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Systems Research I: Essays in Honor of Yasuhiko Takahara on Systems Theory and Modeling (Translational Systems Sciences #26)
by Kyoichi Kijima Hiroshi Deguchi Ryo Sato Junichi Iijima Bumpei NakanoThis book is in honor of Yasuhiko Takahara, a first-class researcher who has been active for some 50 years at the global level in systems research. Researchers and practitioners from Japan and other countries who have been influenced by Takahara have come together from far and wide to contribute their major research masterpieces in the field of systems research in the broadest sense.While the roots of Takahara’s systems research are in general systems theory and systems control theory, he developed his research and teaching in diverse directions such as management information science, engineering, social simulation, and systems thinking. As a result, many of the researchers and practitioners he supervised or influenced have established their own positions and are now active around the world in a wide range of systems research.Volume I is a collection of their masterpieces or representative works in the field of systems theory and modeling.
Systems Research II: Essays in Honor of Yasuhiko Takahara on Systems Management Theory and Practice (Translational Systems Sciences #27)
by Kyoichi Kijima Hiroshi Deguchi Ryo Sato Junichi Iijima Bumpei NakanoThis book is in honor of Yasuhiko Takahara, a first-class researcher who has been active for some 50 years at the global level in systems research. Researchers and practitioners from Japan and other countries who have been influenced by Takahara have come together from far and wide to contribute their major research masterpieces in the field of systems research in the broadest sense.While the roots of Takahara’s systems research are in general systems theory and systems control theory, he developed his research and teaching in diverse directions such as management information science, engineering, social simulation, and systems thinking. As a result, many of the researchers and practitioners he supervised or influenced have established their own positions and are now active around the world in a wide range of systems research.Volume II is a collection of their masterpieces or representative works in the fields of systems management theory and practice.
Systems Science: Methodological Approaches (Advances in Systems Science and Engineering (ASSE))
by Yi Lin Xiaojun Duan Chengli Zhao Li Da XuBy making use of the principles of systems science, the scientific community can explain many complicated matters of the world and shed new light on unsettled problems. Each real science has its own particular methodology for not only qualitative but also quantitative analyses, so it is important to understand the organic whole of systems research
Systems Science: Theory, Analysis, Modeling, and Design
by George E. MobusThis book describes a comprehensive approach to applying systems science formally to the deep analysis of a wide variety of complex systems. Detailed ‘how-to’ examples of the three phases (analysis-modeling-design) of systems science are applied to systems of various types (machines, organic (e.g. ecosystem), and supra-organic (e.g. business organizations and government). The complexity of the global system has reached proportions that seriously challenge our abilities to understand the consequences of our use of technology, modification of natural ecosystems, or even how to govern ourselves. For this reason, complex mathematics is eschewed when simpler structures will suffice, allowing the widest possible audience to apply and benefit from the available tools and concepts of systems science in their own work. The book shows, in detail, how to functionally and structurally deconstruct complex systems using a fundamental language of systems. It shows how to capture the discovered details in a structured knowledge base from which abstract models can be derived for simulation. The knowledge base is also shown to be a basis for generating system design specifications for human-built artifacts, or policy recommendations/policy mechanisms for socio-economic-ecological systems management. The book builds on principles and methods found in the authors’ textbook Principles of Systems Science (co-authored with Michael Kalton), but without prerequisites. It will appeal to a broad audience that deals with complex systems every day, from design engineers to economic and ecological systems managers and policymakers.
Systems Theory and Agile Brand Management: The Educative View of Branding (Systems Thinking)
by Jan LiesBrands started out as communication tools to influence the image of companies or products (inside-out thinking) but have developed into channels of social forces. Powerful brands impact not just customer decisions but also markets and social institutions, such as fashion trends, city life, or even social movements. This book explores the implications of Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems for the theory and practice of agile brand management, in particular highlighting the central role of brand aesthetics and of brands as channels for mutual education between companies and consumers.Since the rise of social media, “perfect” brands have become the mirror of community values as the communities themselves develop brand content. Brands themselves become “living systems” and evolve like systems do. The author introduces systems theory to provide a conceptual framework that integrates the different views of branding: inside-out and outside-in thinking. This Luhmannian theory of branding is discussed against the current background of (Western) societies, which are undergoing a broad shift from hard to soft selling in marketing, influenced by social media. The book is not about whether closed systems analysis and discussion can or should replace traditional management; moreover, it emphasizes the fruitful insights and demonstrates that the power of management is limited and should be extended by looking at the means of closed systems.This book will be of primary value to scholars with an interest in systems theory and thinking, brand theory, and management. The interdisciplinary approach also makes the book a valuable resource for those researching change management, agile management, and sociology.
