Systems Research and Behavioral Science articles from July 1997

Systems Research and Behavioral Science archives from July 1997

The Historical Meaning of Present Systems Thinking(1).
July 1, 1997... INTRODUCTION The Trap Part I of Sir Geoffrey Vickers' Freedom in a Rocking Boat is named `The Trap'. It starts with a description of a lobster pot, which I will quote in the following. I consider it to be a simple and powerful way...

Soft Systems Methodology as a Social Science Research Tool.
July 1, 1997... INTRODUCTION The discussion which follows largely concerns issues raised while conducting and supervising soft systems research in the fields of management and information systems. Management, a field which can appear as an uncomfortable...

Flexible Systems Management: An Evolving Paradigm(a).
July 1, 1997... INTRODUCTION Development is the essence of life. It is a continuous phenomenon which maintains a dynamic balance in the whole universe. The intrinsically dynamic nature of the universe, and the unity and interaction of all phenomena, are...

Critical Thinking.
July 1, 1997... Human behaviour defies all prediction It often seem random, devoid of clear rules. Yet under the surface there lies a conviction that there are some values more precious than jewels. Most of us have...

The Development of Critical Systems Thinking in Tanzania: The Case for A Mandatory `Health Warning'.(response to M.C. Milanzi, Systems Research, vol. 12, p. 313, 1995)
July 1, 1997... INTRODUCTION This note is a response to M.C. Milanzi's article entitled `The Development of Critical Systems Thinking in Tanzania'. In it Milanzi alleges that the change of political ideologies in Tanzania from Ujamaa, based on a...

MPSB Frameworks and Decision Support Systems Studies.(multi-perspective systems-based frameworks)
July 1, 1997... INTRODUCTION The discipline of decision support systems (DSS) has been examined from a critical systems perspective in the form of multi-perspective, systems-based (MPSB) frameworks, mainly as synthesis exercises. A number of key and...

Business Abroad: A Quick Guide to International Business Transactions.(Review)
July 1, 1997... Business Abroad: A Quick Guide to International Business Transactions. By Lawrence E. Koslow. Published by Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, TX 77019, USA, 1996, 252 pp. ISBN 0 88415 4149, $24.95 (hardback) For those familiar with Gulf's...

Making Work Systems Better: A Practitioner's Reflections.(Review)
July 1, 1997... Making Work Systems Better: A Practitioner's Reflections. By Luc Hoebeke. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 1994, 190 pp. ISBN 0 471 94248 0 (hardback) For those readers like myself, who are unfamiliar with the name Luc...

Longitudinal Field Research Methods: Studying Processes in Organizational Change.(Review)
July 1, 1997... Longitudinal Field Research Methods: Studying Processes in Organizational Change. By George P. Huber and Andrew H. van de Ven. Published by Sage, London, 1995, ISBN 8039 7091 9, 19.95 [pounds sterling] (paperback) In this book, the...