Untangling the USA : The Cost of Complexity and What Can Be Done About It

Complex systems are an inevitable part of business and socio-economic structures.

As businesses and industries develop, they become ever-more complex.

So too modern societies. However, when social and organizational structures start to form an incomprehensible number of layers, policies and procedures become cumbersome and unintelligible, and entirely new systems are constructed just to manage this complexity, the true value to an organization and society at large must be questioned. And if the outcome is high costs, poor results, deepening social inequality and the erosion of public trust, the problems go well beyond a natural evolution of socio-economic organizations: wholesale changes must be contemplated. The author takes a common, broad-based and analytical approach to some of the most complicated issues facing business and, in turn, society.

He examines the costs of complexity through a wide-angle lens, provides analysis of the root causes involved, and then explains what is necessary to improve results and lower overall costs through a number of clearly proposed solutions.

The US, where ever-increasing levels of complexity in organizational and everyday life has become the norm, forms the focus of the book, with other developed economies used to illustrate alternative approaches.� Beyond analysing how the US has created incredibly complex systems over time, this book is about taking a step back and reflecting on the fundamental values of the country. Etienne Deffarges, having been a senior strategy consultant to many leading global companies and a successful heath management entrepreneur in the US, is perfectly positioned to observe how complex systems are not only stifling progress but also costing individuals, organizations, governments and society.

He brings a unique insider view of the issues involved and puts a number of key sectors that impact society at large, including healthcare, energy, finance, taxation and utilities, under the spotlight. �