Flood Dealing with Complexity

An Introduction to the Theory and Application of Systems Science
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4684-7799-3
Verlag: Springer US
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, eBook

With technological advance, the difficulties faced by decision makers and researchers become even more complex and hence more difficult to understand and manage. Traditional approaches have their limitations, particularly when dealing with issues that span many fields of endeavor. Fortunately there has emerged, particularly over the past four decades, the discipline of systems science, which provides a framework for dealing with such complexity. This book gives an account of the underlying theory of systems science and illustrates its applicability to a range of "real-world" problems. To gain an understanding of systems science and what motivates the systems scientist requires at least a reasonable degree ofliteracy and numeracy, a consequence of the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. The numerate content of this book, however, is almost entirely confined to Chapters 8 and 9. As a result, those who class themselves as nonnumerate are not continually confronted by equations that would, in some cases, prevent satisfactory comple tion of the text. Nevertheless, it has not been possible to exclude totally all aspects of numerate thinking from the remaining chapters. It would be useful, therefore, for those who class themselves as nonnumerate to read initially the section of Chapter 8 entitled "Using Letters Instead of Numbers. " This provides sufficient material to enable the nonnumerate reader to deal with the small amount of quantitative material outside Chapters 8 and 9.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Flood, Robert L.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

One. Systems: Origin and Evolution, Terms and Concepts.- 1.1. Introduction.- 1.2. The Origin and Evolution of Systems Science.- 1.3. Systems Terms and Concepts.- 1.4. Conclusion.- Problems.- Two. Systems and Complexity.- 2.1. Introduction.- 2.2. Coming to Grips with Complexity.- 2.3. Two-Dimensional Science.- 2.4. One Dimension beyond Three Ranges of Complexity.- 2.5. Conclusion.- Problems.- Three. Systems and Modeling I: Diagrams and Identification.- 3.1. Introduction.- 3.2. Misuse and Abuse.- 3.3. System Diagrams.- 3.4. Other Useful Diagrams.- 3.5. Hard System Diagrams and Messy Situations.- 3.6. Element, Relationship, and Boundary Identification.- 3.7. Conclusion.- Problems.- Four. Systems and Measurement.- 4.1. Introduction.- 4.2. The Nature of Measurement.- 4.3. Scales of Measurement.- 4.4. Problems Associated with Measurement.- 4.5. Conclusion.- Problems.- Five. Systems View of Management and the Organization.- 5.1. Introduction.- 5.2. Evolution of Management Theory.- 5.3. A Cybernetic View of Management and Organization Theory.- 5.4. Administrative Management.- 5.5. The Viable System Model: A Structuralist Alternative.- 5.6. Management and Organizational Cybernetics.- 5.7. The Interpretive Alternatives.- 5.8. Conclusion.- Problems.- Six. Systems View of Problems and Problematic Situations.- 6.1. Introduction.- 6.2. Setting the Scene.- 6.3. Hard Systems Methodologies.- 6.4. Soft Systems Methodology (SSM).- 6.5. Teaching and Learning Methodologies.- 6.6. Which Methodology When?.- 6.7. Three Case Studies.- 6.8. Conclusion.- Problems.- Seven. Systems Theory in International Relations.- 7.1. Introduction.- 7.2. Systems and International Relations.- 7.3. Conclusion.- Problems.- Eight. Systems Quantification: From Stone Age to Space Age.- 8.1. Introduction.- 8.2. UsingLetters Instead of Numbers.- 8.3. Rate of Change.- 8.4. Drawing up Differential Equations.- 8.5. Computer Simulation.- 8.6. Quantitative Cybernetics.- 8.7. Autoregression and Moving Averages.- 8.8. Statistical Transfer Functions.- 8.9. Recursive Estimation.- 8.10. Conclusion.- Problems.- Nine. Systems and Modeling II: Process, Purposes, and Approaches.- 9.1. Introduction.- 9.2. The Modeling Process.- 9.3. Modeling Approaches.- 9.4. Case Studies.- 9.5. Conclusion.- Problems.- Ten. Systems Science: Making Sense of the Philosophical Issues.- 10.1. Introduction.- 10.2. The Philosophical Issues.- 10.3. Making Sense.- 10.4. Tying It All Together.- 10.5. Conclusion.- Problems.- References.