Discontinuous, or radical, change is more often than not driven by external forces, such as global markets, more players, more products, and new technology. Discontinuous change is messy, especially if organizations find they can not respond to the change. Emerging technologies and changing markets sweep through organizations at an ever increasing rate. Customers are quickly learning to expect more, better, quicker. An organization's desire to meet these challenges will lead to a chaotic condition of change if not well-managed.
Discontinuous change is chaos-like.
Chaos theory, then, is a paradigm shift away from the belief that organizational leaders can predict and control events and toward a philosophy that the organization must become fluid, adaptable, and stay connected to their customers. Managers will become less concerned with detailed planning and control and more concerned with facilitating teams and emerging ontological patterns. Two of those tactics that are key are communication and learning. He suggests that both communication and learning are used when solid information about change is needed by users and others who may resist change. There are new demands, new pressures and new expectations for organizations and their leaders.