Abstract
Organizational crises increasingly have global reach and impact. Crisis and emergency events are occurring with greater frequency, at the same time that organizations, economies, and governments are becoming more interconnected and interdependent. Complex adaptive systems, such as international organizations, can be difficult to manage during normal times. When facing a crisis, unprepared and underprepared organizations can spiral out of control. In this chapter, the authors argue that simple rules, which are a part of complexity theory research and practice, are a practical way to meet the demands of increasingly complex international systems. The authors present current research and relevant case studies to demonstrate the value of a simple rules approach for managing intercultural and international crisis events.