Download or read book Soft Systems Methodology in Action written by Peter Checkland and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 1999-09-28 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soft Systems Methodology in Action "Whether by design, accident or merely synchronicity, Checkland appears to have developed a habit of writing seminal publications near the start of each decade which establish the basis and framework for systems methodology research for that decade." Hamish Rennie, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 1992 Thirty years ago Peter Checkland set out to test whether the Systems Engineering (SE) approach, highly successful in technical problems, could be used by managers coping with the unfolding complexities of organizational life. The straightforward transfer of SE to the broader situations of management was not possible, but by insisting on a combination of systems thinking strongly linked to real-world practice Checkland and his collaborators developed an alternative approach - Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) - which enables managers of all kinds and at any level to deal with the subtleties and confusions of the situations they face. This work established the now accepted distinction between 'hard' systems thinking, in which parts of the world are taken to be 'systems' which can be 'engineered', and 'soft' systems thinking in which the focus is on making sure the process of inquiry into real-world complexity is itself a system for learning. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice (1981) and Soft Systems Methodology in Action (1990) together with an earlier paper Towards a Systems-based Methodology for Real-World Problem Solving (1972) have long been recognized as classics in the field. Now-Peter Checkland has looked back over the three decades of SSM development, brought the account of it up to date, and reflected on the whole evolutionary process which has produced a mature SSM. SSM: A 30-Year Retrospective, here included with Soft Systems Methodology in Action closes a chapter on what is undoubtedly the most significant single research programme on the use of systems ideas in problem solving. Now retired from full-time university work, Peter Checkland continues his research as a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow.
Download or read book Soft Systems Methodology in Education written by Jenny Gilbert and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-05-06 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the application of Soft Systems Methodology in educational research as a qualitative research tool to generate theory, and identifies the mechanisms that engender the behaviours and discourse of social groups. Grounded within the literature from philosophy and science, the approach is predicated on the ontology and epistemology of critical realism. The authors consider the tenets of systems thinking, recognizing that emergent features appear at higher levels of complexity within a hierarchy and that unintended consequences can occur when making decisions in complex situations with interacting components. The central element of the book is the formulation of a research strategy entitled ‘Worldview, Metaphor and Power of Social Objects’ (Womposo) and its application to a research study of the practicum experience of teachers in training. Integral to the methodology is the creation of rich pictures and diagrams. Additionally, images representing different stakeholders’ views of the whole system are presented in revealing illustrations, allowing the reader to grasp each holistic metaphor. It is suitable for postgraduate students and researchers in education and other social science programmes
Download or read book Learning For Action written by Peter Checkland and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2007-04-02 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the father of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), Peter Checkland, comes a new, accessible text which clearly and concisely looks at SSM. The book leaves out all of the development detail and historical/intellectual material which can be found in Checkland’s other classic works, but contains the practical essentials that will allow teachers to teach SSM accurately and students to learn it with real understanding. Features: · Short and definitive account of SSM containing the practical essentials. · Written with great clarity and presented in a reader-friendly way. · Contains examples of SSM in action. · Includes cases.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science written by Saul I. Gass and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 774 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operations Research: 1934-1941," 35, 1, 143-152; "British The goal of the Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Operational Research in World War II," 35, 3, 453-470; Management Science is to provide to decision makers and "U. S. Operations Research in World War II," 35, 6, 910-925; problem solvers in business, industry, government and and the 1984 article by Harold Lardner that appeared in academia a comprehensive overview of the wide range of Operations Research: "The Origin of Operational Research," ideas, methodologies, and synergistic forces that combine to 32, 2, 465-475. form the preeminent decision-aiding fields of operations re search and management science (OR/MS). To this end, we The Encyclopedia contains no entries that define the fields enlisted a distinguished international group of academics of operations research and management science. OR and MS and practitioners to contribute articles on subjects for are often equated to one another. If one defines them by the which they are renowned. methodologies they employ, the equation would probably The editors, working with the Encyclopedia's Editorial stand inspection. If one defines them by their historical Advisory Board, surveyed and divided OR/MS into specific developments and the classes of problems they encompass, topics that collectively encompass the foundations, applica the equation becomes fuzzy. The formalism OR grew out of tions, and emerging elements of this ever-changing field. We the operational problems of the British and U. s. military also wanted to establish the close associations that OR/MS efforts in World War II.
