Download or read book Systems Methodology for the Management Sciences written by Michael C. Jackson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author thoroughly describes and analyzes the most significant systems methodologies-`organizations as systems,' hard, soft, cybernetic, and critical-and demonstrates the complementary strengths of different systems approaches.

Download or read book Systems Methodology for the Management Sciences written by Michael Jackson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author thoroughly describes and analyzes the most significant systems methodologies-`organizations as systems,' hard, soft, cybernetic, and critical-and demonstrates the complementary strengths of different systems approaches.

Download or read book Systems and Decision Making written by Hans G. Daellenbach and published by . This book was released on 1994-10-11 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems and Decision Making A Management Science Approach Hans G Daellenbach University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand Traditional methods of problem solving, based on the cause-and-effect model, can no longer cope with the complex situations in which decisions have to be made today. These problem situations occur within a systems context. Most of these systems are created and controlled by humans and it is, therefore, important that decision making is guided by a systematic and comprehensive methodology that helps the decision maker to make effective use of his/her extensive but limited powers of reasoning. Systems and Decision Making combines contemporary systems work with Operations Research (OR). Daellenbach places an emphasis on developing a methodology for decision situations that lend themselves to quantitative approaches rather than give an elementary survey of many OR/MS techniques. It incorporates some of the learnings of soft systems methodology for more practical problem solving, particularly at the problem identification and formulation stages. The text also shows that the scientific component of modelling can be considerably enhanced by the use of various diagrammatic devices. The second part of the book studies a number of topics important for the analyst, such as how to deal with the time element, with constraints, with uncertainty, and with multiple goals. These are demonstrated by various OR/MS techniques. Systems and Decision Making is an excellent core text for undergraduate and graduate students of systems, management science and MBA courses.

Download or read book Realising Systems Thinking Knowledge and Action in Management Science written by John Mingers and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-09-13 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals with the contribution of a systems approach to a range of disciplines from philosophy and biology to social theory and management. It weaves together material from some of the pre-eminent thinkers of the day. In doing so it creates a coherent path from fundamental work on philosophical issues of ontology and epistemology through specific domains of knowledge about the nature of information and meaning, human communication, and social intervention.

Download or read book Instrumental Reasoning and Systems Methodology written by Richard Mattessich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has been written primarily for the applied and social scientist and student who longs for an integrated picture of the foundations on which his research must ultimately rest; but hopefully the book may also serve philosophers interested in applied disciplines and in systems methodology. If integration was the major motto, the need for a method ology, appropriate to the teleological peculiarities of all applied sciences, was the main impetus behind the conception of the present work. This need I felt a long time ago in my own area of analytical and empirical research in accounting theory and management science; later I had the opportunity to teach, for almost a decade, graduate seminars in Methodology which offered particular insight into the methodological needs of students of such applied disciplines as business administration, education, engineering, infor matics, etc. Out of this effort grew the present book which among other things tries, on one side, to illuminate the difference and relationship between methods of cognition and methods of decision and on the other, to sketch a framework suitable for depicting means-end relationships in a holistic setting. I believe that a systems methodology which incorporates recent endeavours of deontic logic, decision theory, information economics and related areas would be eminently suited to break the ground for such a future framework. Yet systems theory has two major shortcomings which might prevent it from evolving into the desired methodology of applied science.

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 Systems Approaches to Management written by Michael C. Jackson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Washakie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of 2000, the population was 8,289. Its county seat is Worland.Washakie County was organized in 1911 and named after the head chief of the Shoshone people, Chief Washakie, who became an ally of the US Government.

Download or read book A Systems Approach to Leadership written by Geoffrey Coffey and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-11-03 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A Systems Approach to Leadership" (SAL) is a methodology for creating sustained high performance in conditions of high complexity and uncertainty. SAL places the latest developments in Systems Science into an actionable method for use by everyday leaders. It enables leaders to develop themselves and their organisation (or part of it) quickly and effectively to achieve a competitive advantage in a complex and uncertain world. SAL consists of an integrated framework with an overall strategy of whole system development. Central to the framework is a practical method which can be used by any leader at any organisational level. Supporting the framework are a range of systems approaches and a set of foundational assumptions. SAL has been carefully researched and refined in extensive field tests where it typically delivers outcomes well above expectations.

