p.425 research in organization design suggests that the loose coupling of organizational systems provides flexibility, a project attribute desired when facing a dynamic environment. Those espousing loose coupling believe that task uncertainty can be mitigated through loose structures and incremental adaptation paths. Essentially, loose coupling enables local knowledge to be applied when responding in a timely manner to local conditions. Small deviations can be sensed quickly and corrective actions quickly applied. The result is that serious problems can be anticipated and resolved before becoming unmanageable (Weick 1988, p. 34).

p.427 Loose coupling theory is an extension of Ashby's (1952) concept of coordination among parts... Glassman (1973) expanded on Ashby's conceptualization of coordinated parts, suggesting degrees of coordination or coupling whose efficiency and effectiveness vary with contextual factors. The degree of coupling in a system represents a specific form of adaptation to environmental contingencies.

p.427 Loosely coupled subsystems enact change through an arrangement of components that limits or delays the effect of interdependent parts (Wierner 1961). [JLJ - perhaps "Wiener" was intended here]

p.427-428 Orton and Weick (1990) indicate that uncertainty is an important antecedent to loose coupling and judgment an important consequence. Managers who find it difficult to coordinate plans and actions activate decoupling mechanisms to make sense in idiosyncratic ways and employ incremental srategies to cope with uncertainty. By providing latitude in judgment, loose coupling allows managers to choose or enact a smaller, more comprehensible subset of facts to reduce uncertainty. This reinforces Glassman's basic argument that loose coupling lowers the probability that an organization will have to respond to minor environmental changes... loosely coupled strategies foster a greater number of mutations and novel solutions than would tight coupling. Weick (1976, 1982) also suggests loose coupling preserves more diversity of response to unanticipated events than does tight coupling, while holding coordination costs to a minimum.