Download or read book Applications of Soft Systems Methodology for Organizational Change written by Maryam Ebrahimi and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems thinking is a method of problem solving that deals with various cultural issues including conflict and compromise. In recent years, researchers have begun studying this approach and applying it within several professional fields, specifically organizations and business management. In the modern age of information, professionals are continually looking for new methods to improve traditional practices within their field. Improving organizational practices through the implementation of the soft systems approach is a growing research area that requires in-depth discussion and case studies. Applications of Soft Systems Methodology for Organizational Change is a collection of innovative research on the theories and practices of soft systems and their application within organizational and industrial analysis. While highlighting topics including agent-based modeling, sustainable energy initiatives, and natural resources allocation, this book is ideally designed for researchers, designers, managers, analysts, practitioners, executives, academicians, and students seeking current research on the theories and applications of soft systems design.
Download or read book Problem Solving in Business and Management written by MICHAEL J. HICKS and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-11-27 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Learning for Action written by Peter Checkland and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Soft Systems Thinking Methodology and the Management of Change written by Brian Wilson and published by Red Globe Press. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Brian Wilson, one of the originators of Soft Systems Methodology, and Kees van Haperen, a widely experienced SSM consultant, illustrate how this branch of systems engineering is applied to a range of highly complex business scenarios to achieve improved performance. This book will appeal to students of SSM and consultants working in the field"--
Download or read book Soft Systems Methodology written by Brian Wilson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2001-06-22 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conceptual model building is accepted as a key phase in Soft Systems Methodology. Despite the recognition of the importance of the SSM, students are still experiencing difficulty with the basic process of conceptual model building. This book addresses that issue.
Download or read book Systems Approaches to Managing Change A Practical Guide written by Martin Reynolds and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-03-10 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a world of increasing complexity, instant information availability and constant flux, systems approaches provide the opportunity of a tangible anchor of purpose and iterate learning. The five approaches outlined in the book offer a range of interchangeable tools with rigorous frameworks of application tried and tested in the ‘real world’. The frameworks of each approach form a powerful toolkit to explore the dynamics of how societies emerge, how organisations create viability, how to facilitate chains of argument through causal mapping, how to embrace a multiplicity of perspectives identifying purposeful activity and how to look for the bigger picture across multiple disciplines. Systems Approaches offers an excellent first introduction for those seeking to understand what ‘systems thinking’ is all about as well as why the tools discussed herein should be applied to management and professional practice. This book provides a practical guide, and the chapters stand alone in explaining and developing each approach.
Download or read book Applications of Soft Systems Methodology for Organizational Change written by Ebrahimi, Maryam and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2020-08-28 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems thinking is a method of problem solving that deals with various cultural issues including conflict and compromise. In recent years, researchers have begun studying this approach and applying it within several professional fields, specifically organizations and business management. In the modern age of information, professionals are continually looking for new methods to improve traditional practices within their field. Improving organizational practices through the implementation of the soft systems approach is a growing research area that requires in-depth discussion and case studies. Applications of Soft Systems Methodology for Organizational Change is a collection of innovative research on the theories and practices of soft systems and their application within organizational and industrial analysis. While highlighting topics including agent-based modeling, sustainable energy initiatives, and natural resources allocation, this book is ideally designed for researchers, designers, managers, analysts, practitioners, executives, academicians, and students seeking current research on the theories and applications of soft systems design.