Download or read book Systems Approaches to Management written by Michael Jackson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2000-11-30 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems Thinking is a new paradigm set to revolutionize management practice in the 21st century. Systems Approaches to Management is the most comprehensive guide available to the application of this new paradigm in the field of management. It, Traces the emergence of holistic thinking in disciplines such as biology, control engineering, sociology and the natural sciences Details and provides a critique, based upon social theory, of the range of systems approaches, methodologies, models and methods Offers numerous case studies to illustrate systems thinking applied to management Introduces critical systems thinking' as a coherent framework that brings unity to the diversity of different systems approaches and advises managers, consultants, scholars and students on their use Provides an accessible source of inspiration for managers, management consultants, scholars and students £/LIST£ Covers chaos and complexity theory, the learning organization, system dynamics, living systems theory, soft systems methodology, interactive management, interactive planning, total systems intervention, autopoiesis, management cybernetics, the viable system model, operations research (hard and soft), systems analysis, systems engineering, general system theory, sociotechnical systems thinking, the fifth discipline, social systems design, team syntegrity, postmodern systems thinking, critical systems thinking, and much more. Considers the work of Ackoff, Banathy, Beer, Capra, Checkland, Churchman, Eden, Emery, Flood, Forrester, Friend, Freire, Jackson, Jantsch, Linstone, Luhmann, Mason, Maturana, Miller, Mitroff, Prigonine, Rosenhead, Senge, Stacey, Trist, Ulrich, Varela, Vickers, von Bertalanffy, Warfield, Wheatley, Wiener, and many more.

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 Critical Systems Thinking written by Robert L. Flood and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-08-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers comprehensive treatment of the latest developments in critical systems thinking and practice. The book features contributions by researchers at the prestigious Centre for Systems Studies at the University of Hull, England. The emphasis is on rigorous analysis of the wide range of approaches to problem solving reported in the research literature. This work will enhance the studies of researchers and students in the areas of systems problem solving, action research, management science, and operational research.

Download or read book Health Information Systems Concepts Methodologies Tools and Applications written by Rodrigues, Joel J.P.C. and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2009-12-31 with total page 2311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This reference set provides a complete understanding of the development of applications and concepts in clinical, patient, and hospital information systems"--Provided by publisher.

Download or read book Systems Engineering written by Derek K. Hitchins and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-03-11 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book conceives, presents and exemplifies a contemporary, general systems methodology that is straightforward and accessible, providing guidance in practical application, as well as explaining concept and theory. The book is presented both as a text for students, with topic assignments, and as a reference for practitioners, through case studies. Utilizing recent research and developments in systems science, methods and tools, Hitchins has developed a unified systems methodology, employable when tackling virtually any problem, from the small technological, to the global socioeconomic. Founded in the powerful ‘systems approach’, Hitchins’ systems methodology brings together both soft and hard system scientific methods into one methodological framework. This can be applied when addressing complex problems, issues and situations, and for creating robust, provable solutions, resolutions and dissolutions to those problems – supposing such to exist. This book details and explores: the systems approach, using theory and method to reveal systems engineering as applied systems science, bridging the gulf between Problem and Solution Spaces; a ‘universal’ Systems Methodology (including an extensive view of systems engineering, embracing both soft and hard systems) which encompasses all five stages of Hitchins’ 5-layer Systems Engineering Model (artifact, project, enterprise, industry and socio-economy); case studies illustrating how the systems methodology may be used to address a diverse range of situations and issues, including conceiving a new defense capability, proposing a feasible way to tackle global warming, tackling enterprise interventions, how and why things can go wrong, and many more. Systems Engineering will give an immeasurable advantage to managers, practitioners and consultants in a wide range of organizations and fields including police, defense, procurement, communications, transport, management, electrical, electronic, aerospace, requirements, software and computer engineering. It is an essential reference for researchers seeking ‘systems enlightenment’, including graduate students who require a comprehensive reference text on the subject, and also government departments and systems engineering institutions

Download or read book Work Workflow and Information Systems written by William B. Rouse and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together several perspectives on the nature of work processes in enterprises and how information systems can best support these processes. The genesis of this idea was the shared interests of the authors in how enterprises improve and change. The shared belief is that change of enterprises relates to change of work processes and the success of such changes relates to how work processes are supported by information systems. Thus, the papers in this volume address both the nature of work and the design of information systems to support work. This volume is divided into two main sections: work and workflow, and information systems. There are three papers in each section. The disciplines represented across these six papers include management, engineering, computing, and architecture. These four disciplines pursue work, workflow, and information systems from quite different perspectives - management to represent business practices and processes, engineering to represent the physical flows in the system, computing to represent the information flows, and architecture to represent human flows within and among physical spaces. Enterprises, of course, include all these types of flows.

