Ebook: Synergy Matters: Working with Systems in the 21st Century

The 21st century is now almost upon us and, whilst this represents a somewhat artificial boundary, it provides an opportunity for reflection upon the changes, and the accelerating pace of change, in our social, economic, and natural environments. These changes and their effects are profound, not least in terms of access to information and communication technologies, at once global in effect and manifest locally. These changes and their consequent demands are reflected in the theme of this volume: Synergy Matters, proceedings from the 6th UK Systems Society International Conference.

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The 21st century is now almost upon us and, whilst this represents a somewhat artificial boundary, it provides an opportunity for reflection upon the changes, and the accelerating pace of change, in our social, economic, and natural environments. These changes and their effects are profound, not least in terms of access to information and communication technologies, at once global in effect and manifest locally. These changes and their consequent demands are reflected in the theme of this volume: Synergy Matters, proceedings from the 6th UK Systems Society International Conference.

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The 21st century is now almost upon us and, whilst this represents a somewhat artificial boundary, it provides an opportunity for reflection upon the changes, and the accelerating pace of change, in our social, economic, and natural environments. These changes and their effects are profound, not least in terms of access to information and communication technologies, at once global in effect and manifest locally. These changes and their consequent demands are reflected in the theme of this volume: Synergy Matters, proceedings from the 6th UK Systems Society International Conference.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xviii
Seeing Systems: Overcoming Organisational Fragmentation....Pages 1-6
Fighting Failure....Pages 7-12
Critical Management Education: A Critical Issue?....Pages 13-18
Putting Systems Theory to Work — The Synergy Between Theory and Practice....Pages 19-24
Making Sense of Chaos — Systems and the Information Society....Pages 25-30
Translating Production Quality Data for Use in the Improvement Process....Pages 31-36
Using Systems Concepts to Research the Implications of Emerging Information Technologies (ITs) for Pedagogy in Higher Education (HE)....Pages 37-42
Rich Pictures, Metaphors and Stories as Mechanisms to Improve Collective Actions....Pages 43-48
A Novel Approach to Quantify Agricultural Sustainability Using Fuzzy Set Theory....Pages 49-54
Applied Artificial Intelligence and the Management of Knowledge....Pages 55-60
Diversity Management and Organisational Change....Pages 61-65
Understranding Interorganisational Health and Social Service Groups: Would Alternative Metaphors of Systems Help?....Pages 67-71
Beyond the Golden Rule: Emencipatory Practice and Change in Organisations....Pages 73-78
Synergy Between Humans and Software Agents....Pages 79-84
The Application of Internet Technologies to Information Management....Pages 85-90
An Introduction to Cybernetic Viability Study (CVS)....Pages 91-96
A Multicultural Perspective on Integrating Non-native Speaking Students into the Community in Vienna/Austria and Texas/U.S.A.: A Preliminary Report....Pages 97-101
Chaos and Complexity — The Way to Transform Organisations Ready for the Next Century: Insights from a Case Stufy of the Open University....Pages 103-108
A Discussion on Complementarism and Its Stance Towards Paradigms....Pages 109-114
A Systems View of Intellectual Capital....Pages 115-120
Applying Muller-Merbach’s Framework to System Acceptance....Pages 121-126
Co-Constructing the Methodology: Learning from Practice with ‘Wide Band’ GDSS....Pages 127-133
Group Support Through Restricted Conversations....Pages 133-138
Modelling Complex Decision-Making....Pages 139-144
Discourse, Calibration, Explanation and Evolution: Implications for Computer-Based Systems Development....Pages 145-150
Weak Incommensurability and the Development of Systems Thinking....Pages 151-156
How Prevalent is Systems Thinking in the Methods, Tools and Techniques Used in Project Management?....Pages 157-162
Soft Systems Methodology: Its Potential for Emancipatory Development....Pages 163-168
Issues in the Conduct of Research Through Intervention in Real-World Affairs....Pages 169-174
Acronym Happy — Applying SSM to the CSA....Pages 175-180
The Poverty of Action Research in Inrormation Systems....Pages 181-186
Atlantic Crossings: A Genealogical Analysis of the Relationship between Systems Thinking and Action Research in the United Kingdom....Pages 187-192
Exploring Links between Action Research (AR) and “Alternatives”....Pages 193-197
Changing Organizational Culture by Means of the Activities of Hierarchical Poly-Agent Organizations....Pages 199-204
All in the Mind — Heuristics, Models, Systens and Business Advice....Pages 205-210
A Systemic Approach to Change Management in Anglian Water Engineering....Pages 211-215
Understanding How Concerns for the Natural Environment are Integrated into Prectical Strategic Decision Making: An Application of Ashby’s Law....Pages 217-222
A Pluralist Approach Towards Integration of Quality and Environmentalmanagement, Leading to Sustainable Development....Pages 223-228
Process Management....Pages 229-234
The Problems of the Lyric Theatres in London — A Systems Perspective....Pages 235-239
Some Reflections on Practice: What did I Think I was Doing When I Joined Systems Design Conversation Groups?....Pages 241-246