Systems Thinker's Toolbox: Tools for Managing Complexity
by Joseph Eli KasserSystems Thinker's Toolbox: Tools for Managing Complexity provides more than 100 tools based on systems thinking and beyond. Each tool is described, and when necessary, examples are provided of how each of them can be used. Some of the simplest tools can be combined into more complex tools. The tools may be things such as lists, causal loops, and templates, as well as processes and methodologies. Key Features Provides an explanation of the two views of systems thinking; systemic and systematic thinking, and then shows how to perform each of them in a complimentary manner Presents a set of thinking tools that can be used to apply systems thinking to solving problems in project management, engineering, systems engineering, new product development, and business Describes the tools from simple such as lists, and goes on to more complex such as Categorized Requirements in Process (CRIP) charts, and then onto the processes Introduces new tools that have been tested with positive feedback Discusses a set of communication tools that can improve project reviews and communicating innovative ideas
Systems Thinkers
by Karen Shipp Magnus RamageThis book presents a biographical history of the field of systems thinking, by examining the life and work of thirty of its major thinkers. It discusses each thinker's key contributions, the way this contribution was expressed in practice and the relationship between their life and ideas. This discussion is supported by an extract from the thinker's own writing, to give a flavour of their work and to give readers a sense of which thinkers are most relevant to their own interests.
Systems Thinkers
by Karen Shipp Magnus RamageThis book presents a biographical history of the field of systems thinking, by examining the life and work of thirty of its major thinkers. It discusses each thinker’s key contributions, the way this contribution was expressed in practice and the relationship between their life and ideas. This discussion is supported by an extract from the thinker’s own writing, to give a flavour of their work and to give readers a sense of which thinkers are most relevant to their own interests.
Systems Thinking Basics: From Concepts to Causal Loops
by Virginia Anderson Lauren Johnson<p>Systems Thinking Basics is a self-study, skill-building resource designed to introduce you to the power of systems thinking tools. With an emphasis on behavior over time graphs and causal loop diagrams, this workbook guides you step by step through: Recognizing systems and understanding the importance of systems thinking; Interpreting and creating behavior over time graphs and causal loop diagrams; Applying and practicing systems thinking day-to-day. <p>Each of the book's six main sections contains a wealth of examples from the business world, as well as learning activities that reinforce concepts and provide you with the opportunity and space to practice. An array of appendices offers: Extra practice activities; A summary of key points and suggested responses to the learning activities; A table showing the "palette" of systems thinking tools available; A glossary of systems thinking terms; A list of additional resources; A summary of the systems archetypes. <p>The many diagrams within the book clarify concepts and visually reinforce key principles. Systems Thinking Basics is ideal for aspiring systems thinkers eager to try their hand at using these powerful tools</p>
Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results
by David Peter Stroh&“David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing our toughest problems.&”—Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline Concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning—for everyone!Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation.How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results.Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert.Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts on complex problems like:ending homelessnessimproving public healthstrengthening educationdesigning a system for early childhood developmentprotecting child welfaredeveloping rural economiesfacilitating the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into societyresolving identity-based conflictsand more!The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.
Systems Thinking and Moral Imagination: Rethinking Business Ethics With Patricia Werhane (Issues in Business Ethics #48)
by Patricia H. Werhane David J. Bevan Regina W. WolfeThis volume brings together a selection of papers written by Patricia Werhane during the most recent quarter century. The book critically explicates the direction and development of Werhane’s thinking based on her erudite and eclectic sampling of orthodox philosophical theories. It starts out with an introductory chapter setting Werhane’s work in the context of the development of Business Ethics theory and practice, along with an illustrative time line. Next, it discusses possible interpretations of the papers that have been divided across a range of themes, and examines Werhane’s contribution to these thematic areas. <P><P> Patricia H. Werhane is a renowned author and innovator at the intersection of philosophy and Applied Business Ethics. She is professor emerita and a senior fellow at the Olsson Centre for Applied Ethics at Darden and was formerly the Ruffin Professor of Business Ethics. She is also professor emerita at DePaul University, where she was Wicklander Chair in Business Ethics and director of the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics. <P><P> A prolific author whose works include Moral Imagination and Management Decision-Making and Organization Ethics for Health Care, Werhane is an acclaimed authority on employee rights in the workplace, one of the leading scholars on Adam Smith and founder and former editor-in-chief of Business Ethics Quarterly, the leading journal of Business Ethics. She was a founding member and past president of the Society for Business Ethics and, in 2001, was elected to the executive committee of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Before joining the Darden faculty in 1993, Werhane served on the faculty of Loyola University Chicago and was a Rockefeller Fellow at Dartmouth College and Senior Fellow at Cambridge University.