Download or read book Doing Realist Research written by Nick Emmel and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2018-06-18 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together leading theorists, researchers and policy makers with expertise in using realist methods, this book is a definitive guide to putting realist methodologies into practice. Not just an overview of the field, this book looks to extend current debates and apply realist methods to new and practical challenges in social research. Featuring practical, worked examples of how to turn theory into evidence, it empowers readers not just to understand realist methods, but to use them. It will help readers: - Negotiate the complexity of relational systems - Understand the importance and relevance of cumulative theory - Address concerns over data sources and quality - Be flexible and creative in realist approaches - Produce useful evidence for policy. Sophisticated and globally minded, this book is the perfect addition to the ongoing development and application of realist methods across evaluation, synthesis, and social research.
Download or read book Application of Soft Systems Methodology SSM in a Swedish State University Resource Allocation Problem written by Owoseni Adebowale and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2011 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Computer Science - Applied, Blekinge Institute of Technology, language: English, abstract: Funding and resource allocation in a Swedish university is fast degenerating to a problematic situation. This write-up applied soft system methodology to the situation, it placed the 'problems'in perspective and came up with a conceptual model of the problematic situation. A conclusion was drawn by comparing the model with the actual problem description.
Download or read book Systems Thinking written by Cliff Whitcomb and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2021-01-20 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Systems Thinking Special Issue contains 12 papers on the nature of systems thinking as it applies to systems engineering, systems science, system dynamics, and related fields. Systems thinking can be broadly considered the activity of thinking applied in a systems context, forming a basis for fundamental approaches to several systems disciplines, including systems engineering, systems science, and system dynamics. Although these are somewhat distinct fields, they are bound by common approaches in regard to systems. Whereas systems engineering seeks to apply a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to the development of systems, systems science seeks to understand the basics related to systems of all kinds, from natural to man-made, and system dynamics seeks to understand system structures in order to influence its dynamics. Man-made systems have become more ubiquitous and complex. The study of systems, both natural and engineered, presents new challenges and opportunities to understand emergent, dynamic behaviors that inform the process of sense-making based on systems thinking.
Download or read book The Work System Method written by Steven Alter and published by Work System Method. This book was released on 2006 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Work System Method is an organized approach that every organization can use for: ... Recognizing that systems involve much more than IT ... Describing and understanding systems from a business viewpoint ... Analyzing and improving systems ... Improving communication between business and IT professionals ... Increasing the likelihood of successful implementation ... Understanding the role and limitations of IT.
Download or read book Systems written by Brian Wilson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 1991-01-08 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems: Concepts, Methodologies and Applications Second Edition Brian Wilson Department of Systems and Information Management Lancaster University, UK The result of many years' experience, this book, now extensively revised and updated, emphasizes the application of systems concepts and methodologies that have been developed at Lancaster University. In particular the book is about problem solving and the relationship between theory and practice. Complementary to Systems Thinking, Systems Practice by Peter Checkland (Wiley, 1981), which has become a classic in the field, this book shows how systems ideas can be used to cope with real-life problems. Reviews of the first edition-- ... an excellent book which provides a synthesis of the action-research undertaken by the well-known Department of Systems, University of Lancaster ... Wilson's lucid style of writing and the historical perspective of the Lancaster learning experience provide a strong contextural case for the concept of a human activity system to investigate 'badly-defined' [Checkland's 'soft'] systems. Chris Beaumont, Journal of the Operational Research Society, January 1985 ... This volume, expertly compiled by Brian Wilson, is the latest and probably the clearest statement in book form of the philosophy of that department [Department of Systems, University of Lancaster] ... a volume which deserves to be read ... E. R. Carson, Kybernetes, 12, 1985 ... Systems: Concepts, Methodologies and Applications is Wilson's account of his professional life at Lancaster since then (1966). His careful reflection on the work of so many years deserves attention. Trevor Williams, Futures, December 1985
Download or read book Software Quality and Productivity written by M. Lee and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the world becomes increasingly dependent on the use of computers, the need for quality software which can be produced at reasonable cost increases. This IFIP proceedings brings together the work of leading researchers and practitioners who are concerned with the efficient production of quality software.
