Systems Theory and Practice in the Knowledge Age / Edition 1

by Gillian Ragsdell, Daune West, Jennifer Wilby

Overview

Welcome to the proceedings of the Seventh International Conference of the UK Systems Society being held at York University, United Kingdom from July 7th to 10th, 2002. It is a pleasure to be able to share with you this collection ofpapers that have been contributed by systems thinkers from around the world. As with previous UKSS conferences, the aim ofthis conference is to encourage debate and promote development of pertinent issues in systems theory and practice. In current times where the focus has moved from 'information' to 'knowledge' and where 'knowledge management', of everyday speak, it seemed fitting to 'knowledge assets' and so on, have become part offer a conference title of'Systems Theory and Practice in the Knowledge Age'. In keeping with another tradition of previous conferences, the UKSS Conference 2002 Committee decided to compile a collection ofdelegates' papers before the event as a platform from which to launch discussions in York. Ideas presented in the following papers will, undoubtedly, be developed during the dialogue generated at the conference and new papers will emerge. In his abstract for his plenary at this conference, Professor Peter Checkland throws down the gauntlet to systems thinking and its relevance in the knowledge age with the following statement: "30 Years In The Systems Movement: Disappointments I Have Known and Hopes/or the Future Springing from a lunchtime conversation at an American University, the Systems Movement is now nearly 50 years old.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306472473
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	03/31/2002
Edition description:	2002
Pages:	478
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

Section 1: Systems Theory.- Emergent or Just Unexpected?.- Sawu Bona: Systems Theory in Design.- Mapping the Stages of the Development of Management Sciences Methodologies in the UK: From Single Solving Methods to Multimethodology.- Relevance and Rigour, Theory and Practice in Systems.- Vickers’ Concept of Relationship-Maintaining and the Nature of Regulation.- Section 2: Systems Practice.- Connecting Soft Systems Thinking with Project Management Practice: An Organizational Change Case Study.- Cybernetics/Systems Approach to Transformation of the Towel Production Firms in Osaka Area, Japan.- Towards a Contingency Framework for Intervention in the Context of a Systems-Based Approach.- SSM-Guided Research to Improve the Linkages between a Science Provider and their End-Users.- A Multi-Methodological Approach to Emergency Call Handling in the Metropolitan Police Service.- Using SSM to Improve Supply Chain Effectiveness.- Improving Systems Intervention in SMEs: Reflections on Systems Boundaries in Practice.- Soft Systems Methodology based on Organizational Knowledge-Creation Theory.- Section 3: Knowledge Management.- Inquiring into Learning as System.- Creating Corporate Value through Knowledge Management Systems.- Information, Knowledge and Teams.- A Human Value System Based Methodology for an Organisational Development Consultancy.- Systemic Learning with a Searchlight Approach.- The Knowledge Worker and the Knowledge Age.- Design of a Knowledge Management System for Quality Improvement in a Public Education System in México.- Knowledge in Self-Organization Process: Hope (Finite) of System Thinking.- The Value of Knowledge Workers — What Affects It and Who Decides?.- to Knowledge Profiling.- Section 4: Environmental Management.- Participative Action Research (PAR)for Rural Community Development in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.- Towards a New Agenda for Operational Research and Environmental Management.- Rhythm of the Rivers: An Ecosystem Approach to Human Health on the Amazon Frontier.- Section 5: Critical Systems Thinking.- Turnaround Systems Alignment: A Methodology for Dealing with Complex-Coercive Problems.- On an Application of Critical Systems Heuristics in a Framework for Evaluation of Software Development Productivity.- A Trusting Constructivist View of Systems Thinking in the Knowledge Age.- Section 6: Social Systems Design.- Autopoiesis and the Theory of Viable Systems.- Reconciling Complexity Science in Organizations and Christian Spirituality.- Taking Account of Human Rights.- The Impact of Computer Hardware Theft on ICT Introduction to South African Rural Communities: An Interpretive Assessment through Focus Groups and Morphological Analysis within a Process-Based Research Framework.- Participation in Thames Chase Community Forest: A Multimedia Elicitation Tool.- Section 7: Business.- A Systems Approach to Marketing.- Systemic Requirements for the Development of Competitive Capability: Lessons from a New Zealand Study of Competitive Advantage.- Rethinking Business Strategy with Complexity Theory.- Section 8: Information Systems.- Information System Risks and Countermeasures in Supply Chain Integration and Management for an Enterprise.- An Evaluation Framework for Information Strategies at Higher Education Institutions.- Systems Thinking in the Theory and Practice of Strategic Information Systems Planning.- Practical Approaches to an Information Systems Architecture Implementation at Glaxo Wellcome.- The Role of Surplus Vision in Knowledge Systems.- Cross-Cultural Issues Affecting Electronic Transfer of Personal HealthInformation.- Comment on ‘How’ to Conduct an Action Research Study in the Domain of Information Systems Development.- Section 9: Modelling.- Complex Clusters in Local Environments: Multi-Layered Multi-Media Learning.- Handling Complexity in Networked Multimedia Systems: The Contribution of Semiotics.- Some Considerations for a Semantic Analysis of Conceptual Data Schemata.- Product and Systems Design through Linguistic Modelling.- Modelling Roles in Business Systems using Role Objects.- Towards a Definition of the “Information Bearing Capability” of a Conceptual Data Schema.- Section 10: Student Papers.- Enacting Platforms towards Critical Systems Practice: Reflections from an Organisation-Based Action Research.- A Base for Simulating Information Distribution.- Systems Thinking and the Knowledge Age: Revisiting Kuhn.- Chaos and Complexity Theory in Management: An Exploration from a Critical Systems Thinking Perspective.- Author Index.

Editorial Reviews

From the Seventh International Conference of the UK Systems Society held in July 2002 come 54 papers that put forth widely varying viewpoints on the current state of systems theory. The papers are organized under the headings of systems theory, systems methodologies, knowledge management, environmental management, critical systems thinking, social systems design, business, information systems, modelling, and student presentations. Specific topics include mapping the stages of the development of management sciences; cybernetic/systems approach to transformation of the towel production firms in Osaka, Japan; design of a knowledge management system for quality improvement in a public education system in Mexico; reconciling complexity science in organizations and Christian spirituality; and the contribution of semiotics to handling complexity in networked multimedia systems. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)