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Handbook of Systems Sciences – new access
The Handbook of Systems Sciences, published by Springer in 2021, can be accessed in three different ways: Through libraries which subscribe to the Springer Reference Series. By purchasing the handbook ($699.99), or individual chapters ($29.95), which gives full, unlimited access: https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-981-15-0720-5 (Select a chapter title for purchase of that chapter.) Through SharedIt, a service purchased by Springer Nature, which provides free, read-only online access to individual chapters. Links for each of the chapters of the Handbook of Systems Sciences are listed below: Metcalf, G.S. et al. (2021). Introduction to the Handbook of Systems Sciences. In: Metcalf, G.S., Kijima, K., Deguchi, H. (eds) Handbook of Systems Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978 981…
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Social Systems and Design (Springer Verlag, 2014) by Gary Metcalf
In the opening chapter of his edited volume, Social Systems and Design, out from Springer in 2014, Gary Metcalf asks if it is possible to establish ethical “first principles” for the design of social systems. Inspired by his mentor, Bela Banathy (a giant of the systems field), and pondering the potential levels of influence we might actually have over the evolutionary development of the social systems in which we are all embedded, Metcalf provocatively asks what sorts of goals should we set for ourselves and what sorts of means should we use to achieve them. Book homepage (Individual chapters can be purchased) Read the book review
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Adaptive Capacity in Project Teams (Edson & Metcalf)
Organizational resilience has become critical in today’s environment. According to Engelhardt and Simmons (2002): “The need for organizational flexibility to accommodate a changing world is well understood. Today’s high-velocity and competitive markets apply added pressure to adapt rapidly and perform at high levels. Technology is opening up new ways to compete while making old ways obsolete. These trends are recognized in strategic management theories that focus on constant change and speed” (p. 113). Some project teams were adept at overcoming adversity, while others were not. The project teams that adapted to environmental constraints were able to modify their behaviors to meet goals without losing their function, while others were not.…
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Dialogue and Ecological Engineering
The ways in which we envision or understand systems determine much about the ways in which we attempt to affect them. The industrial era created a concept of organizations which mirrored the machines on which it was built. An efficient organization was to run like “ a well-oiled machine.” A clear division of labor improved efficiency and productivity. Frederick Taylor’s program of Scientific Management further optimized each task through isolation and measurement. In work with human organizations and institutions, it appeared that this debate might have been resolved with the shift from a mechanistic to an organismic metaphor view. In reality it only seems to have created additional confusion. Very…