a transformation to another state. This phenomenon corresponds to the development of the Benard cells mentioned earlier, in which a continuous supply of energy is required for the development of a new spatio-temporal structure.