Systems Thinking and Sustainable Healthcare Delivery (Routledge Focus on Business and Management)
by Ben Y.F. FongThe Sustainable Development Goal 3 seeks to ensure health and well-being for all at every stage of life. This book discusses how to strengthen our healthcare systems and ensure sustainable community healthcare delivery by using systems thinking, an approach to understanding complex interactions of individual system elements in nature. Financing and manpower planning are integral processes to achieve health for all in the world. Adopting the Framework for Action of the World Health Organization for Strengthening Health Systems to Improve Health Outcomes, this book reviews and discusses, illustrated by case examples, the building blocks of healthcare systems, namely financing, human resources, management strategies and leadership and governance in the context of accessibility, coverage, quality and safety of community health services to achieve selected targets in SDG 3 in the context of global health. This book will be of interest to those who are researching sustainable healthcare systems, as well as policymakers and healthcare professionals.
Systems Thinking and Viable Systems (Routledge-Giappichelli Systems Management)
by Sergio BarileIn the last few decades, managerial and business studies have shown an increasing inability to explain and forecast emergent dynamics in society, economics, and the environment.Consolidated managerial approaches and business theories seem to be incapable of communicating and depicting the ongoing evolution, and new perspectives are required to support both researchers and practitioners in tracing new paths for development. Building upon the constructivist approach, this book illustrates the multiple advantages that systems thinking can offer in supporting a holistic understanding of social and economic phenomena.The book proposes a representation of the firm as a viable system and represents its functioning and decision-making processes trough a recursive depiction that can be applied for each of the multiple levels through which socio-economic environments are defined. As a result of the focus on the differences between decision making and problem-solving processes, the book enriches current knowledge about systems thinking and provides useful instruments through which both researchers and practitioners can effectively understand the multiple variables able to influence decisions and actions within a firm’s configuration.The book is aimed at both postgraduate students and researchers interested in the multiple dimensions of systems thinking.
Systems Thinking for Business and Management: Principles and Practice
by Professor Umit S Bititci Dr Agnessa SpanellisThis core textbook provides a practical, holistic introduction to systems thinking.Blending theory and practice, Systems Thinking for Business and Management reviews the fundamentals and includes a wide range of global cases and examples from business, showing how systems thinking can be applied to real-world organizational contexts. Students will learn to apply their knowledge to solve business system problems, carry out systemic organizational analysis and design solutions to address complex organizational problems. They will build valuable skills in systems analysis, business process modelling, problem solving and decision making.Features include:· An evaluation of the different models, theories and frameworks for generic systems, system properties and system classifications· An overview of the different methods used for modelling and analysing different systems, specifically hard systems, soft systems and complex systems· Discussion of how system thinkers can imagine and model future systems· Experiential, engaging pedagogy, such as practical activities and reflective exercises in each chapter· Online resources to support teaching and learning, such as a customizable set of PowerPoint slides and video links The book's approach has been tried and tested over ten years of teaching. It will be an essential text for introductory modules on systems thinking at undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA levels. It will also be of interest to practitioners looking to apply systems thinking to improve their organizations.
Systems Thinking for Effective Managers: The Road Less Travelled
by Mr Prashun DuttaTraditional education has been extremely biased towards science, owing primarily to the success that science has demonstrated in the last three centuries. While the methods of science are greatly, if not fully, responsible for its success, these are grossly inadequate in the context of societal systems and the complexities that managers and leaders deal with. The real world is markedly different and heavily interconnected. Systems thinking is the perfect antidote to the stagnation that characterizes managerial theories and practices. Conventional management, constrained by a sanitized world view, is no longer able to deliver as it did in the past. Expanding horizons and thinking holistically unveils the big picture and builds a body of knowledge more suited to the changing times we live in.