Download or read book Systems Science and Cybernetics Volume II written by Francisco Parra-Luna and published by EOLSS Publications. This book was released on 2009-10-30 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The subject “Systems sciences and cybernetics” is the outcome of the convergence of a number of trends in a larger current of thought devoted to the growing complexity of (primarily social) objects and arising in response to the need for globalized treatment of such objects. This has been magnified by the proliferation and publication of all manner of quantitative scientific data on such objects, advances in the theories on their inter-relations, the enormous computational capacity provided by IT hardware and software and the critical revisiting of subject-object interaction, not to mention the urgent need to control the efficiency of complex systems, where “efficiency” is understood to mean the ability to find a solution to many social problems, including those posed on a planetary scale. The result has been the forging of a new, academically consolidated scientific trend going by the name of Systems Theory and Cybernetics, with a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary focus and therefore apt for understanding realities still regarded to be inescapably chaotic. This subject entry is subdivided into four sections. The first, an introduction to systemic theories, addresses the historic development of the most commonly used systemic approaches, from new concepts such as the so-called “geometry of thinking” or the systemic treatment of “non-systemic identities” to the taxonomic, entropic, axiological and ethical problems deriving from a general “systemic-cybernetic” conceit. Hence, the focus in this section is on the historic and philosophical aspects of the subject. Moreover, it may be asserted today that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, problems, in particular problems deriving from human interaction but in general any problem regardless of its nature, must be posed from a systemic perspective, for otherwise the obstacles to their solution are insurmountable. Reaching such a perspective requires taking at least the following well-known steps: a) statement of the problem from the determinant variables or phenomena; b) adoption of theoretical models showing the interrelationships among such variables; c) use of the maximum amount of – wherever possible quantitative – information available on each; d) placement of the set of variables in an environment that inevitably pre-determines the problem. That epistemology would explain the substantial development of the systemic-cybernetic approach in recent decades. The articles in the second section deal in particular with the different methodological approaches developed when confronting real problems, from issues that affect humanity as a whole to minor but specific questions arising in human organizations. Certain sub-themes are discussed by the various authors – always from a didactic vantage –, including: problem discovery and diagnosis and development of the respective critical theory; the design of ad hoc strategies and methodologies; the implementation of both qualitative (soft system methodologies) and formal and quantitative (such as the “General System Problem Solver” or the “axiological-operational” perspective) approaches; cross-disciplinary integration; and suitable methods for broaching psychological, cultural and socio-political dynamisms. The third section is devoted to cybernetics in the present dual meaning of the term: on the one hand, control of the effectiveness of communication and actions, and on the other, the processes of self-production of knowledge through reflection and the relationship between the observing subject and the observed object when the latter is also observer and the former observed. Known as “second order cybernetics”, this provides an avenue for rethinking the validity of knowledge, such as for instance when viewed through what is known as “bipolar feedback”: processes through which interactions create novelty, complexity and diversity. Finally, the fourth section centres around artificial and computational intelligence, addressing sub-themes such as “neural networks”, the “simulated annealing” that ranges from statistical thermodynamics to combinatory problem-solving, such as in the explanation of the role of adaptive systems, or when discussing the relationship between biological and computational intelligence.

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 Systems Science written by Frank A. Stowell and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As we approach the end of the 20th century we can look back upon the achievements that have been made in a variety of human endeavours with pride. Enormous strides have been made to improve the quality of life of millions of people through the application of the scientific discoveries made during this and past centuries. The 20th century will be remembered as much for the mass exploitation of scientific discovery as for the discoveries themselves. The technological age has meant that the human being is able to contemplate activities which "defy" nature. For example, some of the work involved in the preparation of these proceedings has been done whilst travelling at over 500 miles per hour seven miles above the surface of the earth. It is not difficult to conjecture about the effect that this relatively recent technology has had upon a number of "systems". Air transportation has provided a number of benefits including such disparate examples such as enabling holidays, famine relief and the cross fertilisation of cultural practices from other lands. Equally, there have been undesirable effects such as enabling the means of mass destruction, interference in other cultures and the speedy transportation of disease. Moreover, the physical presence of the aeroplane itself represents the consumption of fossil fuels, a source of pollution and a change in the way think about life. The view expressed here is of course the view of an inhabitant of the "western world".