The Organization as a Nonlinear Dynamic System Organizations also are dynamic systems governed by nonlinear relationships. As Thompson (1967, p. 6) pointed out, "the complex organization is a set of interdependent parts which together make up a whole in that each contributes something and receives some- thing from the whole, which in turn is interdependent with some larger environment." Multiple organiza- tional actors, with diverse agenda, inside and outside the organization, try to coordinate their actions to exchange information and to interact in other ways, and they do all this in a dynamic manner; i.e., yester- day's action activates a reaction today which may lead to a new action tomorrow. In the same vein, actions undertaken by some actors influence the actions initi- ated by others later on. We are in the realm of nonlin- earity and time.