Systems Thinking for Geoengineering Policy: How to reduce the threat of dangerous climate change by embracing uncertainty and failure (The Earthscan Science in Society Series)
by Robert ChrisEven by the scientists most closely associated with it, geoengineering - the deliberate intervention in the climate at global scale to mitigate the effects of climate change - is perceived to be risky. For all its potential benefits, there are robust differences of opinion over the wisdom of such an intervention. Systems Thinking for Geoengineering Policy is the first book to theorise geoengineering in terms of complex adaptive systems theory and to argue for the theoretical imperative of adaptive management as the default methodology for an effective low risk means of confronting the inescapable uncertainty and surprise that characterise potential climate futures. The book illustrates how a shift from the conventional Enlightenment paradigm of linear reductionist thinking, in favour of systems thinking, would promote policies that are robust against the widest range of plausible futures rather than optimal only for the most likely, and also unlock the policy paralysis caused by making long term predictions of policy outcomes a prior condition for policy formulation. It also offers some systems driven reflections on a global governance network for geoengineering. This book is a valuable resource for all those with an interest in climate change policy, geoengineering, and CAS theory, including academics, under- and postgraduate students and policymakers.
Systems Thinking for Instructional Designers: Catalyzing Organizational Change
by M. Aaron BondSystems Thinking for Instructional Designers offers real-world cases that highlight how designers foster continuous improvement and manage change efforts across organizational contexts. Using a systems thinking approach, each case describes a holistic process that examines how a set of interdependent elements can be analyzed and coordinated to influence change. Instructional designers, faculty, program directors, digital learning leaders, and other development specialists will learn how systems thinking can solve authentic, real-world challenges. The book’s rich narratives cover both successes and failures of meaningful growth, paradigm shifts, and large-scale problem-solving in a variety of settings, including education and industry.
Systems Thinking for Management Consultants: Introducing Holistic Flexibility (Flexible Systems Management)
by Rajneesh ChowdhuryThis book discusses how systems thinking and approaches can aid management consultants in navigating the complexities of client advisory in current realities. It thereby brings to the forefront aspects of holism, flexibility and responsibility - the keys to success in today’s world. Management consultants are called in to offer an independent expert view of an organisation/ a situation and are expected to address some of the most pressing problems businesses face. The client does not exist in a silo, but in a complex environment that lies at the intersection of a range of internal and external factors that are often unseen and unpredictable. The organisation itself presents an alien territory that the consultant is expected to acclimatise to within a very short period of time, and come up with solutions that “insiders” would not have been able to visualise. The book presents a range of ideas, concepts and reference cases that are relevant and topical for consultants in their daily work. It argues that systems thinking allows holism and flexibility in management consulting – while holism is about the ability to encompass the environmental and organisational complexity, flexibility is about the ability to think creatively and adopt different approaches to accommodate this complexity. With commentaries, case studies, conceptual models and perspectives that cut across multiple industries, sectors and countries, this book is a valuable resource for academics and professionals alike. The book’s inner pages and its page on Springer.com contain additional comments providing perspectives of clients, industry experts and academia.
Systems Thinking for Sustainability Education in Business Schools (SpringerBriefs in Complexity)
by Hassan Qudrat-UllahThis book delves into the current state and future prospects of systems thinking and sustainability education within business schools. It meticulously examines the trends and drivers shaping the demand and supply of such education, along with the implications and challenges it presents for various stakeholders and society at large. Strategic recommendations and suggestions are provided to elevate and propel systems thinking and sustainability education in business schools, outlining a visionary roadmap for the future. Furthermore, the book explores the intersectionality of sustainability and diversity in business education, offering examples and cases of visionary and innovative initiatives and projects in the field. Distinguished by special features such as illustrations, the book offers a comprehensive and integrative overview of the current landscape and future trajectories of systems thinking and sustainability education in business schools. The primary benefit for readers lies in gaining a deeper and broader understanding of systems thinking and sustainability education in business schools. It equips them with the knowledge to apply systems thinking and sustainability principles and tools to tackle the complex and wicked problems of the twenty-first century. Additionally, the book aims to inspire and inform business schools and their stakeholders to embrace and enhance systems thinking and sustainability education in their curricula and pedagogy, contributing to the advancement of sustainability and systems thinking in both business and society.