Synergy: A Spirtual Issue in the Context of Change Management Systems....Pages 247-251
Administrative Science Quarterly: Canary of Worldview Shift?....Pages 253-258
Does the Queen have Magical Powers: Leadership & Systems in the 21st Century....Pages 259-264
Taming the Problems of Hypermobility Through Synergy....Pages 265-270
Change Management and Information Systems....Pages 271-276
Service Integration, Human Services Collaboration, and Computer Supported Co-Operative Work....Pages 277-282
A Systemic Analysis of Process Oriented Change....Pages 283-288
Convivial Information Systems....Pages 289-294
Enabling Older People: Developing a Social Services-Owned System....Pages 295-300
Achieving Policy Synergies: The Case of Reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy....Pages 301-306
Sustainability of Primary Health Care: A Systems Approach....Pages 307-312
Is the Systems Approach a Precedent of the Development Approach?....Pages 313-317
Towards a Methodology for the Management of Community Arts Projects....Pages 319-324
Synergy in ‘Learning Citizen-Groups’ Using Teleogenic Systems Methodology....Pages 325-330
After Justice: On the Conditions of Possibility of Justice in the Present....Pages 331-336
Identity and Boundary Management in Synergistic Relationships....Pages 337-342
Shaping a Local Community Information Systems Support Infrastructure Using a Collaborative Approach....Pages 343-348
Information Within the (Human) System: Considerations of Freedom, Power and Order....Pages 349-354
Community Matters: Community Operational Research Work on Health Needs on the Stonebridge Estate....Pages 355-360
The Life Flux, Synergy and Multiple Paradigm Methodology....Pages 361-366
Critica Theory as a Foundation for Strategic Management....Pages 367-372
Dealing with Power in Organisational Intervention: The Place of Methodology....Pages 373-378
Interdisciplinarity, Systems and Totality: Some Anti-Systemic Motifs in the Thought of Benjamin and Adorno....Pages 379-384
Linking Methodological Complementarism with the Theory of Joint Alliances....Pages 385-390
Metaphors for Systemic Intervention....Pages 391-396
Maturana’s Notion of Phenomenic Reductionism and Its Implications for SSM....Pages 397-402
Retaining and Maintaining Soft System Models....Pages 403-408
Implementation Concerns in Soft-Systems Interventions: Some Lessons Fron Interactive Management....Pages 409-414
Operational Synergy and Meta-Methodology in the Prison Service....Pages 415-420
Purposefulness and Complexity-Grappling Capability: Some Preliminary Propositions....Pages 421-425
Monitoring, Evaluation and Dissemination Management Idea, Wuli-Shili-Renli Systems Approach and Their Application....Pages 427-432
Choice of Model or Model of Choice?—Systems Thinking and the Phenomenology of Decision Making....Pages 433-438
Bottom up Thinking....Pages 439-443
A Systems Thinking Model for Economic Management the Case of Tanzania....Pages 445-450
Measures of Performance: The Three Es of Soft Systems Methodology and the Indices of Performance of the Viable System Model....Pages 451-456
New Light Through Old Windows — But Is It the Right Kind of Light?....Pages 457-462
Intersubjectivty in Interpretive Research: The Dialogical Case....Pages 463-468
Towards Synergy in the Search for Multi-Perspective Systems Approaches....Pages 469-474
Peering into Ourselves: Critical Rellections on Peer Learning....Pages 475-480
Getting to Grips with Gender and Systems....Pages 481-486
Using SSM in Designing a New Nursing Informatics Curriculum....Pages 487-492
Teaching Systems at the Open University: Reconceptualising the Curriculum by Creating Meaningful Conversations....Pages 493-498
Using Multimedia to Teach Systems Thinking....Pages 499-504
Synergy of the’ soft’ and ‘Hard’ Sciences for Improving Information Systems....Pages 505-510
What is the Point of Working in an Industrt Where there is a Better than Evens Chance of Your Work being Shelved?....Pages 511-516
Rapid and Participatory is Analysis and Design: A Means to Defy the ‘Anatomy of Confusion’?....Pages 517-522
Culture, Ideas, Idiosyncrasy....Pages 523-528
A Knowledge Representation Approach to Computer-Based Support for Soft Systems Analysis....Pages 529-534
An Analysis of ‘Fan Traps’ in an Eer Schema by Using a Set of ‘Info Concepts’....Pages 535-540
The Intrinsic and Extrinsic Aspects of Information Systems Evaluation....Pages 541-546
“We Focus on the Parts and Ignore the Whole”: The Story of Information Systems Teaching at Our Universities....Pages 547-552
A Systemic Model for Participatory Change in Information Systems Management....Pages 553-558
Information and Communication Technology: Tacit Knowledge and Innovation....Pages 559-564
Qualitative Modelling of Information Systems....Pages 565-570
Poly-agent Systems Theory: Evolution Model and its Applications....Pages 571-576
What Drives the Developmnet of an International Information System? a Grounded Theory Investigation....Pages 577-582
Electronic Commerce: More Hype Than Substance?....Pages 583-588
Workflow for Inter-Organisational Environments....Pages 589-594
Research and Reality: Co-Exist or Co-Inhabit?....Pages 595-600
An Empirical Study of EIS Satisfaction — some Preliminary Findings....Pages 601-606
Self-Space and Vision....Pages 607-612
Organizational Learning and Improvement Based on the Art of Business Coaching....Pages 613-618
Educating the Knowledge Worker....Pages 619-625
More Metaphors for Organisational Teams....Pages 625-630
Synergy in a Complex and Post-Modern World....Pages 631-636
Managing Learning and Knowledge During I.S. Development in an Autopoietic Organisation: Implications from the Literature....Pages 637-641
On Redistributing Values: A Management Methodology....Pages 643-648
Back Matter....Pages 649-654
....Pages 655-657