Systems Thinking for a Turbulent World: A Search for New Perspectives (Systems Thinking)
by Anthony HodgsonSystems Thinking for a Turbulent World will help practitioners in any field of change engage more effectively in transformative innovation. Such innovation addresses the paradigm shift needed to meet the diverse unfolding global challenges facing us today, often summed up as the Anthropocene. Fragmentation of local and global societies is escalating, and this is aggravating vicious cycles. To heal the rifts, we need to reintroduce the human element into our understandings – whether the context is civic or scientific – and strengthen truth-seeking in decision-making. Aided by appropriate concepts and methods, this healing will enable a switch from reaction to anticipation, even in the face of discontinuous change and high uncertainty. The outcome is to privilege the positive human skills for collaborative navigation through uncertainty over the disjointed rationality of mechanism and artificial intelligence, which increasingly alienates us. The reader in search of new ways of thinking will be introduced to concepts new to systems thinking that integrate systems thinking and futures thinking. The concept of anticipatory present moment (APM) serves as a basis for learning the cognitive skills that better enable navigation through turbulent times. A key personal and team practice is participative repatterning, which is the basis for transformative innovation. This practice is aided by new methods of visual facilitation. The reader is guided through the unfolding of the ideas and practices with a narrative based on the metaphor of search portrayed in the tradition of ox herding, found in traditional Far Eastern consciousness practice.
Systems Thinking: Coping with 21st Century Problems (Systems Innovation Book Series)
by John Boardman Brian SauserBy examining the links and interactions between elements of a system, systems thinking is becoming increasingly relevant when dealing with global challenges, from terrorism to energy to healthcare. Addressing these seemingly intractable systems problems in our society, Systems Thinking: Coping with 21st Century Problems focuses on the inhere
Systems Thinking: Intelligence in Action
by Piero MellaThe core belief underlying this book is that the most useful and effective models to strengthen our intelligence are system ones, developed following the logic of Systems Thinking. Such models can explore complexity, dynamics, and change, and it is the author's view that intelligence depends on the ability to construct models of this nature. The book is designed to allow the reader not only to acquire simple information on Systems Thinking but above all to gradually learn the logic and techniques that make this way of thinking an instrument for the improvement of intelligence. In order to aid the learning and practice of the Systems Thinking discipline, the author has abandoned a rigid formal language for a more discursive style. He writes in the first person, with an ample number of citations and critical analyses, and without ever giving in to the temptation to use formal mathematics.
Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos And Complexity: A Platform For Designing Business Architecture
by Jamshid GharajedaghiSystems Thinking, Third Edition combines systems theory and interactive design to provide an operational methodology for defining problems and designing solutions in an environment increasingly characterized by chaos and complexity. This new edition has been updated to include all new chapters on self-organizing systems as well as holistic, operational, and design thinking. <p><p> The book covers recent crises in financial systems and job markets, the housing bubble, and environment, assessing their impact on systems thinking. A companion website is available at interactdesign.com. <p> This volume is ideal for senior executives as well as for chief information/operating officers and other executives charged with systems management and process improvement. It may also be a helpful resource for IT/MBA students and academics.
Systems Understanding Aid: Reference Book
by Alvin A. Arens D. Dewey WardA comprehensive manual accounting practice set that includes flowcharts, documents and internal controls. Uses a hands–on approach to help students understand basic business documents and visualize information flow in the accounting process. It is used in systems, financial accounting, auditing and capstone courses. Edition Changes: Documents have been modernized and the details of certain transactions have been changed (number of units purchased, number of units sold, selling prices, etc.).
Systems and Innovation Research in Transition: Research Questions and Trends in Historical Perspective (Sustainability and Innovation)
by Rainer Walz Jakob EdlerIn the last decades it has become more and more imperative for our societies, and for decision makers in all areas of society, to understand the dynamics through which innovation systems develop and through which socio-technical systems transform themselves. As both innovation and transformation are strongly intertwined, it has equally become imperative to analyse their dynamics as well as their interplay. This open access volume reflects on the research fields that have developed in the last five decades to do exactly that. It defines and delineates research on systems and innovation as encompassing the scientific study of, first, the conditions, dynamics and impacts associated with the generation and uptake of innovations and, second, the development and transformation of functional systems satisfying essential needs such as the provision of energy or water. Further, the area of Systems and Innovation Research (SIR) is characterised by problem and stakeholder oriented research. We chose five decades as time frame because we noted that roughly 50 years ago a number of research institutes dedicated to SIR were founded and the SIR area started to grow significantly. We present a systematic history of nine selected fields within the area of SIR (Innovation policy, Innovation indicators, Foresight, Policy Evaluation, Technology Assessment, Production Paradigms, Renewable Energies, Energy Efficiency, Water Use). We also present a conceptual framework to understand the processes by which the research fields have developed. This allows to draw general lessons as to what drives fields throughout their development and how their role vis-à-vis policy, businesses and societies changes over time. It also allows to speculate about future challenges and trends in the SIR area. This is important because, if anything, the need to govern transformation through innovation will further grow in the future, and with it the need to understand the underlying dynamics.